SET Portfolio Updates
SET Portfolio Update June 2016
BREXIT: THE AFTERMATH It’s like driving past a terrible wreck. This past Friday morning, we couldn’t help but take a look at what was happening with the iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU)… On Thursday, it closed at $16.55. Friday, it closed at $14.57. But here’s some context for you. Less than six months ago, […]
SET Portfolio Update May 2016
There is a new batch of uncomfortable rumblings in the retail sector, and they’re prompting us to recommend selling our Market Vectors Retail ETF $RTH. More on this coming up in the updates below. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on in the retail side of the economy, what this might mean, and […]
SET Portfolio Update April 2016
We try to avoid falling into the tender trap of a “flavor of the month” when it comes to looking at what’s been unfolding on the markets, and what factors are in play with our portfolio of ETFs. Last month, we examined the ups and the downs of the $VIX, the volatility index that tracks […]
SET Portfolio Update March 2016
Last month, we raised what we believe are the two key questions sector ETF traders should ask. “Where’s the real problem? In the financial markets or in the global economy?” And… “Are we going into a recession, even a mild one?” After 30 days of promise and rising prices on global markets, we’re not much […]
SET Portfolio Update February 2016
Change is in the air. “It appears a major sea change in the way markets work may be at hand,” is what hedge fund manager Adam Sender told his investors last month. Key factors driving this change… a global slowdown, oil prices, China worries, and market declines. From our perspective, key question #1 for sector […]
SET Portfolio Update January 2016
Happy New Year! And hopefully it is a better year than a forgettable 2015 for US stocks. As you can see, the S&P 500 finished the year with a modest loss. Sector performance was mixed in 2015. Four sectors finished with gains for the year… consumer cyclical, staples, healthcare, and technology. The other five sectors […]
SET Portfolio Update December 2015
We’re into the home stretch of 2015. Right now the S&P 500 is up 3% year-to-date. The October rally erased the September losses. But November brought a return to the flat market that was the norm for most of the year. Once again, the strong performance of a few mega-cap stocks is the force that […]
SET Portfolio Update November 2015
US stocks enjoyed an impressive rally over the last month. The S&P 500 shot up 12.5% from the low on September 29th to the close on November 2nd. That’s an impressive gain to say the least. Along the way, the S&P 500 cut through multiple resistance levels like a hot knife through butter. Now the […]
SET Portfolio Update October 2015
Some of you know that I grew up on a large family farm in Nebraska. They have a saying about the weather in Nebraska… if you don’t like it, just wait a few hours and it’s bound to change. Over the last few weeks, the stock market has been behaving in much the same way […]
SET Portfolio Update September 2015
The calm and boring summer of range bound trading was broken in an instant. As you can see, the S&P 500 broke through the key technical support level of the 200-day moving average on August 20th. And all hell broke loose… The primary cause of the selloff was China. As we’ve talked about many times […]
