First quarter 2020 was truly remarkable! The stock market hit an all-time high on February 27th only to drop over 30% by March 23rd. The COVID -19 virus began as a humanitarian crisis and then erupted into fears of a major, global economic crisis. This is a perfect example of a black swan – a rare event that no one sees coming leading to unexpected results and panic and fear. Our health, safety and financial well-being are under attack at once. It does not feel right to focus on the economy and the stock market when so many lives have been lost and people are adjusting to very limit interaction with others. But the concern for financial safety is heightened at this time. We move into the second quarter of 2020 with major uncertainty how the virus will play out and if the cancellation of events, closure of businesses and[more…]

October is the month we expect a spooky stock market and scary economic headlines. October is often a volatile month for stocks. Friday, October 19thwas the 31stanniversary of the 1987 Black Monday Crash that few on Wall Street remember.  Then and now the market always recovers from its darkest days and investors are fine if discipline, rather than emotion, drives investment decisions. This bull market is one of the longest in history, fueled by near zero interest rates and strong corporate profits.  It would be unreasonable to think that a correction is not in the cards. Goblins, politicians, ghosts of crashes past and fearful pundits should not cause panic or emotional selling. Reports of weak economic data seem to be overshadowing strong corporate earnings on days when the stock market declines.  Softer new and existing home sales in the face of higher mortgage rates, fears of slowing global growth and higher[more…]

Donald J. Trump became our 45th President today. On this historic day we paused to watch the ceremony and now we move on to speculate what investors will do as the policies of this new administration take form. Time will tell if the Trump administration can implement all the changes promised since November. Ronald Reagan said the most dangerous words in our language are “I’m here from government and I am here to help”. Reagan believed less government is better and government gets in the way of individual progress and economic growth. Donald Trump agrees and promises to reduce regulation, lower taxes and rebuild America. Trump’s unorthodox communication style and threat to change the way business is done in Washington has many on edge. The longer the changes are debated before enacted, the greater the uncertainty and the more volatile the stock market. To offer a precise outlook is virtually[more…]

Mary Bersot, CFA has been appointed to a three year term as a member of the PCAOB Investment Advisory Group.  Ms. Bersot is CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Bersot Capital Management LLC, which she founded in 2006. Prior to that she was a Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer of the Large Cap Team at Dresdner RCM (f/k/a Rosenberg Capital Management), managed stock portfolios for Taft Hartley Pension and Health Plans at McMorgan & Co, and served as part of Citicorp Trust of California’s global private bank.  She began her career at Wells Fargo where she managed investments for some of the bank’s largest and most complex family trusts. The PCAOB is a non-profit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of[more…]