Summer 2022 issue of Investment Strategy Quarterly has been released and it’s chock-full of the latest information and insights about the state of the markets and our economy as a whole. Download it here or read on to get a quick sneak-peek at the news and comment.
Letter from the CIO
Sometimes trying to get a hold on the state of the market and predict what the future holds can seem like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs. Luckily, Raymond James Chief Investment Officer Lawrence V. Adams III, CFA, CIMA®, CFP® is here to share some tips to act as a Rosetta stone and advance our understanding. In this special letter, Deciphering the Market’s Difficult Message, you’ll learn how signs like the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and increasing gas prices mean treasury bond rates will be attractive to investors.
Fed Air: Prepare for Landing
The state of the economy post-COVID has fears of a recession to heights not seen since the so-called Great Recession of the late aughts. In this article, we talk about why it’s actually likely the Federal Reserve, through a gentle rise in interest rates, may be able to bring inflation down to a much more reasonable level and achieve a ‘soft landing’ for the GDP which may avoid a recession over the next 36 months.
Q&A: The Path Forward for Fixed Income
In the first half of 2022, fixed income investors have faced the worst bond market in 40 years. Recently, investment strategist Nick Lacy and managing director James Camp sat down to discuss the causes of this difficult market situation and what the future holds given the actions the Federal Reserve has taken and can take to lead us back into growth.
Navigating Choppy Markets
After an economic easing period through the worst of the pandemic lockdowns saw the S&P’s Price-to-Earnings ratio rise to levels not seen since the dotcom bubble, the index has again fallen to around its 20-year average. In this article, authors J Michael Gibbs and Joey Madere unravel the factors which have led to the current weak trend and remind us that better days should be coming during an inevitable recovery period.
Economy Snapshot
Chief Economist Eugenio Aleman takes us through the key indicators of our economy including Favorable – High employment rates, steady export growth, and a stronger U.S. Dollar – Neutral – The slowing (but steady ahead) housing market, consumer spending supported by job growth but weighed down by inflation, and a reduction in fiscal stimulus moderated by private sector growth – and Unfavorable – High inflation and oil prices, and an aggressive monetary policy that works to bring inflation down but also risks recession – factors which tell us how we should react to our current economic situation. Additionally, J Michael Gibbs outlines and weighs in upon the weight of specific S&P sectors we should be attending to.
Download and read the entire issue here for more information on each of these salient points.
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