October 2012 Market Recap

October Recap

Despite data showing that U.S. manufacturing continued to expand pushing GDP growth higher than expected, reducing unemployment, it was concern over the impending “fiscal cliff” which weighed on U.S. markets in October and since the November election.

The fiscal cliff is the combination of the expiration of Bush era tax cuts and a slew of massive spending cuts that are slated to take effect in the New Year. Unless a compromise is reached, many economists expect that the impact of this will be an increased tax burden of about $3,500 per family. This will have devastating consequences for the U.S. economy, likely pushing it back into recession.

With Barrack Obama winning a second term in the White House, the Democrats controlling the Senate and the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives, many fear that the political gridlock which crippled the president’s first term is likely to continue. Given the ideological differences between the two parties coupled with their unwillingness to compromise, hope for a solution by year end is becoming increasingly unlikely.

Read more…

October Fund Ranking Report

Each month, we analyze more than 1200 mutual funds, pooled funds, and hedge funds putting them through our proprietary quantitative valuation model. We then prepare our Monthly Fund Ranking Report which rates and ranks each of the funds in our universe.

You can download our October 31, 2012 Investment Fund Ranking Report here.

October Socially Responsible Investing Report 

With environmental and human rights concerns becoming more important to people, interest in the Socially Responsible Investing segment has never been stronger. In an effort to help keep investors and advisors informed on the SRI funds available, we have created our monthly Socially Responsible Investing Fund Report, which will be published on a monthly basis.

You can download the October 31, 2012 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.

October WRAP Funds Report 

Fund of Fund or WRAP funds have consistently led the mutual funds sales stats in the past few years. Investor and advisor interest in the products are at an all time high, given the unprecedented levels of market volatility and uncertainty that is prevalent in the markets today. To help you zero in on the best WRAP funds available, we have created our new Monthly WRAP Funds Report that will be published on a monthly basis. If there is a WRAP fund that you would like to see added to this report, please contact us and we will add it for our next edition.

You can download the October 31, 2012 WRAP Fund Report here

October Portfolio Review 

Despite the markets being largely mixed in the month, our portfolios were again all marginally positive. Strong relative performance from our global fixed income and U.S. equity exposure were offset by disappointing relative returns from our domestic fixed income, Canadian equity and healthcare holdings. We believe that the portfolio’s conservative positioning will be a benefit for the remainder of the year. The risk reward metrics for the portfolios remain within expected ranges.

You can download our detailed Portfolio Review here.