Inflation Is Rising – Should I Be Worried?

Inflation Is Rising – Should I Be Worried?

by | Nov 2, 2021 | Merriman's Take, Paresh Kamdar, Psychology of Investing, Wealth Preservation

Inflation is rising—should I be worried? What can I do to protect my wealth against inflation if it continues rising?

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—the generally accepted measure of inflation—increased by 5.3% for the 12 months ending in August 2021. Prices for all items less (the more volatile) food and energy rose 4.0% over the last 12 months ending in August. This is a much larger increase in inflation than we’ve seen in over a decade. In the decade earlier, the annual increase in the CPI has remained lower than 2%. In fact, for many of those years, it was even below 1.5%.

With inflation on the rise, many clients are asking what we are doing to protect their assets against this increase in the cost of everything.

A colleague of mine recently shared a chart that I found very telling:

Chart produced by Craig L. Israelsen, Ph.D. 
www.7TwelvePortfolio.com

This data shows that investing in stocks has provided a solid defense against inflation—whether we were in a rising interest rate environment or a declining interest rate environment.

The data suggests that in higher inflation periods, small cap stocks have been particularly valuable.

The economy is a very complex organism with so many different variables that will be affected if indeed inflation continues to grow, yet one foundational reason that stocks are a good defense against inflation is that companies pass on the higher cost of materials and goods to consumers. As consumers, this does mean we pay higher prices for things; and as investors, it means that we grow our portfolios, earning a premium above the inflation rate.

Our research team is monitoring the current trajectory of inflation.  Your portfolio at Merriman is already prepared for the potential of continued rising inflation. We “tilt” our portfolios towards small cap stocks. Other ways your portfolio is protected against inflation include using REIT’s and inflation protected bonds (where appropriate), keeping our bonds “short” and “Intermediate” in duration – which also helps in keeping, what we feel, is the right level of defense against stock market drops.  We use cash flow modeling to explore what it may look like if inflation was to remain high for each of our clients.

You have worked with your advisor here to determine right mix of stocks for your situation.  We believe keeping the right mix of “offense” and “defense” has been and continues to be the best way to balance the constant and changing risks posed to your investment portfolio. If you aren’t sure if you have the right balance for your situation or wish to understand how higher inflation can affect you specifically, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance.

 

 

All opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes and constitute the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of the report. These opinions are subject to change without notice and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. The material has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source.  Merriman does not provide tax or legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as such. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. As always please remember investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital and past performance does not guarantee future returns; please seek advice from a licensed professional. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Merriman and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. No advice may be rendered by Merriman unless a client service agreement is in place.

 

What is The Best Strategy for My Investments During These Unpredictable Times?

What is The Best Strategy for My Investments During These Unpredictable Times?

by | Jul 16, 2020 | Advisors, Investing 101, News, Paresh Kamdar, Wealth Preservation

 

In the weeks following news of the corona virus outbreak, the S&P 500 lost over one third (34%) of its value (between February 19th and March 23rd).

Unemployment figures continue to get worse, yet the S&P 500 has rallied 42.91% from the March 23rd low (through July 14th).

Markets and the economy seem to have decoupled—should we be worried? Have we seen this before? Let’s look at past major market declines to see how markets and economic measures have acted in the past.

In the 1973–74 market crash, the S&P 500 bottomed on October 3rd, 1974, and started to rally forward while unemployment continued to increase until May 1st, 1975, seven months later.

In the aftermath of the tech bubble bursting in the early 2000s, the S&P 500 bottomed on October 9th, 2002, after dropping 49%; and it began a swift rise while unemployment rates also continued to increase for nine months until June 2003.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis just over a decade ago, the S&P 500 bottomed on March 9th, 2009, after losing over 56% of its value. The markets began a lasting bull market while the news and data grew worse. Unemployment continued to increase through October 2009 (eight months later), GDP continued to decline through June 2009, and bankruptcies of banks continued at record rate throughout 2009 and into 2010. Again, the stock market seemed to have “decoupled” from economic data.

The stock market is considered a “leading economic indicator.” The news and measurements of the economy determine what has happened while the market looks forward to what may be coming.

There is precedence for what is happening with markets rebounding before we see the elusive “light at the end of the tunnel.” History shows that markets have typically rebounded ahead of economic measurements.

So, what is next?

The events that have unfolded in 2020 emphasize how unpredictable the future is and will continue to be. While many knew that the possibility of a global pandemic existed, we had no idea when it would strike, causing the 34% drop in February and March while fear took control of the markets. Further, economic measurements did not signal when markets would begin a recovery. Once again, there was no “light at the end of the tunnel” to signal the 43% market surge from March 23rd through July 14th.

We may not yet be through the worst of this pandemic. Markets may drop again, possibly even further than they did in March. Perhaps the roll out of the vaccine will change things more quickly than previously expected. Maybe the market will continue to grow from here.

The future is fundamentally unpredictable, and the world is always changing; yet the very real effects of fear and greed that each of these cycles elicits is predictable and consistent. We know that fear and greed create chemical reactions in our brains that lead to poor decision making. We need a disciplined framework to lean on to keep from making decisions we later regret.

The best strategy for capturing the highest risk-adjusted returns remains keeping your money invested in a massively diversified portfolio, rebalancing when your allocation deviates from its target. This will have you take advantage of market swings.

At Merriman, our rebalancing sensitivities were triggered in March and April for many portfolios. This generally had us buying stock funds after the big decline with proceeds we pulled from bond funds after they had rallied in response to the fear of current events. Going further back, rebalancing had us trimming from stock funds throughout the more than decade-long bull market that started with the recovery from the financial crisis of 2008 to add to our bond funds, preventing greed from taking those profits back.

Rebalancing has us buying asset classes at low prices when fear can make it difficult, then selling asset classes after they have grown to higher prices when greed can have us wanting more.

Rebalancing is a disciplined framework that helps us with the number one goal of investing: Buy Low, Sell High.

Feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to discuss how to apply rebalancing to your specific situation!

 

Important Disclosure:
Past performance is not indicative of future results. No investor should assume that future performance of the S&P 500 will be similar or equal to previous years/periods.   The S&P 500 is a market capitalization-weighted index of 500 widely held stocks often used as a proxy for the U.S stock market.  S&P 500 performance data was obtained from Yahoo Finance. 

Book review: “Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think”

by | Apr 3, 2013 | Paresh Kamdar, Psychology of Investing

As the S&P 500 reaches new highs, it is interesting to think about the volume of bad news we have faced over the bull market of the past 4 years. We were subjected to what seemed to be an epidemic of economic challenges, from the fear that Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) would lead to runaway inflation, to the debt ceiling debate and the “fiscal cliff” we were sure to tumble over at the beginning of the year. There was news of more global concerns over the world, with new challenges faced in feeding and providing fresh water for the ever growing global population, which now exceeds 7 billion people. There have been many headline stories building a case for a grim outlook of the future. It seems to me that the good news is usually more subtle and harder to find.

I recently picked up a copy of  “Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think.” The authors, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, make a case for optimism. They present a neurological reason for why we are more sensitive to bad news than we are at recognizing opportunity. Fear has served the human race well in many ways for many years; it activates our limbic system, which manages our “fight or flight” circuitry. Diamandis and Kotler then look at how we have solved problems of scarcity in the past, and examine amazing advances in science and engineering that are being made right now.

This book presents a different perspective than we are bombarded with in the daily news, and I think it’s worth reading. Diamandis and Kotler explore some very exciting new technologies that are making giant strides against some of the world’s biggest challenges, like scarcity in access to energy, clean water and good medical care.

“I’m not saying we don’t have our set of problems; we surely do. But ultimately, we knock them down” -Peter Diamandis.

Before finding the book, take a few minutes out of your day to listen to his inspirational and educational TED talk here.

Thinking ahead to your next move

by | Nov 7, 2012 | Paresh Kamdar, Psychology of Investing

From time to time, a piece of economic news will surface that leads people to question whether it is really a good time to be invested. The announcement of round 3 of quantitative easing (QE3) was one such news item that worried some of our clients (interestingly enough it added optimism to others), and it provided us at Merriman with a great opportunity to reiterate why we think making large changes to your investment portfolio based on economic news is a bad idea.

The evidence is overwhelming that markets are not predictable. If you had asked me for a reason to stay in the market in, say, 1999 or 2007 when economies looked extremely healthy, I could have given you a long list of reasons. But what followed each of those years was a sustained drop in stock prices. On the other hand, if you posed the same question in 2002 or at the end of 2008, there was hardly any good economic news to point to. And what followed? An incredible market rally that recouped market losses much faster than anyone expected. Selling and buying based on our read of the news has a high risk of whipsawing us in and out at the worst possible times.

There are always a host of positives and negatives weighing on the markets. It’s important to remember that economic news, and everyone’s expectations of its impact, is already factored into current market prices. We believe the academics’ argument that the sum of everyone’s expectations is far more accurate than the predictions of any one “guru.”

The risks of high levels of debt, uncertainty around upcoming tax changes (known as the “fiscal cliff”), and continued weakness in Europe may drive prices lower. While current trends, including a dramatically improving housing market and declining unemployment, may drive prices higher. We believe the best way to capture growth over time is to stay invested in a portfolio designed to satiate your appetite for growth while staying within your tolerance for risk, and rebalancing when your portfolio’s mix has materially changed.

If you feel like the risks have become overwhelming, there are some additional things you should consider before deciding to throw in the towel. You need to think ahead to your next move. What will you do after going to cash?

There is risk in not being invested in the markets: First and foremost, cash provides no defense against inflation. Your money may need to be defended against inflation for a long time, and cash does not provide a good defense. Beating inflation is one of the main reasons we advise people to stay invested through retirement.

If markets drop, when will you get back in? Each of the last two market rallies began well before any good news was to be found. Waiting for good news meant missing the bulk of the market gains. On the other hand, if there is a continued market rally after you sell – if markets grow faster than you expect – what will you do then? My experience is that it is very difficult for investors to get back in the market at higher prices; there tends to be a very real fear that the next challenge will cause a decline after having just missed an unexpected rise in values. We have found that over time, disciplined rebalancing has been a better way to buy lower and sell higher than “timing” based on your expectations of the future.

Our strategy is based on the academic philosophy that the future is unpredictable and our clients need to be able to stay the course through unexpected events and drops in the market in order to reap the benefits this strategy has to offer.

Simply being invested is not good enough; you have to be invested the right way. We feel that massive diversification with exposure to large and small companies in both U.S. and international markets, with a healthy allocation to bonds, is the best defense against a range of risks affecting your retirement portfolio.

If you’re ever feeling doubts about your investment strategy, I highly recommend speaking to your financial advisor right away. Rather than moving to cash, it may simply be time to re-evaluate your appetite for risk and returns. An adjustment to the percentage of your portfolio allocated to bonds may be enough to ease your mind.

In the meantime, here are some additional online resources you might find encouraging:

Young Americans: The Death of Equities May be Exaggerated

Liz Ann Sounders, Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab published a piece in August that presents both the challenges facing the economy and the positive forces that are at play.

Equities critical for investment returns, despite volatility

This piece from Marlena Lee’s presentation at the Institute of Advanced Financial Planners Annual Symposium in Vancouver presents research showing that even as the market continues to be volatile, history shows that equities are the best way for clients to earn the returns necessary to meet their goals.

It’s not what you know, it’s what you do

by | Apr 11, 2012 | Investing 101, Paresh Kamdar

Behavioral finance is a fascinating field to me. It’s the study of how our emotions and judgment can affect decision making with regard to investments. In the time I have spent advising people on their investments, I have witnessed the power fear and greed can have over logic and reason. The good news is that the more we understand where our intuitions and biases come from the better chance we have at making good investment decisions.

Studies continue to find that investors earn lower returns than the funds in which they invested. Dalbar, a market research firm, issued their 2011 report showing investors achieved a mere 41.9% of the S&P 500‘s performance over the twenty years ending December 31, 2010. In other words, investors managed to leave a staggering 58.1% on the table. What could possibly explain missing out on these returns? It is largely due to investor behavior.

The goal of investing is to buy low and sell high – that’s a given – but our emotions, intuitions, and bias frequently work against us. Most investors did not begin buying technology related stocks in the early 90’s when prices were still reasonable; the vast majority bought in the late 90’s at astronomical prices, just before the “tech bubble” burst. Similarly, it was incredibly difficult to keep many investors positive about the prospects of the future during the first quarter of 2009 – the market bottomed on March 20, 2009 from the “housing bubble”- just before the markets began a climb to double in less than 2 years.

I recently read a wonderful new book written by Larry Swedroe & RC Balban, called “Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make, And How To Avoid Them,” and I think it’s worth adding to your reading list.

I won’t re-write their book for you here, but Swedroe and Balban have done a great job of compiling a list of the most common mistakes and what you can do to avoid making them. This book will help you better understand why our investment strategies work, even though they can sometimes seem counterintuitive.

If you are not a client of ours and are considering hiring an advisor, this book may help you understand the mistakes a disciplined investment strategy can help you avoid.

By studying history and behavior, we can learn to avoid the same mistakes in the future. We can also understand why the disciplined investment decisions are sometimes the most uncomfortable. If we do our job well, you’ll be encouraged to stand by them anyway, knowing that discipline will pay off in the long-run.