Is It Worthwhile?
One may ask “Is putting up with the market’s 14% decline from September 20 through December 31 worthwhile?”1 Is the anxiety, stress and worry sufficiently rewarded, adequately compensated? If the measuring period is only 1-3 years, the reward will often not be worthwhile. But if the measurement period is appropriate – a period of 5-10 years – the financial reward will usually be worthwhile.
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How Does Willis Investment Counsel Respond to Volatility?
If our clients could be the proverbial "fly on the wall", would they be surprised or comforted by how we respond to, deal with, market volatility - especially days when the market is down 2-3%?
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What if "Animal Spirits" Kick in?
If the animal spirits John Maynard Keynes wrote about eighty years ago kicks in, corporate America’s balance sheet is in sufficiently good shape to provide a demand-side stimulus to the U.S. economy. The psychology of confidence-driven-risk-taking (animal spirits) can be powerful, especially when corporations have the capacity to invest.
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Targeted Rate of Return and Asset Allocation in a Low Return World
The purpose of this memo is risk management in a possible continued low interest rate world. Risk management requires us to think about a realistic rate of return target in conjunction with current economic and market conditions, current valuation levels, and the level of interest rates.
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