Tag: Rates

Review of 2018 Investment Themes

Review of 2018 Investment Themes

2018 was an uneven year for our market predictions.   We were right on six calls and wrong on four calls.  While we were right about the general market direction, a few of our sector specific calls were off the mark.

  1. Slow But Steady Rate Rise: We expect the Fed to maintain the normalization plan and continue tightening rates in 2018 with the Fed Funds rate ending the year in the 2%-2.5% rangeThe Fed started 2018 with a target interest rate of 1.25%-1.50%, raised rates four times by 0.25% to finish the year with a target rate of 2.25%-2.50%.  This was precisely in the range we expected.
  2. Year of the Donkey: We expect the mid-year election of 2018 to mark a sharp reversal for Republicans, who currently control all three branches of federal governmentThe 2018 midterm elections resulted in a sharp rebuke to the Republican agenda.  Democrats won the House popular vote by a whopping 8.6% and had a net gain of 40 House seats, taking back control of the House of Representatives.  They also had a net gain of seven governorships and six state legislative chambers.
  3. The Bull Runs Out of Steam: We expect 2018 to be a difficult year for equities markets given the extremely high levels attained over the past two yearsAfter a fast start in January, 2018 turned into a down year globally for stocks.  In the US, large caps fared best as the S&P 500 index finished the year at -4.38%.  Mid caps were hit harder as the S&P MidCap 400 index returned -11.08%.  Small Cap value stocks brought up the rear in the US as the S&P 600 Value index returned -12.64%.  International stocks lagged the US as the FTSE All World (Ex-US) index returned -14.13%.
  4. Rise of the Machines: As we did in 2017, we expect AI/Automation stocks to outperform consumer discretionary stocks.  While we strongly believe Artificial Intelligence and Automation companies will be integral to the global economy in years to come, 2018 saw stocks in this sector hit a speed bump as investors sold off more speculative technology names.  The Global Robotics and Automation index finished the year at -20.92% while the S&P Global Consumer Discretionary index returned -6.24%.
  5. International Beats Domestic: We expect international stocks, especially European markets, to outperform the US in 2018.  We were flat out wrong on this call.  International stocks fared worse than US stocks in 2018, with European stocks performing particularly poorly.  The S&P 500 index posted a return of -4.38%,  the FTSE All World (Ex-US) index returned -14.13% while the MSCI EMU index returned -16.90%.
  6. Bitcoin Bust: Bitcoin prices themselves are in a speculative bubble which we expect will reset in 2018. Bitcoin’s meteroic rise in 2017 saw a sharp reversal in 2018 as speculators fled en masse.  Bitcoin opened 2018 at $13,444.88 per coin, but finished the year at $3,880.15 per coin, a drop of 73.70%.
  7. Renewables Redux:  2017 saw renewable energy YieldCos outperform conventional fossil-fuel based electric utilities.  We expect this trend to continue through 2018.  While we strongly believe in the long term prospects of renewable power, YieldCo stocks trailed conventional utilities for a variety of reasons: energy prices fell (because of higher up-front costs, YieldCos tend to be more attractive when energy prices are high) and a flight to safety from investors (conventional utilities are a popular safe haven in times of market volatility).  The INDXX Global YieldCo index finished the year -4.98% while the S&P Global 1200 Utilities Sector index was up 1.69%.
  8. Organics Go Mainstream: We think organic food stocks will outperform conventional food stocks this year.  2018 was a tough year for packaged food stocks across the board.  That said, organic companies performed notably worse than conventional food companies.  The MSCI World Food Products index returned -12.99% while the Solactive Organic Food index returned -26.61%.
  9. New Dawn of Space Race: 2018 will see a number of commercial space ventures mark milestones, including manned-flight into low-earth orbit and potentially a lunar orbital space tourism mission.   2018 saw several space related milestones. The highest profile was a successful test launch for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, which placed a car in a helio-centric orbit that takes it past Mars. Virgin Galactic completed testing a craft designed for sub-orbital space tourism flights. The most interesting project is the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission. Hayabusa2 successfully rendezvoused with the asteroid Ryugu and placed multiple rovers on the surface. The spacecraft will return a sample from the asteroid to Earth. This mission provides a viable template for future space based mining endeavors. These technological advances will take a decade or more to reach industrial scale, but once they do we believe they will significantly alter the nature of the mining industry.
  10. Net Neutrality Fallout:  Telecommunications firms have risen in the past month as a result of this ruling, but we believe the medium and longer term prognosis is less rosy, with the prospect of new entrants and even more consumer dissatisfaction.  2018 did see a backlash against the major telecom companies and the net neutrality ruling certainly didn’t help to reverse the cord-cutting trend.  Telecoms underperformed the broader market in 2018 as the S&P 500 Telecom Services Index returned -7.20% while the S&P 500 index returned -4.38%.
2018 Q1 letter: Why the roller-coaster market is back.

2018 Q1 letter: Why the roller-coaster market is back.

As we noted in our 2017 year-end review, we expect 2018 to be a tough year for the domestic stock market. Rising interest rates and valuation concerns are going to be the major story for investors this year. Stock market valuations remain elevated, with the S&P 500 currently priced at 24 times last year’s earnings. This is far higher than the post-war average of 17 times earnings.

The primary justification for high P/E ratios is the extremely low interest rate environment we’ve experienced in this century. For much of the 80s and 90s, interest rates remained above 5% (see chart below). In contrast, since April 2001, US interest rates have kept well below 5%, apart from 13 months spread between 2006-07.

This unusually low interest-rate environment has support stock prices throughout the 21st century. Low interest rates spur higher stock prices for a variety of reasons:

  • Income oriented investors are driven to the stock market since bonds and bank deposits offer very little return.

  • Future corporate earnings are valued more highly since the discount rate is lower.

  • Consumers and companies take advantage of low interest rates to finance projects and purchases cheaply. This spurs sales.

  • Leverage becomes cheap for speculators, amplifying the amount of money invested the market.

When rates begin to rise, all these supportive factors are reversed, acting as a head-wind for stocks. The Fed has signaled that it intends to continue raising interest rates since unemployment is low and the overall health of the economy remains strong. In our view, rate hikes are the crucial factor driving the recent stock market drops, and we believe this volatility will continue.

There’s no denying the market has been more volatile since January. Over the past three years, the S&P 500 has seen 20 days when it was down more than 2%. Seven of those days have occurred in 2018 (and we’re only in early April). As of this writing, the S&P 500 is now 10% below the peak reached on January 26th. Technology stocks, which had seemed relatively immune to the downturn have also begun to sell-off. Over the long-term, we continue to believe technology will become a larger part of consumer’s lives and our economy. However, just as with every industry, business models can change and seemingly unassailable companies can falter. The current, sky-high valuations for many technology companies leave little room for error.

In our view, conditions remain challenging for the stock market, and investors should adopt or maintain defensive positions. This can be accomplished in multiple ways: holding short-term and floating rate bonds, reducing overall allocations to stocks and shifting into more stable stock-market sectors (such as consumer staples).

As we do on a continuing basis, we have been evaluating client allocations and adjusting investments as warranted. Please let us know if you have questions about your portfolio or holdings.

PS. If there is a friend or relative you believe would benefit from a conversation with us, as always, we would appreciate the introduction.

Regards,

 

 

Subir Grewal, CFA, CFP Louis Berger

2017 Q1 letter: Renewable energy in the Trump era

2017 Q1 letter: Renewable energy in the Trump era

Dear Friends,

The first quarter of 2017 was full of eventful news for markets. We saw a Fed rate hike, record low unemployment rates, all time highs for US equity markets and a new administration sworn in, with Republicans now in full control of Congress. In our view, this likely marks an inflection point for the current business cycle and market levels.

Since the election, we have received several queries from our socially responsible investors about the fate of environmental and climate change regulation under the Trump administration. We understand and share many of their concerns. We hasten to add, however, that infrastructure spending and projects are usually undertaken with long time frames in mind. Enterprises making decisions about what kind of power plants to build will consider the costs over a long term. They are well aware that the current administration and its policies are not set in stone.

We do not expect a raft of coal plants to be built over the next four years — in fact, 2017 has seen an acceleration of the closure of several legacy coal plants. Large plants typically take 3-5 years to build and operators have to factor in the possibility that they will face a changed regulatory environment just as the plants come online. Natural gas prices are likely to play a much larger role in determining what resource mix generates our electricity. The cost of utility scale renewable solar power continues to fall, and though it is not yet competitive with cheap gas, it is not far off either. The IEA estimated the average capital costs of photovoltaic solar plants under construction to be 35-45% higher than natural gas plants per unit of energy produced. An array of tax credits make solar competitive with gas. though the precise economics are driven by regional factors and weather. Wind and hydroelectric power are already competitive with natural gas.

At the risk of appearing sanguine, we think that technological advances, consumer preferences, and the economics of scale have brought us to the point where renewable energy will be competitive with conventional electricity generation going forward. Installed renewable capacity will continue to increase, with or without incentives. If fuel costs move higher, renewables will be become very attractive.

In our view, purchasing certain sectors based on the administration’s stated policy preferences is unlikely to lead to consistent gains. Our reasoning is based on the Trump administration’s penchant for changing direction at the drop of a hat, and secondly on the opposition to various aspects of their policy agenda from either side of the aisle in Congress. In the medium and long-term, valuations and the business cycle will determine investor success. Neither looks particularly fortuitous at the moment for risk assets (equities, or long-term/lower-quality bonds). We continue to recommend a defensive shift for clients based on these factors.

Regards,

Subir Grewal, CFA, CFP Louis Berger