Smells like Jackson Hole
Smells like Jackson Hole
Just when the markets looked unstoppable, Thursday happens
I make a fair amount of guest appearances on investment industry podcasts. As a kid I dreamed of being a baseball announcer. I did a lot of college broadcasting, and so when I get a chance to talk “on air” live or recorded, it is truly enjoyable.
I like to refer to myself as a “D” list celebrity. That is, behind the A, B and C crowds. A podcast here, a video there, a citing of something I wrote here and there.
That’s why when I am involved in something like my most recent appearance with Rena Sherbill, the outstanding podcast director at Seeking Alpha, on their “Investing Experts” pod, and that episode smashes the popularity of all of my other appearances, I’d be remiss to mention it. You can check it out below.
I think the reason this one somehow went a bit “viral” is that I covered all 3 parts of the portfolio we offer here. We spent a few minutes on MacroTraxx and the CORE ETF strategies, then most of the 37-minute session on YARP™. Admittedly, dividend investors are naturally content-hungry (myself included) and since YARP is quite a different angle on investing in dividend stocks, that might have lifted a few eyebrows. Enjoy it, and if it prompts any questions, just send them to us in the chat or email us at info@sungardeninvestment.com.
Today’s markets were interesting, but not unexpected. The Nasdaq fell 1.6%, but if someone is shocked by that after a quick 14% runup since the 8/5 meltdown, they must be new to this investing stuff. Still, while some will blame lack of liquidity, summer slowness or other straw-grasping issues, it is pretty clear that we have yet another feature (or bug, if you ask me) of modern markets:
Powell speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at a big economic conference on Friday! And the market is nervous. It always is when he speaks.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell moves markets. In fact, he is at times the only thing that moves markets. That’s why the way I invest has evolved over the years. How?
More “renting” and less “owning” securities (shorter average holding period)
Raising the bar on my willingness to own individual stocks. I own plenty of them (nearly 40 in the YARP portfolio), but thanks to algorithms and indexation, today’s stock and bond markets move in “binary” fashion too often to not go beyond good old fashioned stock picking.
That said, as we’ll be reporting here soon, I’m navigating the squirrely, off-balanced nature of the current market in a way that makes me think that the YARP approach is something we should be talking more about. To our subscribers, of course - they get it all. But I am seeing patterns, trends, and changes in what the markets are rewarding that make me think that more folks will be interested in seeing what I see. Not just in all the chartwork I do, but in the methodology that is YARP.
Hey, maybe with some good fortune, I’ll be a C-list investment celebrity one day!
Gold had better make up its darn mind already!
A quick chart before I go for now. Gold has been behaving like it finally wants to break out, big time. But I feel like I’ve seen this act before. Like 389 times already! Gold is good at sprinting up and getting gold bugs excited. Kind of like Bitcoin now does, too. But as the chart shows, this thing is still rangebound, and that’s why I tend to have a high bar (pun intended) to do more than just swing trade it here and there.
We know that many of our followers on this site found us first at ETFYourself.com. So to make you aware, we made a pretty significant announcement over on that site today, so check it out if you like. Enjoy!