The news changes so quickly that anything written seems to be almost obsolete before the send button can be pushed. However, the 50,000 foot view remains relevant. As my colleague Bob Bilkie wrote in a portion of yesterday’s Sigma blog: it’s at times like these that we have to remain clearheaded and look beyond the current financial despair… The key is to not get caught up in the hysteria and panic.
Our Investment Committee continues to meet frequently to assess both strategy and tactics as the landscape changes almost hour by hour if not minute by minute. Given the uncertain markets and the rapidly changing environment, we are not rebalancing portfolios back to full equity weights for those portfolios that have a combination of equity and bonds. As our clients know well, we believe trying to time markets is not a sound long term strategy—particularly in times of extreme uncertainty. That said, given the heightened volatility, we are looking to exploit opportunities that may present themselves, as well as to upgrade to quality names that may have proven to be too expensive in the past. Importantly we are also assessing how the landscape may change with regard to goods and services that will be demanded by the public as we move beyond the current situation.
As always, please do not hesitate to e-mail or call your advisor to discuss these issues further.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.
Denise M. Farkas, CFA