The more interesting thing to me is this commentary by Bill Gross a very famous investor often called “the bond king.”  If I was to simplify which is a better company to own stock in McDonalds which has clear annual profits or Amazon which has no clear annual profits but has incredible revenue.  What factors are driving the market?  Is it fundamentals or a “Finance Based” where stock prices are heavily influenced by the Fed, Momentum, Revenues and not profits, etc.  The reason I really liked his notes is he would typically be considered an investor heavily influenced by fundamentals and he is pointing out that isn’t 100% reality anymore.  A huge amount of growth in the stock market is by disruptors with very weak or non-existent traditional fundamentals. 

Fundamentally Speaking – Bill Gross (williamhgross.com)

‘Bond King’ Bill Gross Warns Investors to Be Careful in a Risky Market (businessinsider.com)

If you notice how I construct most retirement plans I try and blend both sides of this equation where I choose Growth and balance it with Value, I use asset allocation models and multiple investment managers and theories.  The goal is to play both sides of this equation and not lose outright if things change.  I am ok with a more average return for retirees or soon to be retirees in exchange for more potential consistency.  For non-retirees or those who want more risk this may not be the best strategy because inherently the more you diversify the more you tend to get a more average return over the long term.  Thus, we tend to focus on non-fundamental investing for those groups to align with more recent trends.  There of course aren’t guarantees on any of this but I think this gives good insight into how I behave as a Financial Planner and why I do things the way I do in your plans.  This does have a downside, when I diversify both sides of this equation, one side is typically a bigger winner thus at any time I am lagging that one side because I have the other side in the overall mix. 

For the year upcoming year if you want to get a sense of what might happen look at those interest rates the Fed manages much like Bill Gross alludes to above which has an interplay with inflation.  But also consider China and how it is affecting the market as its slowdown has been persistent to date.  AI is attempting to become the new disruptor and it is rare for a company to not be talking about how AI can potentially improve workflows at this point. 

As I like to do I like to share recipes I find fun over the last quarter and this time it is the, “Tourtiere,” a French Canadian meat pie you serve family style around the Holidays.  It blends the spices you might find in Holiday sweet pies with a more savory meat and potato filling. 

Tourtière (French Canadian Meat Pie) Recipe (allrecipes.com)