Still Consolidating…
Despite the fact that stocks have had a good week, with the S&P 500 up a little more than 1.5%, we still view the market as being in the midst of a consolidation period, as Rick recently wrote.
Apple Island
The NASDAQ 100 is dominated by Apple. At 18% of the index, the Apple earnings report last night had a huge effect on the chart. From the end of March through yesterday, the index fell from 2795 to 2625, driven largely by a 14% drop in Apple. But after the massive earnings number reported last…
The Good and Bad News About Global Diversification
Pinnacle managed accounts are globally diversified. Most investors readily acknowledge that diversification is a benefit in its own right, since it tends to reduce portfolio volatility and helps investors avoid large investment mistakes. Global diversification offers more of the same: By owning stocks in different countries, you presumably get to invest in equities that have…
Looking Ahead to the Second Quarter
Recently the Pinnacle investment team met to discuss the state of the world, the views of the independent analysts we follow, our market expectations, and what it all means to the asset allocation of Pinnacle portfolios. As always, it was a lively discussion that swung between business cycle dynamics, technical condition of markets, valuation, and…
The Importance of Investment Performance Transparency
On Friday, Pinnacle Advisory Group completed an extensive, independent verification of our GIPS presentation for the period of November 1, 2002 through December 31, 2011. This confirms that our firm presents performance in full compliance with the GIPS standards. In the investment world, that’s big news.
In Your Best Interest
Registered Investment Advisors like Pinnacle Advisory Group are held by law to a fiduciary standard. That means that we’re bound to act at all times in our clients’ best interests, even if those interests should clash with our own. In doing so, we have a legal obligation to disclose to our clients exactly how we’re…
Earnings Season Gets Underway…
Second quarter earnings season officially kicks off today, as companies report on their performance during the first quarter of 2012. Dow component Alcoa, an aluminum company, reports shortly after the market close. Earnings have been incredibly strong for the past few years coming out of the last recession, and have been one of the main…
The Return of the Euro Crisis
Some volatility has crept back into the markets in the past few days, largely driven by negative news flow out of Spain (the latest country to come under pressure as a result of the European debt crisis). This probably didn’t come as a surprise to most professional investors, but it might have to Europe’s esteemed…
7 Reasons Why Professional Investors Are Coming to Pinnacle
A good 99% of Pinnacle’s assets under management come from our private wealth management business. However, we think this percentage is going to decline over time as a new kind of client is discovering Pinnacle Advisory Group. Institutional investors, including professional financial advisors who want to outsource their money management business, along with platform providers…
Getting Ready for a Consolidation
What a ride this year has been in the markets. Volatility has been sucked out like water through an unplugged drain, any bad news has been quickly absorbed and discarded, and equities keep gliding to the upside. During this Bull Run, the market has climbed an enormous wall of worry, and has found a way…
