by CHRISTINE R. QUILLIAN, CFA, CFP®   Finance 101 teaches us that higher interest rates (borrowing costs) should result in lower stock prices.  Loftier yields are viewed as a double headwind for stocks: first, higher financing costs hurt earnings by … Read More

by Ned Montag, CEO   Mark Twain has many great quotes. Among them is: “There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Twain knew that mathematically accurate numbers could give false impressions, either on their own or by a clever soul … Read More

by Chris Guinther – Senior Investment Strategist & Portfolio Manager   Let’s begin by noting the 2023 second quarter market numbers, as of the quarter’s close of June 30th.      An especially revealing statistic was the FANG+ index (Facebook, Apple, … Read More

by Olga Lee, CFA, Portfolio Manager The 2023 stock market started strong with most equity markets up as investors cheered that the end to the Fed tightening cycle was in sight. January and February were up across most indices.  However, … Read More

By Chris Guinther, Senior Investment Strategist & Portfolio Manager   Let’s begin by noting the 2023 first quarter’s market numbers, as of the quarter’s close of March 31st:     Equity Investors — A Focus on Earnings Growth The stock … Read More

by Randy Loving, CFA, MONTAG Portfolio Manager   Historically how the Fed impacts the banking industry The Federal Reserve started raising rates on March 17th of 2022.  Historically, there is a one-year lag between a change in monetary policy and … Read More

Date: March 14, 2023 From: MONTAG Staff MONTAG staff worked through the weekend to determine possible fallout and client impact from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (Ticker: SIVB). We want to share with clients and others what we consider … Read More

by: Benjamin Harris, CFA, Portfolio Manager   Last year, US stocks had their worst calendar year return since the Great Recession year of 2008 and the 7th worst year in the last 97 years. This follows 2021, when U.S. stocks … Read More

by: John Montag, President & Chief Investment Officer   When I joined the firm back in 1995, cash provided a 5% yield. Think about that for one moment: if you did nothing except let cash sit in your portfolio, you … Read More

by Ned Montag, CEO   The year 2022 was extremely difficult for investors, and all the major stock and bond market averages posted double-digit price declines.  In the case of stocks, almost all the name-brand averages were down about 20%.  … Read More