Salient to Investors: Average daily price moves for the S&P 500 have seen the steepest decline since the 1930s – the last time the annual average was this low was 1995, when the S&P 500 rose 34 percent and doubled in the next four years. Going back to 1928 shows stocks gain
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hedge funds et al reduced net-long positions across 18 US futures and options last week, the largest decline since November 13, as signs of improving US growth reduced demand for gold and rains in South America added to signs that crop harvests will be bigger. Bets on higher gold prices
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: As high-yield ETFs suffer unprecedented withdrawals, the combined value of the 5 biggest fell 7 percent in January. Peter Tchir at TF Market Advisors said a pullback 3 times bigger than for mutual funds suggests hedge funds et al are cherry picking rather than investing in the broader market. Tchir said
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: 20 analysts expect gold prices to fall next week, 11 to rise, 3 neutral – the highest proportion of bears since Dec. 30, 2011. Gold is below its 200-day moving average, indicating more declines may follow. Gold fell in March in 6 of the last 9 years. Hedge
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The assets of Michael Steinhardt’s WisdomTree Investments’ Japan Hedged Equity Fund have tripled since the start of 2013. The rapid growth of the fund highlights investors’ embrace of ETFs as vehicles for short-term trades in a way traditional mutual funds, with their higher fees and trading restrictions, haven’t been used. IndexUniverse
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Beth McHugh at Fidelity Investments said average balances in 401(k) accounts in the US rose 12 percent from a year earlier to a record high of $77,300 at year-end 2012 – 2/3 of the increase from market appreciation, the remainder from contributions. ICI says Americans held $3.5 trillion in 401(k) accounts as of Sept.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The MSCI World Index dividend yield of 2.7 percent compares with the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Corporate Index bond yield of 2.6 percent and the Barclays Global High-Yield Index yield of 6.1 percent -the gap with the junk-bond index is the narrowest since at least 1995. Jacob de Tusch-Lec at
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: 4,500 private equity firms manage $3 trillion in assets. Preqin said as many as 708 firms face deadlines through 2015 to replenish their funds for future deals to avoid reduced fee income when the investment periods on older funds run out, typically after 5 years. Preqin said many venture capital
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Vanguard attracted a record $24.3 billion from clients in January, mostly into stocks, and more than 40 percent greater than the previous monthly record in January 2012. ICI said US mutual fund inflows are on track for the biggest month on record for deposits in January. IndexUniverse said ETFs attracted
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Bill Gross at Pimco said: The increase in unemployment in January gives bond yields room to decline. Central bank stimulus has made bond markets bubbly. Avoid longer-maturity governments because of the inflation risk from quantitative easing et al. As long as check writing in the trillions continues, it’s a foundation for
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