Featured

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer https://soundcloud.com/fmacceleration/wall-of-worry?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing As we count the worries on investors’ minds, we can understand the move to reduce risk. Top of the list of worries: A war, worse, a war zone that includes nuclear power plants, in Europe. Next, The decoupling of the Russian and

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer https://soundcloud.com/fmacceleration/war-vs-inflation?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Fixed income markets absorbed a lot of information this week, Inflation, Fed participant speeches and a war in Europe. Of the three Inflation concerns won out. The yield on the 10 year US Treasury started the week at 1.931% and as of this

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer https://soundcloud.com/fmacceleration/genoa-what-happens-when-rates-go-up?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing As we foreshadowed in our earlier updates, the January CPI report was going to be high, and it did not disappoint. The market reaction was swift, with the yields rising across the board. When some Fed governors used speaking opportunities to push to

The municipal bond market today is dominated by institutions, large insurance companies and banks are an important part of the municipal bond market. Tax-free municipal bond funds and ETFs have become a much larger percentage of the municipal market over the years. Wealthy investors who previously were sold individual bonds for their portfolios are now becoming more accustomed to purchasing funds and ETFs for their municipal fixed income needs. In addition to the funds, separate account managers like Genoa Asset Management are now playing a greater role in the municipal bond market.

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer Headlines of the Week “Life is so Uncertain” – Lyle Lovett “Hear I Am” Turning points in the market produce plenty of uncertainty and with it volatility. Let’s review, a few months ago the Fed was keeping rates low, buying bonds, and not

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer Headlines of the Week The Federal Reserve Some Fed meetings are more important than others. The Fed meets next week and it promises to be an interesting meeting. With inflation readings the highest in decades, a confirmed chair, empty seats filled (or soon to

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer Headlines of the Week US Bureau of Statistics - CPI “When demand exceeds supply, the price must go up!” Or so my Microeconomics 101 professor used to say. Let’s look at our current inflation situation through that lens. Spring 2020: Pandemic hits, we

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer Sector Review With the Fed tapering and entering a new phase of the rate cycle, we anticipate increased volatility in the markets. With volatility comes opportunity to pick up bonds at good prices and improve our portfolios. We continue to like municipal bonds, improving

All in all, 2021 was a reasonable year. While the bond indices didn't show much strength, our hard work paid off and we had a good year. As we look into 2022, we expect another challenging year, but we are prepared for it. We are positioning our portfolios to take

Written by Peter Baden, CFA, Chief Investment Officer Headlines of the Week US Bureau of Statistics - CPI Retiring “Transitory”… Google "Define: Transitory" you get a quick definition: “not permanent”. Fed Chairman Powell stated this is what they meant by “Transitory”. However, scroll down a bit and Merriam-Webster definition is: “of brief