Inflation: Transitory or Purgatory? – Fort Pitt Capital Group Quarterly Commentary

  While most major equity indices finished the quarter in negative territory, the S&P 500 Index eked out a 0.6% gain, just good enough for its sixth consecutive positive quarter. The path of least resistance remained higher for the better part of the third quarter, driven by a continued focus on easy financial conditions, accommodative monetary policy,[...] Continue reading

2nd Quarter 2021 Newsletter from Fort Pitt Capital Group

As Good as it Gets Market Update Equities posted another quarter of strong returns with the S&P 500 Index advancing by 8.6% and recording its fifth straight quarterly gain. Bullish sentiment was driven by the central bank liquidity tailwind, fiscal stimulus, continued vaccine progress, reopening momentum, and a strong corporate profit backdrop. While equity[...] Continue reading

Quarterly Newsletter 1st Quarter 2021

Rotation   by Daniel Eye  Market Update Equity markets got off to a strong start in 2021, rising for a fourth straight quarter. The S&P 500 Index advanced by 6.2% while posting multiple new all-time highs along the way. The market remained very positive on reopening progress and improving high-frequency economic data amid an accelerating COVID vaccination[...] Continue reading

Quarterly Newsletter 4th Quarter 2020

     Melt Up   by Daniel Eye  Market Update U.S. and global equities advanced by double-digits in the fourth-quarter, posting their third-straight quarter of gains since the deep declines in February and March. Positive vaccine developments played an outsized role in setting the tone of the markets. Market optimism was also underpinned by a[...] Continue reading

The Asteroid & the Portfolio Manager

Fidelity Investments has finally done it. The large Boston-based fund manager recently cut the management fees on two of their index-oriented stock mutual funds to zero—nada—NOTHING. Their arch rival Vanguard Group pioneered cheap, index-based investing in 1974. Forty-four years later, after decades of competitive innovation, fee-cutting and marketing hocus between[...] Continue reading