Our Investment Views

2009 Q4 Market Letter

2009 Q4 Market Letter

Fourth Quarter 2009 – “Gold … Fair and Balanced” by Dean Dordevic

2009 Q3 Market Letter

2009 Q3 Market Letter

Third Quarter 2009 – “Synchronicity, Reflexivity, and Fiat Money” by Dean Dordevic, Ferguson Wellman and Umpqua Bank Form Strategic Alliance announcement.

2009 Q2 Market Letter

2009 Q2 Market Letter

Second Quarter 2009 – “What ‘Shape’ Are We In?” by Dean Dordevic, “Municipal Bonds Remain Secure Investments” by Deidra Krys-Rusoff, Milestone Anniversaries.

Outlook 2009

Outlook 2009

A year ago, we published our 2008 Outlook entitled “Stepping Back From Risk.” The somewhat cautious report listed potential capital market risks as a “significant housing recession, commodity inflation and the possibility of the banking crunch intensifying.” With those concerns in view, we recommended modestly reducing equities, increasing allocation to bonds and emphasizing quality in the selection of all debt and equity securities. However, never in our wildest imagination did we anticipate the severity of the economic storm that unfolded. Amid a virtual credit market meltdown, the U.S. led the world into a recession that decimated equity values across the globe, proving our forecast of mid-single digit equity returns wrong both directionally and by several orders of magnitude.

2009 Q1 Market Letter

2009 Q1 Market Letter

First Quarter 2009 – “Mustard Seeds, Minsky and ‘The Great De-cession’” by Dean Dordevic.

Outlook 2008

Outlook 2008

Though our expectations for a wide divergence between the returns of the primary asset classes proved to be correct last year, in 2008 we anticipate that the return differentials between asset classes will be materially compressed. Specifically, with both long rates and the dollar perhaps probing for a bottom, slowing global growth, and the domestic economy flying at “stall speed,” we anticipate that large-cap domestic equities, international equities and investment grade bonds will perform much as they did last year. That is, we expect volatility to remain at elevated levels, but with a generalized upside bias. In that context, we are forecasting mid-single-digit returns for the year.

2007 Q3 Market Letter

2007 Q3 Market Letter

Third Quarter 2007 – “Boom and Gloom” by Dean Dordevic, Professional Profile on Don Rainer.

2007 Q2 Market Letter

2007 Q2 Market Letter

Second Quarter 2007 – “Booming Asia and the Other Middle East: An Investor’s Perspective” by Jim Rudd, Investing Internationally by Ralph Cole.

2006 Q3 Market Letter

2006 Q3 Market Letter

Third Quarter 2006 – Twin Peaks” by Dean Dordevic, Professional Profile of Mary Miller (Faulkner).

2006 Q2 Market Letter

2006 Q2 Market Letter

Second Quarter 2006 – “Cool Hand Luke” by Dean Dordevic, Professional Profile of Helena Lankton.

2006 Q1 Market Letter

2006 Q1 Market Letter

First Quarter 2006 – “The Great Depression” by Dean Dordevic, “Insights” insert titled “Do Bond Investors Really Benefit from Active Portfolio Management?,” Market Outlook.

2005 Q4 Market Letter

2005 Q4 Market Letter

Fourth Quarter 2005 – “The Cash Buffet” by Dean Dordevic, Market Outlook, 30th Firm Anniversary write-up.

2005 Q3 Market Letter

2005 Q3 Market Letter

Third Quarter 2005

2005 Q2 Market Letter

2005 Q2 Market Letter

Second Quarter 2005 – “Toyoda” by Dean Dordevic, “Insights” insert titled “The Hedgefund Phenomenon,” Market Outlook.