George Hosfield, CFA, discusses Ferguson Wellman's quarterly strategy titled, "Inflation's Flame Flickers," which addresses the narrow market leadership, the impact of higher interest rates on inflation and how assets are priced at this stage of the economic cycle.
George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the firm's quarterly strategy titled "Stalemate," which highlights the Fed's ongoing battle to tame inflation along with our views on the health of the banking industry and capital market expectations for the balance of the year.
Director and Chief Investment Officer George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the Fed raising interest rates, peaking inflation and our view on equities and volatility across all asset classes in our Investment Strategy titled, “Balancing Act.”
Read our fourth quarter 2022 Wealth Management Insights publication in which Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA® and Chris Bixby, CFP®, EA share their thoughts on tax and charitable planning and strategic Roth IRA conversions.
Read our Market Letter publication for the fourth quarter 2022 titled, Bad News Is Good News, in which George Hosfield, CFA, Peter Jones, CFA, and Joe Herrle, CFA, share our thoughts on inflation, interest rates, the energy sector and housing supply in the United States.
Although investors hoped the change of seasons would bring a change to the news headlines, in recent days global central banks managed to stay front and center as the Bank of England and Bank of Japan took swift action to provide stability within their respective currency and bond markets. Domestically, Federal Reserve officials were busy defending their “unconditional” stance on tackling inflation. Not surprisingly, capital markets remained under pressure as the prospects of higher-for-longer interest rates and slower economic growth were being digested.
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management was named to Barron’s 2022 Top 100 RIA Firms list this week. Ferguson Wellman was listed at 75 out of 100 in the U.S. and was the only advisory firm to be recognized from Oregon.
Our Octavia Group team lead, Kirstin Havnaer, shares insights on Ferguson Wellman’s private family office for clients.
Investors were expecting Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement of a .75% increase in short-term interest rates. However, they were unprepared for Fed Chairman Powell's hawkish press conference afterward, resulting in a decline in both the stock and bond markets.
Scott Christianson, CFP®, discusses the complexities of Social Security benefits and what our clients should understand before they file.
The hotter-than-expected August Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released this week was a shock to financial markets, as other recent measures had suggested a moderation of inflationary pressures. While there is clear evidence that energy and gasoline costs have declined since earlier this summer, broad-based increases observed in major categories like food (14% of CPI) and shelter (32% of CPI) reinforce that significant and upward price momentum remains intact.
With second quarter earnings season complete, a relatively quiet week of company specific news was supplanted by central bank action in the European Union and Canada, with both raising their short-term interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point. The European Central Bank (ECB) has now lifted rates off the zero bound, to 0.75%, but is behind both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada in the amount of tightening already implemented.
One of the most surprising economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the changes in the employment market. As highlighted in the chart below, the number of job openings in this country is twice as large as the number of unemployed people. This highly unusual situation defies a simple explanation. [DH1] What happened? Where have the workers gone?
Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA®, discusses the basics of Medicare and how it fits into retirement planning.
The major event in the capital markets this week took place Friday morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Every year, Federal Reserve Bank leadership meets for a conference to discuss current and future policy. Ahead of today’s meeting, some investors had been optimistic that Powell would soften his stance on the pace of tightening.
This year has been anything but straightforward for investors, and the most recent Fed minutes are prolonging this state of confusion. While we have seen some reduced inflation pressure in the last several weeks, the Fed minutes point out that “risks to inflation were weighted to the upside,” citing factors such as further supply chain disruptions, continued geopolitical turmoil and persistent real wage growth. For investors, the focus continues to surround the pace of Fed rate hikes for the remainder of the year.
Charissa Anderson, CFP®, CDFA®, explains the various aspects of Social Security spousal benefits and how it fits into retirement planning.
The last time I wrote the blog was April 14 and inflation data was the topic du jour. Serendipitously, the July inflation announcement was the major market event this week. So, to keep me honest, let us revisit some items from the April post.
It’s always a strange time in the market when good economic data is treated as bad news. As investors, we can’t help but feel good about the jobs report today, even if it means the Fed will keep aggressively raising short-term interest rates in the coming months.
Principal and Head of Fixed Income, Brad Houle, CFA, discusses the math at work in fixed income investing and the relationship between bonds and interest rates.
Krystal Daibes Higgins, CFA, appeared on KOIN News Wallet Wednesday on July 27, 2022, and discussed the recent Fed Hike, inflation and gas prices.
The recent intensity of economic and earnings data matched the temperatures outside this week. In absolute terms, inflation remains too hot and while there is some evidence of moderation, the Federal Reserve doubled down on its commitment to return inflation to its 2.0% long-term target, suggesting further interest rate hikes through the end of this year.
Ferguson Wellman presents its mid-year investment outlook in partnership with the Portland and Puget Sound Business Journals. Originally aired July 13, 2022.
