Hittin’ the Road

May 27, 2019

  Despite increased tensions with Iran and the start of the summer driving season, crude oil had its steepest decline since the late December lows, down 6.6% for the week. The equity markets also extended their recent decline with most averages adding to multi-week declines. As a follow-up to last week’s comments on the American …

NovaPoint Capital Named Top Guns Bull and Bear Master by Informa Financial Intelligence

May 17, 2019

NovaPoint Capital has been awarded a PSN Top Guns distinction by Informa Financial Intelligence’s PSN manager database, North America’s longest running database of investment managers. NovaPoint was honored with the Bull Bear Master designation for its Large Cap Dividend Growth Strategy for the three-year period ending March 31, 2019. “We are very pleased to have …

Trade Worries Dominate Headlines

May 13, 2019

  U.S.-China Trade dominated the headlines last week. As trade talks stalled, the U.S. increased the previously announced tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 25%. The U.S. is also investigating options for tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese-made goods not currently under tariffs. The Chinese Vice Premier spent last week in the …

Fed Stays on Hold

May 6, 2019

  The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) held short-term interest rates steady this week. As mentioned in last week’s Commentary, the Fed’s mandate is to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. The Fed’s current inflation target is 2% and inflation is currently below that level. This past Friday’s Employment …

Positive GDP Surprise

April 29, 2019

  The advance report on First Quarter U.S. Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) was reported at +3.2%. This was an upside surprise to the 2% widely anticipated by most economists. Part of the surprise was in net trade (exports versus imports) which was refreshing to see given the concern over the U.S.—China trade standoff. Personal consumption …

More Earnings on the Way

April 15, 2019

  The S&P 500 Index had a muted week but then generated some excitement on Friday with earnings from banks such as JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, an energy sector merger announcement with Chevron and Anadarko Petroleum, and Disney’s announcement of its direct-to-consumer media service. The S&P 500 Index closed the week +0.5% higher. The …

Calm Before the Earnings Storm

April 8, 2019

  The S&P 500 Index added to an impressive first quarter return by posting a 2.1% return in the first week of 2019’s second quarter. Economic and trade optimism buoyed equity markets. Later this week, the first quarter earnings season kicks off with major banks J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and PNC announcing their quarterly …

NovaPoint Capital named Large Cap Manager of the Year by Emerging Manager Monthly

April 5, 2019

NovaPoint Capital has been named Large Cap Manager of the Year for the 13th Annual Emerging Manager Awards by Emerging Manager Monthly. The award recognizes the NovaPoint Dividend Growth Strategy as the top strategy in the Large Cap Equity category based on outstanding performance and growth. “The recognition of winning the Manager of the Year …