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- Hurricane preparation Florida style. (Source Bruce R. Bennett/Palm Beach Post)
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Hurricanes and me
Hurricane David. Remember him? Deadly. Cat 5. Hit West Palm Beach, Fl. as a Cat 2. Year: 1979.
David was my first. Very scary for someone from Minnesota who knew nothing about hurricanes. Today, barely anyone remembers his name. But ask me and I’ll tell you that you always remember your first.
Back then the preparation drill was to masking tape your windows, head to the liquor store and hit Kentucky Fried Chicken for supplies and nourishment.
Today, it’s make sure you’ve got water, food and have enough meds for me and the dog.
For everyone likely to experience any hurricane, including Florida’s approaching Hurricane Irma, take care, stay calm and know, as with everything else in the universe, this too shall pass.
Some hurricane trivia: While September has historically been a not-so-hot one for the stock market, it’s been a rip-roaring one for hurricanes.
According to NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division, from 1851 through 2015 within the United States there have been a total of 107 hurricanes during the month of September. That’s makes it the #1 month for U.S. hurricanes. Second in line is August with a total of 78 followed by October with 54.
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Market Quick Glance
One downer of a week for all four of the indices below in both year-to-date and 1-yr performance returns.
It would be great if there were one of those great big sponge fingers that you could hold up and use to point to a specific incident that caused equities to close lower but the political climate has been as unpredictable and goofy as the weather. So no help there.
Bottom line: Who knows what next week will bring.
Below are the weekly and 1-year index performance results— including the dates each reached new highs— according to data from CNBC.com. Data is based on prices at the close of business for the week ending on Friday, Sept 8, 2017.
-DJIA +10.30 YTD down from last week’s 11.26%.
- 1 yr Rtn +17.95% down from last week’s 19.37%
The DJIA reached its most recent all-time high on August 8, 2017 of 22,179.11
(Most recent highs include: August 4, 2017 of 22,092.81; 21,841.18 on July 28, 2017; July 14, 2017 of 21,681.53; July 3,2017 of 21,562.75; 21,535.03 on June 20, 2017; 21,391.97 reached on June 14, 2017; 21,305.35 on June 9, 2017; 21,225.04 on June 2, 2017; and 21,169.11 on March 1, 2017.)
-S&P 500 +9.94 % YTD down from last week’s 10.62%.
- 1yr Rtn +12.84% down from last week’s +14.08%
The S&P 500 reached its most recent all-time high on August 8, 2017 of 2,490.87.
(Previous high of 2,484.04 was reached on July 27, 2017 and 2,477.62 was reached on July 20, 2017. Prior to that date new highs and dates include: 2,463.54 on July 14, 2017; 2453.82 on June 19,2017; 2,446.2 reached on June 9, 2017; 2,440.23 reached on June 2, 2017; 2,418.71 reached on May 25, 2017; 2,405.77 reached on May 16, 2017; 2403.87 on May 9, 2017; 2,400.98 reached on March 1, 2017.)
-NASDAQ +18.15% YTD down from last week’s +18.55%.
- 1yr Rtn +23.11% down from last week’s 23.11%
The Nasdaq reached its most recent all-time high of 6,460.84 on July 27, 2017.
(Previous highs include: July 20, 2017 of 6,398.26; 6,341.7 on June 9, 2017; 6,308.76 on June 2; 6,217.34 reached on May 25; 6,170,16 on May 16; 6,133 on May 9, 2017; 6102.72 on May 2, 2017; 6074.04 on April 28, 2017; and 5,936.39 on April 5, 2017.)
-Russell 2000 +4.16% YTD down from from last week’s +4.16%.
- 1yr Rtn +11.21% down from last week’s +14.02%
The Russell 2000 reached its latest all-time high on July 25, 2017 of 1,452.09.
(Previous highs include: 1,452.05 on July 21, 2017; 1,433.789 on June 9, 2017; 1,425.7 reached on April 26, 2017 and of 1,414,82 reached on March 1, 2017.)
-Mutual funds
The year-to-date cumulative total reinvested returns for U.S. Diversified Equity Funds closed at 8.60% on Thursday, September 7, 2017. That’s down from the previous week’s figure of 9.04%.
Sector Equity Funds have seen some top performances as Global Science/Technology Funds were up on average 32.01%. They were followed by Science & Technology Funds, up 26.90% and Commodities Base Metals Funds, up 23.85%.
Those performance figures make it a tight race for rewards when compared to World Equity Funds. Funds under that broad heading continue to climb and ended last week at 21.20%–that’s ahead of their previous week’s Thursday close of 20.41%.
Visit www.allaboutfunds.com for more information about how various equity and fixed-income funds have rewarded investors over the short-and long-term, based upon Lipper data. Short-term meaning weekly and monthly performance returns; longer-term includes quarterly, year-to-date, 1-yr, 2-yr, 3-yr and 5-yr returns.
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ETFs
People love their ETFs with one group especially taking to them.
Charles Schwab & Co’s lastest ETF Investor Study revealed that investors on average have 27% of their portfolio invested in ETFs—that’s up from 16% in 2012.
As for who is buying, it’s the Millennials with 56% saying it’s their go-to investment. For Boomers, on the other hand, it’s 30%.
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allaboutfundsdotcom 