The Holly Jolly of a Post-Election Rally: December Market Commentary

‘Tis the season to be jolly, especially as we have watched the markets rally in this post-election atmosphere.

In this month’s market commentary I talk about sector-by-sector performance in that post-election rally. I also talk about the value of patience in the markets and how not chasing what is “popular”, i.e. dividend centric stocks recently, can help your portfolio’s performance. Finally, I talk about December and how it often performs historically.

I hope you enjoy as you click through and review recent market events.

What we’re reading:

Some of the Wisest Words Ever Spoken About Investing. This is a fantastic article written by Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal. My favorite line of the article is “Evaluating yourself honestly is at least as important as evaluating your investments accurately. If you don’t force yourself to learn your limits as an investor, then it doesn’t matter how much you learn about the markets: Your emotions will be your undoing.” For more wisdom, click here.

Charlie Munger’s Value Investing Principles Checklist. We don’t need to say any more than this. We love Mr. Munger’s checklist, his style and his blunt way of saying what needs to be said. This checklist is a must for any investor.

Tweet of the Week. Back in January RBS came out with a stance on the market of “sell everything.” This tweet from Charlie Bilello shows the returns that have occurred since that, well, current fatal call. You will often hear pundits or even respectable firms come out with comments like this. The key is having a plan and being disciplined to stick with it!