Welcome to August all! I’d say stay cool, but that doesn’t seem like a thing that’s going to happen…
After a nice July, where we saw most markets climb (see below) for the first time in a significant way since April, August greeted the markets with a big meh (but with lots of interesting data).
August, at least in US markets, started with a bit of a fizzle. US markets ended the day between flat and -.2%, which though being unremarkable feels pretty sane coming off the year we have had so far.
Interesting and impactful data
On the data side, the US saw the largest slow down in housing price increases since at least the 70’s.
A cooling market may not be the worst thing in the end. Mortgage expenses on the west coast were tracking at 35%+ of income as of May, and prices only increased from there. It is hard to take away any concrete economic hints from the data that came out today given how crazy real-estate has been since the pandemic started.
At the same time that housing prices slow their meteoric price increases, US construction spending dropped across the board in an unexpected decrease, but still remains higher than the same time last year. Again, I’m not sure this is a huge data item, but certainly something to watch if the trend continues.
Of more note, the US ISM index dropped somewhat from June, but bettered the expectations of analysts. Drops in orders could be foreboding, as already high levels of inventory in the supply chain continue to grow. Economically this points to decreasing demand for products, and in turn implies a decline in spending / increased worry about future finances. But, from the consumer side..
Off to Europe
Across the pond economic data is a bit worse. Today we saw manufacturing data releases from the bulk of Europe and the numbers were… not the best. European economies are seeing a definitive downturn in manufacturing activity, with the bulk of countries reporting the lowest level in 20+ months. European markets and economies have lagged the US in a huge way over the last decade.
There are a lot of factors outside the control of European corporations that have driven this differential growth. There are a lot of reasons to believe in the future of Europe on the investment side, but recent issues have made the short term case less appealing.
Odds and ends
Cathy Wood has a good month!
Second COVID boosters are less likely to make you sick!
Watch Yo-Yo Ma perform with forest birds as backup!
Mike has been in the wealth management industry for 10 years, beginning his career at BNY Mellon’s Silicon Valley office. There, he learned the intricacies of wealth management and discovered his passion for helping families achieve their financial goals. He later became a Portfolio Manager at an ultra-high net worth RIA in Boston, where he honed his skills in developing custom investment strategies for clients. Inspired by Savvy’s mission to bring a tech-focused energy to the wealth management industry, Mike joined the firm in July 2022 to drive the launch and continued evolution of their advisory capabilities. At Savvy, Mike has played a key role in developing, launching, and managing the in-house investment solution, Savvy Wealth Investment Management (“SWIM”). He also leads Savvy’s Client Experience Team, partnering closely with associates and advisors and aimed at producing best-in-class services for their clients. Mike is a graduate of Northeastern University and holds his Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation. He resides in New York with his wife, Alex, and their golden retriever, Bondi.
David Gao is an investment professional at Savvy with deep expertise in portfolio management and trading strategies. He graduated with honors from the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, earning dual degrees in Finance and Economics. Before joining Savvy Wealth, David led trading operations exceeding $1 billion at Campbell Wealth Management, where he also designed and implemented an options covered call strategy. At United Capital Family Office, he played a key role in portfolio allocation, leveraging proprietary algorithms and advanced risk management techniques. He began his career at Goldman Sachs, where he built a strong foundation in investment research and analytics.
Contact a Savvy advisorAugust 2022 Global Markets Recap
Welcome to August all! I’d say stay cool, but that doesn’t seem like a thing that’s going to happen…
After a nice July, where we saw most markets climb (see below) for the first time in a significant way since April, August greeted the markets with a big meh (but with lots of interesting data).
August, at least in US markets, started with a bit of a fizzle. US markets ended the day between flat and -.2%, which though being unremarkable feels pretty sane coming off the year we have had so far.
Interesting and impactful data
On the data side, the US saw the largest slow down in housing price increases since at least the 70’s.
A cooling market may not be the worst thing in the end. Mortgage expenses on the west coast were tracking at 35%+ of income as of May, and prices only increased from there. It is hard to take away any concrete economic hints from the data that came out today given how crazy real-estate has been since the pandemic started.
At the same time that housing prices slow their meteoric price increases, US construction spending dropped across the board in an unexpected decrease, but still remains higher than the same time last year. Again, I’m not sure this is a huge data item, but certainly something to watch if the trend continues.
Of more note, the US ISM index dropped somewhat from June, but bettered the expectations of analysts. Drops in orders could be foreboding, as already high levels of inventory in the supply chain continue to grow. Economically this points to decreasing demand for products, and in turn implies a decline in spending / increased worry about future finances. But, from the consumer side..
Off to Europe
Across the pond economic data is a bit worse. Today we saw manufacturing data releases from the bulk of Europe and the numbers were… not the best. European economies are seeing a definitive downturn in manufacturing activity, with the bulk of countries reporting the lowest level in 20+ months. European markets and economies have lagged the US in a huge way over the last decade.
There are a lot of factors outside the control of European corporations that have driven this differential growth. There are a lot of reasons to believe in the future of Europe on the investment side, but recent issues have made the short term case less appealing.
Odds and ends
Cathy Wood has a good month!
Second COVID boosters are less likely to make you sick!
Watch Yo-Yo Ma perform with forest birds as backup!
Meet
Michael McCarthy
Mike has been in the wealth management industry for 10 years, beginning his career at BNY Mellon’s Silicon Valley office. There, he learned the intricacies of wealth management and discovered his passion for helping families achieve their financial goals. He later became a Portfolio Manager at an ultra-high net worth RIA in Boston, where he honed his skills in developing custom investment strategies for clients. Inspired by Savvy’s mission to bring a tech-focused energy to the wealth management industry, Mike joined the firm in July 2022 to drive the launch and continued evolution of their advisory capabilities. At Savvy, Mike has played a key role in developing, launching, and managing the in-house investment solution, Savvy Wealth Investment Management (“SWIM”). He also leads Savvy’s Client Experience Team, partnering closely with associates and advisors and aimed at producing best-in-class services for their clients. Mike is a graduate of Northeastern University and holds his Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation. He resides in New York with his wife, Alex, and their golden retriever, Bondi.
