Despite a mid-month surge, as September drew to a close, the S&P 500 erased all of its earlier gains ending down 1.4%. The S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures index gained 11%. The S&P Mid Cap 400 and the S&P SmallCap 600 both declined by a significantly wider margin (-5%).

 

The S&P 500 index returned 4.00% in August and ended the month eclipsing the 2000 point milestone for the first time. Strong August gains brought YTD returns on the index to 9.89%. August was also a good month for small cap stocks. The S&P Small Cap 600, which lost 5.5% in July, recovered 4.3% in August landing the small cap index back into positive territory YTD.

The stock market ended July with the sharpest decline in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index since April. After hitting an all-time high during the month, the S&P 500 ended down 1.38%. Not surprisingly, the S&P 500 Volatility Index surged 13%. On a positive note YTD returns on the S&P 500 index remain a healthy 5.66%.

Equity markets posted positive performance for the quarter, led by emerging markets. This was the first quarterly period in which emerging markets outperformed developed markets since the third quarter of 2012. REITs both in the US and in developed non-US markets outperformed equities. Large cap indices outperformed small cap indices in the developed and emerging markets, including the US. In general, value outperformed growth indices, though performance was mixed within size ranges and regions.

To our surprise and delight we received this news late last week: Congratulations! Cardiff Park Advisors has been named to the inaugural 2014 Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers. In a field of outstanding financial professionals, the FT 300 should be considered a list of truly exceptional advisor firms.

Click here for the full report. 

Following a mid-month slump, the S&P 500 finished May with a 2.35% return. Across the Atlantic, the MSCI European Equity Index returned 0.89%. As far as the MSCI Pacific Rim Index, it returned 3.22%.  Momentum returned to the developing markets with the MSCI Emerging Market Equity Index jumping a healthy 3.49%. This was a good month for global equity investors.

April proved to be a choppy month for global equities. Nonetheless, overall the markets delivered fair gains as long as investors were diversified. The MSCI World Index returned 1.02%. U.S. Large Caps, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, returned 0.47%. International developed equities, as measured by the MSCI EAFE, returned 1.53%. The MSCI European Equity Index advanced 2.49%, while its Pacific Rim counterpart regretfully lost 0.71%. As for the MSCI Emerging Market Equity Index, total returns were a shy 0.33%.

Human beings love to imagine connections between events where none really exist. For financial journalists, this is a virtual job requirement. For investors, it can be a disaster.

You may have  read about a security breech to some SSL encrypted websites. The potential security threat is called Heartbleed (CVE-2014-0160).  

Client.CardiffPark.com is on a windows platform that makes use of a Trust Wave SSL Certificate.

Despite choppy global stock markets the S&P 500 Index headed back to record levels at the end of March returning 0.85% for the month. Outside the U.S., the MSCI European stock market Index fell 1.02%, the MSCI Japanese stock market Index lost 1.15%, while the MSCI Emerging stock market Index gained 3.07%. YTD, the European Index returned 2.1%, the U.S. Index returned 1.81%, the Japanese Index lost 5.47% and the Emerging Market Index declined 0.43%.