What the market took away in the last two weeks of January it gave back in February. Despite latest economic reports expecting weak future growth the S&P 500 returned 4.57% in February negating January’s 3.46% decline. In foreign stock markets, the overall tone was positive. The MSCI EAFE index returned 5.56%.The MSCI Emerging Market index returned 3.19%.

Global stock markets ended January with sharp losses. On January 15, the S&P 500 stock index posted a new all-time high. However, concerns about the global economy and U.S. company earnings coupled with turmoil in emerging markets drove the S&P 500 index down 3.5%; this was its worst monthly performance in the past two years. The European and Japanese stock markets each fell 3.9%. The Emerging markets fell 6.6%. Although emerging markets may continue their downward momentum in the short run, they remain an important component in a properly diversified portfolio. In the long run, emerging markets are likely to grow faster than developed markets.

The amazing performance of US stocks in 2013 was a welcome surprise for investors who are following a simple buy-and-hold strategy and a source of exasperation for many professionals caught flatfooted by the steady rise in share prices.

As Thanksgiving came and went, Wall Street put taper concerns aside. The S&P 500 climbed another 2.8% bringing YTD total returns on the index to 29.12%, the best performance since 1997.

With debt default averted for now and the government reopened, the S&P 500 continued its winning ways in October. The broad market index rose 4.46% for the month, bringing YTD returns to 25.3%. S&P Mid Cap stocks gained 3.64%, finishing up 26.34% YTD.  S&P Small Cap stocks rose 3.54%, driving their YTD returns to 32.04%.

Since the early days of security analysis, research has emphasized the potential benefit of buying stocks at a price that is reasonable to the fundamentals. The oldest benchmark for valuation is the dividend yield. Stocks that trade at a high dividend yield are often referred to as value stocks. Stocks that trade at a low dividend yield are often referred to as growth stocks. Value and growth investing have given rise to dramatically different records of long-term performance. A large body of evidence suggests that there has been a higher long term-term return both domestically and internationally from investing in value stocks.

Professor Fama was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his groundbreaking work on asset pricing and markets. His research inspired the rising popularity for index tracking funds and provides the intellectual foundation for investment strategy at Cardiff Park Advisors.

Global stock markets posted broad gains for September closing out a profitable quarter. The MSCI All World Index returned 5.17% for September and 7.9% for the latest three months. Further, every major developed and developing market gained for the quarter except for Indonesia. Through the end of September, YTD returns for the All World index totaled 14.43%.

Five years ago, the demise of Lehman Brothers shook global financial markets. This marked the start of a dreadful six month period for investors. Returns on the S&P 500 plummeted 52%, the MSCI Int’l Developed Market Index (EAFE) gave back 53% and the MSCI Emerging Market Index lost 47%.

Financial Analyst John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group, estimated in an upcoming paper that the total costs paid by investors in actively managed US funds is 2.25%. Those costs include portfolio turnover expenses, sales loads, operating expenses and advisory fees. Passively managed index funds, on the other hand, are now available at fees at and around five basis points for institutions and 20 basis points or less for individuals.