WrapManager's Wealth Management Blog

Richard Hirayama, portfolio manager for Wentworth Hauser’s International Equity portfolio, shares his thoughts on the events during the second quarter of 2012 and what he expects for the coming months. "In conclusion, central banks of the United States, Eurozone, United Kingdom, Japan and China are faced with two ugly options: 1) not to continue with aggressive conventional and unconventional monetary easing policies, and risk potentially higher short to intermediate-term unemployment rates which might lead to social dissatisfaction/instability and national leadership/regime changes or 2) continue with aggressive conventional and unconventional monetary easing policies, and risk potentially higher long-term inflation rates." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Wentworth, Hauser & Violich [+] Read More

The on-going debate around President Obama’s health care plan will surely continue for some time as it is slowly implemented over several years. And with this implementation come a number of taxes that are scheduled begin at certain points down the road. We thought we’d share an info-graphic that displays these taxes, when they are scheduled to kick in and how much expected revenue will be generated for each one. Click here to see this comprehensive chart. Be sure to check out our August newsletter “2013 Tax Changes - Actions to Consider” where we review several questions to consider given the upcoming potential tax changes in 2013. You can also speak with one of our Wealth Strategists now at (800) 541-7774 to discuss your portfolio and review your holdings. Source: Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office [+] Read More

Louis Navellier takes a look at the market distractions, productivity in the US and the rise in commodities. "Don't look now, but the S&P 500 rose each day last week and each of the last five weeks. However, I see a mixed market in individual stocks. Some winners are consolidating, while many beaten-down stocks are firming up. Stocks exhibiting the most relative strength are primarily the high-dividend stocks and those providing higher sales guidance, but as the second-quarter earnings announcement season draws to a close, we could see a sideways market on low volume while traders take their late-August hiatus." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Navellier & Associates, Inc. [+] Read More

Lazard Asset Management provides their review of Europe over the last quarter and what they expect moving forward. "Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti recently claimed there was one week to save the euro. While this may be an exaggeration, we feel it neatly sums up the tensions just below the surface as Europe's existential crisis enters a new phase. Much is changing across the continent, but a number of factors in particular are worth watching, including further action by Europe's political elites and the European Central Bank (ECB), movements in the 10-year government bond yields of Spain and Italy, and company results for the second quarter. Significant movements in any of these areas could indicate a substantial shift in the outlook for Europe, in our view." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Lazard Asset Management [+] Read More

Michael Mullane of Tradewinds Global Investors examines how risk and risk managed investing is viewed in today's ever-changing world. "A healthy approach to investing requires a balanced, realistic assessment of risk. Value is rarely found in neat packages free of any uncertainties, but leverage in a single speculative position can quickly backfire, and negative perceptions "everyone" holds may be obscuring great prospects. A sophisticated investor must be willing to look past conventional wisdom, spending time and thought in a multi-dimensional assessment of possible outcomes to synthesize an appropriate level of conviction toward given opportunities. At Tradewinds, we try to evaluate investments from a fresh perspective, going beyond groupthink to appraise truly important driving factors. This thoughtful analysis of value and certainty flows to our choice of investments, our weightings in those investments and our decisions about how to combine investments." Read more about risk managed investing by downloading the full report. [+] Read More

Avatar Investment Management's July commentary draws parallels between this year and the last two years. A review of their portfolios is also included. "For the third year in a row, the statistics on the performance of the economy for the first half are showing a marked deceleration in activity. If form holds, the economy should catch its footing in the second half, as it did in the last two years. While it is often said that the stock market looks far ahead, that does not always mean that it overlooks what is more directly ahead. In other words, confidence about the second half of the year has to be constantly earned over shorter periods of time. What may be different in the last few years is the fear that just looking up across the valley might cause one to miss a steep crevice below. To the extent that the global economy is still working off the incredible amount of excess debt that had been built up going into 2007, it is understandable that not only would economic growth expectations be limited, but the fear of a fatal stumble would remain part of the investment psyche." Click here to read Avatar’s full commentary. Get Free Research Reports about Avatar Associates [+] Read More

Good Harbor Financial reviews their U.S. Tactical Core strategy during the second quarter of 2012 and takes a look at the impact that inflation has on bonds. "June data present a mixed outlook for stocks. Equity momentum improved across the month, particularly for the small cap index. However bond momentum remained relatively steady, registering a slight decrease for the month but maintaining a positive level. The VIX spot index decreased significantly in June, falling nearly 30% to end the month at 17.1. The futures complex reflected similar sentiment with the near term contracts falling 20%-25%. Credit spreads widened slightly while on the economic front, the U.S. economic output level and growth rate decreased. On the yield curve side, rates increased across the board as did our slope measures." Click here to read the full Good Harbor Commentary. Get Free Research Reports about Good Harbor Financial [+] Read More

Louis Navellier takes a look at dividend paying stocks and how low interest rates are driving them up. "Stocks declined steadily over the first four days of last week, mostly due to lackluster second-quarter earnings reports and growing fears of the impending "fiscal cliff." But on Friday, JPMorgan Chase reported unexpectedly high earnings of $5 billion, despite a $5.8 billion trading loss in May. On that news, the Dow shot up 204 points and the S&P 500 eked out a small (0.16%) weekly gain." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Navellier & Associates, Inc. [+] Read More

This week's commentary from Navellier & Associates focuses on the latest jobs report and commodity prices. "Despite sizzling temperatures and Fourth of July fireworks, the stock market cooled down after Friday's payroll report put investors in a bad mood. But most bad news has a silver lining: (1) The world economy is slowing down, but that means lower oil prices and (2) Companies aren't hiring as fast, but their higher productivity could boost earnings. For the week, the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 fell 0.84% and 0.55%, respectively, but the Russell 2000 rose 1.08%, and NASDAQ eked out a 0.08% gain." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Navellier & Associates, Inc. [+] Read More