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In 2017, Anywhere Investors Threw Money It Multiplied

TedTed
in Fund Discussions
FYI: Investors weren't challenged to make money in 2017. It was almost impossible to lose it.

The trading year that ended Friday was remarkable for the breadth of positive returns. Nearly every major category of investments — including U.S. stocks and bonds, foreign stocks and bonds, real estate and gold — finished the year in the black.

That would be unusual on its own, but was more so because it happened in a year when the Federal Reserve was pushing short-term interest rates up. Rising rates can be poisonous for investments across the board. But not in 2017.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-markets-wrap-up-20171230-htmlstory.html

Comments

  • hank
    edited December 2017
    Be fruitful and multiply?

    Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

    Genesis 1 - http://biblehub.com/nlt/genesis/1.htm
    -

    To the blurb @Ted quotes - Interest rates inched higher during the second half of ‘17 - especially at the short end. Reading the current issue of Barron’s there’s some discussion (somewhere) to the point that the Treasury will need to borrow a lot more in ‘18 and that that may pressure rates higher on the long end.

    Last spring there was a hypothetical post regarding where to invest $100,000 for 6 months. I took the bait and mentioned how I’d recently invested $10,000 in a short/intermediate muni fund, expecting to cash out in November. Actually, that money’s still invested but will be needed soon. I’ll share the results of that experiment after cashing out. Suffice it to say the investment is slightly under water, as the short end got rocked.
  • MarkMark
    "FYI: Investors weren't challenged to make money in 2017. It was almost impossible to lose it."

    Nevertheless, HSGFX persisted in keeping their losing streak alive. What is that like 8-9 years running now? Rockstar!
  • willmatt72
    I was just looking at the Hussman website for more information. The 10-year average annual return for HSGFX: -6.77 %
  • hank
    edited January 2018
    I just checked BEARX for comparison. Somewhat worse than HSGFX - down about 15% yearly for 5 years. There’s a lesson here. Damn tough trying to call the markets.

    Best lesson for me was buying 1 K’s worth of gold coins in the late 70s during all the hype. And than adding to that as the metal slowly declined from $800 to $400-$500 over the next decade. Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly go any lower it would fall again. Cost me a bit, but one of the best investing lessons I ever had.

    I don’t see that experience as limited to gold. Any market can blindside & confound you. They can absolutely defy every ounce of logic you possess.
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