<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what were managers most worried about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time since April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was not the most pressing concern for professional money managers. That spot was filled by inflation. Ninety-three percent of those surveyed expect inflation to rise during the next 12 months, reported Nicholas Jasinski of Barron\u2019s, and that could affect stock prices. Jasinski reported:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026higher bond yields mean higher borrowing costs, which could hinder the recovery and weigh on corporate earnings. Plus, a higher discount rate produces a lower present value for assets like stocks. And, when Treasuries produce enough yield, there\u2019s greater competition for stocks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discount rate is the Fed\u2019s rate for lending to other banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One place to look for signs of inflation is bond yields. Recently, yields on U.S. Treasury bonds have been moving higher despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to keep them down, reported Lisa Beilfuss of Barron\u2019s. It\u2019s possible the bond market is pushing yields up because bond investors see inflation ahead. The AP\u2019s Stan Choe and Alex Veiga explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInflation means future payments from bonds won\u2019t buy as much \u2013 because the price of a banana or a bouquet of flowers will be higher than it is today. So, when inflation expectations rise, bonds are less desirable, and their prices fall. That pushes up their yield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major U.S. stock indices finished last week lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The one-year numbers in the scorecard are noteworthy. They reflect the strong recovery of U.S. stocks from last year\u2019s coronavirus downturn to the present day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n COVID-19 has disrupted just about every aspect of people\u2019s lives \u2013 work, home, family, friends, and health \u2013 in every country of the world. Knowing this, it seems logical people would be less happy in 2020 than they had been in previous years. However, the findings of The World Happiness Report tell a different and more complex story. The authors explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany strands of data have been pieced together to produce a picture of almost astonishing resilience\u2026Although there were significant increases in average sadness and worry, we found that overall life evaluations, and happiness rankings, were surprising stable. The top countries before the pandemic remained the top countries in 2020, so there is little change in the overall rankings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the world as a whole, it appears negative changes in some variables, such as emotions and unemployment, were offset by positive changes in other variables, such as trust and generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The remarkable stability of happiness may also reflect the fact some of population groups are not normally included in surveys \u2013 people who are homeless, in nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, and refugee camps \u2013 were also some those hit hardest by the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was another notable aspect of the study. Young people were significantly less happy in 2020 than they have been in previous years. The Economist explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[In Britain], and in other rich countries, the age profile of happiness before the pandemic struck was roughly U-shaped when plotted on a graph. People began their adult lives in a cheerful state. They became glummer in middle age. Then, after about the age of 50, they started to become happier again\u2026Today the pattern is an upward slope. The young are less satisfied than the middle-aged, who are less satisfied than the old.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, which countries were happiest in 2020? The top 10 included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Finland <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Investment advisory services offered through Keystone Financial Services, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. These views are those of Carson Coaching, and not the presenting Representative, the Representative\u2019s Broker\/Dealer, or Registered Investment Advisor, and should not be construed as investment advice. This newsletter was prepared by Carson Coaching. Carson Coaching is not affiliated with the named firm or broker\/dealer.Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value. However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index. All indexes referenced are unmanaged. The volatility of indexes could be materially different from that of a client\u2019s portfolio. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment. You cannot invest directly in an index. The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index. The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market. Gold represents the 3:00 p.m. (London time) gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association and is expressed in U.S. Dollars per fine troy ounce. The source for gold data is Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/GOLDPMGBD228NLBM. The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998. The DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as \u201cThe Dow,\u201d is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of The Wall Street Journal. The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system. International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets. Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods. The risk of loss in trading commodities and futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage is often obtainable in commodity trading and can work against you as well as for you. The use of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance. Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete. There is no guarantee a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk. Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss. Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision. Please contact our office if you would like a list of sources used in creating this content.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What are professional asset managers thinking? Bank of America recently published the results of its March global asset managers\u2019 survey, which polls 220 professional investors responsible for about $630 billion in assets, reported Julia La Roche of Yahoo! Finance. Many of those surveyed were optimistic about 2021. During the next 12 months: 91 percent of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4374,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"post_statement":"","post_description":"","post_cta":"","post_button":"Read More","post_button_url":"","compliance_id":"","post_disclaimer":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oi_article\/4372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oi_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oi_article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oi_article\/4372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screen-Shot-2021-03-22-at-1.01.16-PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe World Happiness Report is Out \u2013 And it Was Surprising<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Iceland
3. Denmark
4. Switzerland
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. Germany
8. Norway
9. New Zealand
10. Austria<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—Marcel Proust, French novelist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n