Market Volatility

Given the recent volatility in the markets I wanted to share a bulletin I received from Bruce Simon at City National Rochdale (CNR).  The article puts recent market action into context both relative to history as well as market fundamentals and investor psychology.  In the CNR commentary Simon explains that what makes the recent losses unusual, is the amount of time since we've last experienced this type of volatility.  Historically U.S. stock investors experience a 10% or greater drop on average every 12 months, but we haven't experienced that severe a drop since third quarter 2011.  So it feels unsettling, but this isn't an uncommon behavior of the markets.  The important thing is to not overreact to our emotions.  Just because things are down today doesn't mean they will never recover.  As Simon notes, U.S. stocks are pretty fairly valued while some international stocks appear undervalued.  Our planning is based on long term averages and we must do our best to not overreact to short term swings but rather remain as balanced as possible.  With that being said, we are continuing to monitor market movements and how these impact your portfolios.  I would be happy to discuss this with you at your convenience.