Finance Information from around the globe.
Personal Finance - Financial planning generally involves analyzing an individual's or a family's current financial position, and formulating strategies for future needs within financial constraints. Personal finance is a very personal activity that depends largely on one's earnings, living requirements, goals and individual desires.
Q2 2020
Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s evidence-based investing portfolios are strategically invested
with a focus on long-term performance objectives. Portfolio allocations and investments are not
adjusted in response to market news or economic events; however, we evaluate and report on
market and economic conditions to provide our investors with perspective and to put portfolio
performance in proper context.
Global stock markets rebounded during the second quarter and pared losses from the
previous quarter. This positive performance follows the global effort to reopen economies
under continued social distancing guidelines during the quarter. While we cannot say with
certainty what caused markets to move, expansionary monetary policy, increased consumer
retail spending, and modest jobs growth in the U.S. in the last two months of the quarter all
contributed to market growth.
For the quarter, U.S. stocks (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) gained 20.5%, and non-U.S.
developed market stocks (as measured by the MSCI World Ex U.S.) gained 15.3%. Emerging
market stocks (as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index) gained 18.1%.
The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket
of foreign currencies, decreased in the second quarter—the U.S. dollar decreased by 1.7%
compared to foreign currencies. Over the past 12 months, the U.S. dollar appreciated by 1.3%.
The decrease in the dollar is a tailwind to non-U.S. investments held by U.S. investors in the
second quarter.
U.S. interest rates remained unchanged during the quarter as the Federal Reserve continues
to maintain a target range of 0.0% to 0.25% for the Fed Funds rate. Since changes in interest
rates and bond prices are inversely related, continued low interest rates helped increase the
quarterly return for many bond asset classes.
U.S. Economic Review
The U.S. economy began to contract this year for this first time since 2014. The final reading for
first quarter 2020 GDP showed a decline in economic