Category Archives: Company News

Is Santa still preparing to make his stop on Wall Street this year? After very strong performance in October, returns were much less festive for November. New covid-19 variants have spooked investors who were already concerned about inflation and federal reserve tapering. The current market actions were not surprising, however. If you have been tuning in to our Mid-Week Market updates, you will know the markets were primed for at least a short term pull back. Indices have been trading far above their short and intermediate term moving averages and October’s movements pushed us into extreme levels of deviation. As a reminder, moving averages act like magnets, pulling stock prices toward them. This is how averages ultimately work, but when we become significantly deviated on the upside, the reversion back down can be quite painful. On Black Friday markets were deeply in the red as news of the new Covid-19 strain hit news outlets. The selloff continued the last trading day of November and the S&P 500 had lost all gains and closed negative for the month.

It was a rough start for the “seasonally strong” period for the stock market. Does this mean Wall Street is on the naughty list and the Santa rally might skip us this year? While it is certainly not a guarantee, the statistical odds are high that we will see a “Santa Rally” as most professional managers will “window dress” portfolios for year-end reporting. Earnings remain very “nice,” and the market largely views “pandemic” related risks largely priced in. Although one could argue that it seemed caught by surprise on Friday. Yes, inflation is “naughty,” but the market seems convinced it will be transient. Furthermore, companies seem to be able to pass costs along to consumers, at least for now. Hopes are high that profit margins will continue to be strong, and eventually, earnings will catch up to valuations.

In closing, it is very possible that the last few days of volatility have set markets up to have a strong run for the end of the year. Relative strength indexes have gone from severely overbought to more normalized levels. For now, investor sentiment remains extremely positive and momentum is strong. While nothing is ever definite in the stock market, I do believe it is reasonable for investors to keep their eyes peeled for Santa to make his appearance at Broad and Wall Streets this year. We wish you and your family best wishes for a healthy and joyous holiday season and prosperous New Year. As always, if you have any questions about your current investment portfolio, please reach out to us. We are always happy to help.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

With the start of November, we have also officially moved into the “seasonally strong” half of the year, which lasts from November through May. You may remember in the spring I wrote about the adage “sell in May and go away” which points to the perceived idea that we would do just as well to sell our holdings as we would be invested in the market during the months of May through November. While this is a trend that is probably worth discussing, we would like to note this isn’t an actual investment strategy. However, we do know that trends should at least be studied and considered when possible.

When we look back all the way to 1950, the seasonally strong period certainly outperforms the weaker months. However, over the past 20 years the weaker period was still positive 14 of those years. The seasonally strong period did outperform significantly over the same 20 years. Since April 28, 2000, the Dow has gained 185%. However, the Dow is up just under 17% if we isolate only the seasonally weak periods over the same timeframe. The most recent season of weakness has been stronger than typical as the Dow returned 5.74% compared to its average of .84% over historical weak seasons. These points are not meant to be taken as a sophisticated tool for risk management, but it is interesting and does expose biases within the market that many investors are not aware of.

The market still must mitigate headwinds through the end of year such as the federal reserve begins it’s taper timeline, stagnating economic growth and continued inflationary pressures that may erode corporate profitability. But it does appear that the market theme remains to be incredibly bullish at least for now as we head into the last months of the year. We continue to see the broad-based markets continue their quest to push higher. As we enter this period of historical strength, it is not the time to “fall asleep at the wheel”. Investors should continue to closely monitor their portfolios. Every investment allocation should have a well-defined purpose, and this could be a good time to cut any “losers” from your lineup. For our clients, we continue to use math-based programs to help steer us to areas of increasing strength and momentum and away from areas of weakness. As always, we are happy to help if you have any questions regarding your current investment strategy. Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful season of Thanksgiving this November.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

So far in October, its been more tricks that treats for the stock market. It has been a slightly scary start as the S&P 500 is currently down 5% off its highs from September 2nd. The last time we experienced a 5% pullback was October 28th 2020. In other words, we were well overdue to see the markets take a breather. Temporary pullbacks always still feel worse when we experience them, even when we knew they were coming.

Why are investors suddenly spooked? The good news is that Congress passed the necessary funding bill to avert a government shutdown ahead of the September 30 midnight deadline. Inflationary pressure continues to be problematic for the stock market. Higher inflation is usually looked on as a negative for stocks because it increases borrowing costs, increases input costs (materials, labor), and reduces standards of living. It is particularly troublesome for large cap growth and technology funds. Investors who buy growth stocks estimate what the current value of that future stream of earnings will be.  When inflation or interest rates start going up more than expected, it reduces the current value of the future stream of earnings. Supply chain bottlenecks are compounding concern for companies. The Federal Reserve may have also added to the jitters last week when it indicated that rate hikes could be coming sooner than expected, and it significantly cut its economic outlook for this year.

The news is not all frightening, however. While September is historically a weak month for the market, November and December tend to be the seasonally strong periods for performance. From a technical standpoint, the bullish trend remains intact. Many areas of the market are now in “oversold territory” so a bounce from previous support lines would not be unexpected (although nothing is ever a guarantee). It is important to watch what the stock market does in the next few weeks. This is certainly a time to be paying attention to both how much equity exposure you currently have as well as what areas of equities you hold. If you didn’t like the recent 5% pullback, you may want to consider your current allocations and if they are still appropriate. While there appears to be solid reasoning for the market to continue its climb higher, we should always try to “expect the unexpected” and reviewing portfolios before a major market event is always preferable to waiting until after. As always, if you have any questions about your current investment plan you can always give us a call. We are happy to help.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

As we prepare to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall, I thought I would take some time to discuss the movements we have seen in the broad markets over the past few months. Last week, when the Federal Reserve mentioned possibly reducing the pace of asset purchases this year, the market swiftly responded with a “taper tantrum”. Markets fell over 2% that day which continues to suggest the market’s dependence on the federal reserve’s continued intervention. Jerome Powell was quick to calm investors by keeping the taper timeline in the distance for now and markets rebounded accordingly. Markets have grown accustomed to the fed’s willingness to intervene. This presents a risk in the future when tapering finally occurs. COVID remains a lingering concern for markets and while widespread shutdowns remain unlikely, rising infections can absolutely continue to stifle economic growth. While inflation seems to have cooled off for now, we continue to see significant supply chain disruptions. This may present issues for companies, specifically as we head into the Christmas season.

Despite some concerns, we have seen the major indexes all continue to climb higher. Technology, financials and consumer cyclicals remain the sectors that show the strongest relative strength. It is worth noting that real estate has been on the move over the past three months and continues to strengthen. We have made some changes to our investment models as a result of the movements observed. Conversely, commodities, currencies, international, emerging markets and fixed income continue to lag in relative strength. We will continue to watch to see if these patterns hold.

As we move into September, the S&P 500 remains extremely deviated from its long-term moving averages. This does have the potential to set up a short-term correction. The short pull back we saw last week brought us closer to a “normal” but it quickly rebounded back to over extension. There certainly seems to be an overwhelming bullish sentiment that has the potential to allow markets to keep moving higher. I do think as investors it is important to recognize that there is still short-term risk to markets. Last September, markets experienced a 10% correction. For investors who were caught off guard, it was a painful time. Corrections never feel good, especially if we are improperly allocated. This is a great time to review your portfolio allocations and make sure they are still appropriate. While we hope to see the early patterns of 2021 continue through the second half of the year, we are cognizant that the market is due for a healthy pullback. If you have questions about your current investment portfolios you are always welcome to give us a call. We are happy to help. Wishing you a healthy September.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

Retirement planning is a marathon, not a sprint. Most people’s retirement planning goes like this: set retirement date, call to set up a time with a financial advisor to make plans and hope for the best. We believe the best time to start planning for retirement is long before you even consider planning an actual date for retirement. Forgive me for the oncoming sports and training parallels that you are about to receive. I am a triathlete who is training for my first full Ironman in September and frankly my thoughts are consumed by thinking about my training, planning and my eventual culmination of everything on race day. I have been thinking about the parallels we can glean from endurance training to help us have success with retirement planning.

Just like training for a long-distance event, retirement planning is all about the process leading you up to the big day. The only way you can have success is by following a plan and remaining consistent throughout. You can’t just do a couple of long workouts sporadically and expect to show up to the starting line in peak race condition. I like to think about it like making little deposits into my training bank every day over time. On race day, if I have built up my account right, I should have plenty to draw from to finish my event. The same goes for your retirement planning. You should try to start implementing your plan during your working years and stay consistent with it. Determining how much you should be saving, how your account should be invested, and how much money you will likely need in retirement are all crucial decisions that are best to be made earlier. Obviously, the data becomes finer tuned as you get closer to your date of retirement but having educated estimates will help your planning tremendously. We believe rather than “defaulting” into retirement it is better to make informed decisions consistently along the way.

If you want to reach your goals in the future, you may need to make some sacrifices to get there. The past ten months of training required me get really “creative” with my time management (hello 4:00 am workouts) but the end goal was worth the short-term sacrifice. The decisions you make 10, 20, and even 30 years before retirement can have a significant impact on your retirement lifestyle. Simple but purposeful adjustments along the way have the potential to mean big rewards when it comes to your retirement planning. This doesn’t mean you can’t have fun during your working years! It does mean that you should know what will be required for you to achieve what a successful retirement means to you. The worst time to find out you didn’t save enough, or invest your assets properly is when it’s too late to make effective changes.

Finally, know when it might be time to get that expert second opinion. I knew that if I wanted to achieve my goal of completing a full Ironman, I would need to hire a professional coach to help me design and implement my training plan. Just going through the motions of swimming, biking and running without purpose would not be enough. The same can be said of retirement planning. A professional can help you sort out both your short- and long-term goals and help you effectively plan. You will want to know how much you should be saving and that your accounts are allocated appropriately for your time horizon and risk profile. Fees also matter, so it is important to understand how much your investment accounts cost and if those fees are reasonable. Make sure the financial advisor you work with is a fiduciary. Fiduciaries have a legal and contractual obligation to put your best interests first.

Preparing for retirement may be a marathon, but it doesn’t have to be a completely painful process. By making the right decisions early and staying consistent you will set yourself up for financial success down the road at retirement. As always, if you have questions or would like to speak with us, we are always happy to help however we can. Stay well.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

Let’s look at how supply and demand affects the price that investors are willing to pay for stocks. As we enter in the days of summer, I have been reminded how much supply and demand truly impacts the way we live. The principles of supply and demand are really the core of how our economy exists. If there is a shortage of something that is desirable, the price people are willing to pay for it will rise. Conversely, if there a large amount of something that no one is really interested in buying that price will fall. We have seen a myriad of examples of supply and demand lately. Remember how much cans of Lysol were selling for on Ebay in April 2020? How often can you sell a used car for more than you purchased it for? Thanks to a worldwide semiconductor chip shortage, auto manufacturers cannot make cars fast enough to keep up with the demand. The housing market is currently experiencing a significant price boom thanks to supply and demand. Post-pandemic moves to suburban neighborhoods combined with low inventory and ultra-favorable mortgage rates has set up a real estate frenzy.

Supply and demand also directly affects the price that investors are willing to pay for stocks. When there are more buyers than sellers for a stock, the price will rise. Conversely, if there is a flood of sellers and low inventory of buyers the price for a stock will fall rapidly. The stock market sentiment is currently in a “buy more at any cost” mentality. There seems to be a never-ending demand to buy more stocks. This is due in part to the Federal Reserve continuing to “hold the market’s hand” through its assurances of continued low rates and QE intervention (when the federal reserve purchases government bonds in order to inject money into the economy to expand economic growth). We have seen a “market mania” these past 12 months as stock market valuations continue to skyrocket well beyond their fundamentals. Market greed levels in many measurements are at all-time highs. Investors insatiable appetite for more has also resulted in previously thought “dead” stocks like Gamestop and AMC soaring well beyond what an expected valuation would be. It really was the perfect example of how supply and demand can snowball when perceived demand is present. Investors believed that the current price of the above stocks would continue to rise, at least temporarily. Therefore, stock prices were driven higher and higher as more people wanted “in”. The only issue is that eventually supply takes over and if the buyers suddenly decide to sell, the run for the exits can be quite dramatic. Remember for every seller, you will need to find a willing buyer who will dictate the price they are willing to buy for.

Supply and demand will always dictate prices in our economy and stock market, even though some cycles play out quite different than expected. The past 15 months have been anything but normal and judging by the current cost for a used Toyota, it looks like we can expect more anomalies at least for the time being.

I would like to take this time to wish you and your family a Happy Independence Day. As always, if you have questions about your current investment plan, you can always give us a call to discuss. We are happy to help.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

Happy first week of June! I always look forward to the welcome change that June brings as school finally lets out, the weather turns warmer, and the days finally get longer. It always feels like the new beginning of something great. As the weather changes, it is a good time to determine if any updates should also be considered in your investment portfolio. The stock market also experiences changes regarding what areas are moving in and out of favor. It is important to recognize when your allocations are no longer working to your benefit. Just like weeds in your garden can choke out a fruitful harvest, allowing weak performing allocations to stay in your portfolio will cause your performance to drag and creates extra and unnecessary risk. If you have areas in your portfolio that are no longer working for you may want to consider replacing them or at the very least closely monitoring them. Just because something was working well in the past does not mean it will always work well in the future.

Technology is a great current example. “ Tech is king” has really been the mantra of the market since the pandemic started last year. Well, it WAS the mantra. For the past few months there has been a visible rotation in the market away from technology into other areas like financials, industrials, and basic materials. Inflation fears coupled by the fact that many of these areas had experienced unsustainable growth for many months. We expected a temporary to intermediate cool down was likely at some point as a result. At the end of each month our investment committee does a full screening of our current fund allocations to determine if any of our holdings have become a “weed in our garden”. We have strict technical indicators that we follow so we can methodically and unemotionally execute our investment process. If a fund is no longer showing relative strength and momentum it is replaced using a new area. Most months we do not make any changes but we are prepared to act when it is necessary.

This month we are making a few updates to our holdings as we have seen a notable shift in momentum over the past weeks. We are adding in a new sector and replacing one have held for about a year. We abide by the principles of letting our winners run and cutting our losers quick. Just as our seasons change, the stock market’s areas of and strength momentum also ebbs and flows. It is important to have a clear process to follow that allows you to take advantage of increasing momentum and conversely warns you of areas that are weakening. We tell our clients that you should always know why you own the positions you hold. They should have a specific purpose and you should also be willing to cut them loose if they stop fulfilling that purpose. If you are an investor and its been some time since you tended to your investment garden, we would be happy to help you take a look and see if you should consider doing any weeding in preparation for the summer months. We are always happy to help. Have a wonderful June!

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

“Sell in May and go away” is a well-known financial-world adage that most investors are familiar with and has to do with the typical “underperformance” markets experience during the months of May-October. But is it a worthwhile trend to consider today? Modern performance numbers say probably not. In fact, data looking at performance returns in the S&P 500 from May to October the average return has been positive 66% of the time going back to 1928. While the performance typically lags what we saw for the proceeding fall and winter, that should not mean that your investments need to take a summer vacation. In fact, summer rallies are common, particularly in the months of May and June. Market volatility should still be expected, particularly at the end of the summer period. There is a history of market weakness in the months of August and September that can be quite extreme.

The beginning of May has been off to a volatile start. The Nasdaq closed over 2% lower this past Tuesday, after big tech was down significantly. Comments made by Janet Yellen increased investors’ fears that the Federal Reserve is still flirting with needing to raise rates to control inflation. As we have previously discussed, rising rates would not be favorable for corporate earnings and so the market remains sensitive to its implications. While we are talking about corporate earnings, it is officially earnings season! Companies have been beating their previous earnings estimates by over 22%! That is basically unheard of. What is interesting is that the market’s response to the reports have been lukewarm at best. It is almost as if the markets needed extraordinary earnings just to keep the valuations where they are. It is quite apparent that perfection has been priced in. The perfection must continue in order to tread water and any surprises have the potential to rattle the markets for now.

So what should investors do? Trying to time the market with a strategy that is summarized with a rhyme is probably not the most prudent investment process. Rather, May is a great time to look at your portfolio and see if you should do any spring cleaning. Do you have any weeds in your portfolio? Are you comfortable with the amount of risk you have taken on? This is a great time to consider if your allocations are still in line with your investment timeline. Does every investment in your lineup fulfill a purpose and are you prepared to cut them immediately if they are no longer doing so? You should know what investments you hold and more importantly know why you hold them. If you are unsure if your current investment allocation mix is still working the way it should, we are always happy to look over them with you. Summer does not mean that your investments have to take a vacation, investors just need to make sure their portfolios find a way to still work hard for them. I wish you a wonderful Spring and as always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me at ashleyr@victoryfiduciary.com . We are happy to help in any way.

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

It’s time for our 2021 First Quarter Market Recap. As the first quarter of 2021 comes to an end, I wanted to give a quick update on what we have seen regarding market movements. If you have been watching my weekly updates, you know that many of the indexes had been significantly overextended and overstretched from their long-term moving averages coming into January. The mid, small, and technology areas were some of the most egregiously overbought. It was not a question of if, but rather when we would see some type of pullback or consolidation. The time finally came mid-February following an unexpected rise in the 10 year Treasury. This sparked concerns that inflationary pressure could make it difficult for companies to continue to have increased profitability and growth. Although, it rarely matters what the catalyst is when markets are as deviated as they were in January and early February. We saw the broad-based areas all pullback and trade sideways (consolidate) for weeks. Pulling back and trading sideways allows the markets to essentially “burn off some excess” which in the end can allow markets to regain strength and move ahead to new highs. I use the example of a long-distance runner who takes a short break during a long run. You can picture them with their hands on their knees, catching their breath and grabbing a drink before restarting their run to finish strong. Markets need to sometimes pause and “take a breather” in order to regain strength and go on to reach new highs. We are encouraged to see relative strength in all areas of the market appear to finally be in a much healthier place. However, it appears markets are continuing to look for direction and leadership. Despite the short-term downward price movement most broad-based areas were able to end the quarter at least modestly positive. While we saw rotation flood back into growth and tech stocks at the end of the quarter, it would not be surprising to see a bit more churning as we move to the traditionally strong market periods of April and May. We will continue to use the math and rule to guide our positions in the market and make updates as needed. We are not making any portfolio changes currently.

Watch My 2021 First Quarter Market Recap Video

Our Investment Committee consistently reviews and discusses the three market drivers that lead to notable movements in the stock market and I wanted to give you the current outlook for each. Economic fundamentals saw some stagnation last month due to the harsh winter storms that struck the U.S., most infamously the storm that caused the Texas blackout. Both retail sales and housing starts (an annualized number of new homes being built) saw their largest month-over month declines since last April. However, the Department of Commerce expects both to rebound as we enter into spring. The technical view continues to indicate churning in the market, with no clear leadership emerging following the pullback in technology and other hyper growth areas of the market. On a general basis, the trend for U.S. equities remains positive. Consumer sentiment continues to improve as the vaccine rollout expands, with the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers hitting its highest sentiment level since last March.

In closing my 2021 First Quarter Market Recap, we remain encouraged by the economic healing we continue to see but acknowledge there will likely continue to be additional hurdles to navigate. We will continue to use the math and rules to employ a prudent investment process for our clients. As always, please reach out if you have any questions regarding this 2021 First Quarter Market Recap. We are always happy to help however we can. Please check out our Youtube channel and Facebook page for more updates. There will be new content coming from our studio soon!

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.

February came and went with such velocity, investors were left on the sidelines scratching their heads “wondering what just happened?” The month started with such strong advances, I began to wonder if we would be able to get through the month with strong returns and escape the typically weak performance record of February. We continued to touch and surpass new market highs in the S&P 500 through mid-month. However, the last week of February saw significant downward price pressure and by the end of the month the S&P 500 had given up nearly all its gains.

This time the catalyst was seeing 10-year treasury numbers unexpectedly spike to a one year high of 1.61%. This spooked investors, who have been eyeing the rise in interest rates as a possible hindrance to the recovery and deviation from last year’s ultra-low borrowing costs backdrop. On the exterior, one would think this does not come close to competing with stocks in a major way, as the average yield on equities is about 2%. However, given that the low in the yield of the Treasury-10 over the past year has been 0.40%, seeing yield triple considered to be cause for concern.

The ramifications of higher interest rates apply to nearly every aspect of the economy. As rates rise, so does the rates on credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, business loans, and so on. As the cost to borrow goes up, corporate profitability goes down. As inflation increases, these costs will have to be passed along to cash-strapped consumers or absorbed by companies with already razor-thin margins in many cases. This is troubling in any economic environment, but it is particularly concerning when we are seeing most areas of the market to be trading extremely elevated from their long-term moving averages. In short, stocks are overpriced over most indexes and investor now must grapple with it becoming more expensive for businesses to borrow money and operate. The Federal Reserve indicated last week they do intend to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future, which helped to calm some of the volatility.

Technology was the hardest sector hit as it has been trading nearly three standard deviations above its mean. The NASDAQ fell nearly 5% in five trading days. This was lead by declines in areas like Tesla, Apple, and Amazon. However, as we saw a swift rotation out of technology to more “value” areas this does not necessarily mean that technology is “out”. Relative strength in the technology sector remains strong. Tech also ranks third out of all sectors and has a significant lead over the fourth area. As we have seen technology just continue to skyrocket, we have been watching for a short-term pullback to occur. As I always say, stocks cannot just go straight up forever. A healthy market requires periods of cooling down in order to allow those areas to continue to advance to new highs. So for now, we will just watch to see if this is just a temporary and necessary cooling off or a start to something more permanent and we will act in accordance either way.

Navigating markets while they are making significant swings in either direction can be challenging and even scary at times. If you have questions about your current investment strategy, you can always give us a call. We are happy to help. ashleyr@victoryfiduciary.com

Ashley Rosser, President

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, Ashley earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University.

Ashley decided to make a career change from her ten years within the healthcare industry as a pediatric emergency room nurse to retirement and 401K investment planning. She joined Victory Wealth Partners in 2008 after obtaining her Series 65 professional financial license and went on to earn her AIF (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) professional designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies.