Volatility in the equity markets is ever-present, even if it may be hiding below the surface for some time. Investors do not need to be reminded of March 2020, where the Market Volatility Index (“VIX”) spiked to 82, coinciding with 31%, 38%, and 34% respective declines in the Russell 1000 Growth Index, Russell 1000 Value Index, and S&P 500 Index.
Chart 1: CBOE Volatility Index (“VIX”)
Source: FactSet
Topics: Investing in the Future, Asset Management, Financial Planning
The following is an excerpt from our SWS Growth Equity quarterly update, our internally-managed strategy based upon an institutionally-designed investment process.
Evidence shows that exposure to the digital enablers is an increasingly critical investment consideration. What was previously a future-proofing exercise has now become a critical pandemic navigation tool. We started to assemble data behind this thesis as they unfolded closer to the eye of the storm back in March/April/May, but the first June-quarter cohorts are echoing the same sentiment: many demand shifts are structural rather than cyclical.
Topics: Current Events, Asset Management, Growth Equity Commentary
The following is an excerpt from our recently published SWS Growth Equity 2Q Strategy Update, which is available here to download.
The second quarter was far from typical. The good news, we see our portfolio’s positioning in alignment with the sustainable drivers behind the market recovery’s shape. Indicators that we identified closer to the storm’s eye (back in March, April, and then May) have been reinforced by subsequent data releases, and it all revolves around exposure to the digital enablers as a key thesis component. This helps to clear the path through prolonged periods of uncertainty and impaired visibility. We take a stab at quantifying the economic magnitude that the market will be tasked to predict later in Market Perspective (see full quarterly here), but July demand proxies continue to net out to continued improvement.
Topics: Investing in the Future, Current Events, Asset Management, Growth Equity Commentary
Thank you. Two words that have come to mean a lot in this time of heightened economic stress. As business owners of a firm that works with uniquely successful clients, we have had a front-row seat for the impact of the recent economic shutdown initiated in response to the coronavirus. We feel lucky to be able to help our clients weather this storm. In business, as in life, there are times when it pays to continue to march ahead regardless of the headwinds. So, I’m happy to announce that SWS Partners has been able to add to our arsenal of expertise by bringing on new talent.
Topics: Current Events, Asset Management
Solution visibility can be tough when we’re pummeled with daily reminders of downside risk. However, it’s entirely possible to sketch a blueprint of our bridge back to normalcy, or some semblance of it. That task is much more doable in May than it was in just April or March. The interconnecting trusswork to this design is unparalleled global scientific collaboration, and the tools being used to construct it include near-endless pools of compute power, cheap genome sequencing costs, widened communication pipelines among research institutions, and access to stockpiles of intellectual property previously held captive in the vaults of big pharma. As an NYT article succinctly stated, “While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt.”
Topics: Investing in the Future, Current Events, Asset Management
