Weekly Market Commentary

THE MARKETS

Stocks rose Friday despite a disappointing November jobs report and rising coronavirus cases. Expectations of a new fiscal relief bill helped all three major indices close at record highs. For the week, the Dow rose 1.16 percent to close at 30,218.26. The S&P gained 1.72 percent to finish at 3,699.12, and the NASDAQ climbed 2.14 percent to end at 12,464.23.

Returns Through 10/30/20	1 Week	YTD	1 Year	3 Year	5 Year
Dow Jones Industrials (TR)	1.16	8.28	11.87	10.09	13.82
NASDAQ Composite (PR)	2.14	40.10	46.84	23.79	20.67
S&P 500 (TR)	1.72	16.50	21.08	14.10	14.35
Barclays US Agg Bond (TR)	-0.42	6.84	6.78	5.20	4.28
MSCI EAFE (TR)	1.02	5.41	9.25	4.21	6.79

Source: Morningstar.com. *Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three- and five-year returns are annualized. The Dow Jones Industrials, MSCI EAFE, Barclays US Agg Bond, NASDAQ and S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, are based on total return, which is a reflection of return to an investor by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax. (TR) indicates total return. MSCI EAFE returns stated in U.S. dollars.

 

Most Are Current — One in 13 home mortgages nationwide (7.65 percent) were at least one monthly payment delinquent as of Sept. 30. Just one in 25 home mortgages nationwide (3.97 percent) were at least one monthly payment delinquent as of Sept. 30, 2019 (source: Mortgage Bankers Association, BTN Research).

November to Remember — With one trading day remaining in November, the S&P 500 had gained 11.4 percent month-to-date (total return) through Nov. 27, a performance better than 99.7 percent of the last 360 months (source: BTN Research).

Primary Household Assets — 62 percent of the average net worth of an American household comes from just two assets – the equity they have built up in their home and the value of their retirement accounts (source: Census Bureau, BTN Research).

 

WEEKLY FOCUS – Gifts With Lasting Impact 

Looking for gifts that will be appreciated long after the holiday decorations are stashed away for next year? Here are a few ideas for presents with lasting impacts.

For younger children or teens: Encourage an interest in investing with a gift card from Stockpile.com. For $25, $50, or $100, you can purchase fractional shares of stock from popular companies like Pepsi, Facebook, Apple, and Disney. The site offers physical gift cards you can put in Christmas stockings and e-gifts you can send instantly. Recipients redeem the cards on the site, which is an online brokerage. Twenty-five percent of Stockpile’s customers are kids and teens.

Help finance future qualified educational expenses for a loved one by contributing to (or establishing) a 529 savings plan. Although contributions aren’t pretax, earnings aren’t taxed. And some states will let you deduct a portion of contributions from your state taxes. Once the plan is set up, sites such as GiftofCollege.com and LeafSavings.com offer gift cards that make it easy to contribute directly to a 529 account.

For the older teenager with earned income: Encourage a teen to think about the future by helping them start a Roth IRA. You can gift money to fund their IRA for as much as they earn up to the $6,000 limit for 2020. Stocks, U.S. Savings Bonds, and CDs also make good gifts by promoting financial literacy in young investors.

For adult children: If a family member dreams of starting their own business, provide great insights on running a business, franchising, and meeting startup challenges with a subscription to Inc. or Entrepreneur. Magazines like Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, or Money might fuel an interest in investing.

Or give a gift of time. Younger adults just starting out might not have enough financial resources for serious investing – but they do need a financial strategy and could benefit from the guidance of a financial professional. Even an older adult child could benefit from a financial tune-up.

While you may be doing your best to teach your children and grandchildren about personal finances, confirmation from an outside source could reinforce your message. We’d be happy to educate them on the importance of setting long-term goals, creating a budget, and setting up a financial plan.

We do not provide tax advice; coordinate with your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.

Securities America and its financial professionals do not provide tax advice. Consult a tax professional for specific details.

This commentary brought to you by J. Graydon Coghlan, CRPC
and the team at CFG Wealth Management, Inc.
4370 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 630 San Diego, CA 92122
Phone: (858) ­550-3960 Fax: (858) ­550-3969 Toll Free: (800) ­884-5121

* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australia and Far East Index (MSCI EAFE Index) is a widely recognized benchmark of non-U.S. stock markets. It is an unmanaged index composed of a sample of companies representative of the market structure of 20 European and Pacific Basin countries and includes reinvestment of all dividends. Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index comprised of U.S. investment-grade, fixed-rate bond market securities, including government, government agency, corporate and mortgage-backed securities between one and 10 years. Written by Securities America, Copyright November 2020. All rights reserved. Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. SAI#3359282.1

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