Hello Second Quarter!

By the time this blog hits our webpage, we’ll only have a few more days until April and our first quarter 2016 will be behind us. Let’s all say “AMEN”!! I believe we would all agree that from a stock market prospective, the first quarter was tough, one we hope we do not repeat! But, it was also one that in the final weeks we have saw some changes to the upside.

In general, many of our client portfolios are starting to rebound from the beginning of the year downturn. If this pattern can continue into the second quarter, we believe we will be greeted with more smiling faces when we see our clients.

Overall for our clients, here is what we have seen. We are overweighting Large Cap Value sectors on the equity side. However, in the last several week’s growth especially in the mid-cap and small cap areas are beginning to outpace. So we will be looking at the percentage our clients have in that area and will keep our eye on these categories as potential opportunities to move toward.

Oil appears to be uncoupling from the stock market. I have to admit I do not exactly know why, which concerns me, but if this continues we believe that could be a positive sign for the equity market.

We believe there may be possibly two interest rate hikes this year, leaving the stock market as the driver, so we will stay engaged.

Finally volatility is still here, but not such that you need to head to the hills. We will continue to look at data in the market and navigate through the second quarter best positioning our clients for the opportunities that present themselves.

As always we will stand firm with hands on the asset managed tiller and keep you informed as we work through into this second quarter. We still believe we have opportunities to move the needle forward.

Best wishes, John

• The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to prove specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. Investing in specific industry sectors may be subject to greater volatility. • No investment strategy can guarantee success or protection against loss. • Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. • The economic forecasts set forth in the presentation may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful. • The fast price swings in commodities will result in significant volatility in an investor’s holdings. • The prices of small and mid-cap stocks are generally more volatile than large cap stocks.