I have previously discussed the biggest risk in today’s markets is that investors will be unable to achieve their goals. In terms of retirement planning, either investors will have to work longer or save more, and current retirees will risk outliving their funds. High valuations, and thereby low expected returns, are the culprits. We have been positioning our clients to weather this environment and fortunately, the significant increase in volatility recently seen is here to help.

As a quick follow up to our quarterly newsletter, I thought I would take the opportunity to update you on our investment thoughts in light of what appears to be a regime change in monetary policy expectations. To recap, we said that:

1. We expected inflation to become more of a concern than it has been in the recent past given the coordinated global growth we have seen.
2. Given the “goldilocks scenario” of ideal investment conditions, investors were bound to be surprised by a change in inflation expectations and potentially monetary policy.
3. All assets are priced from US short-term T-bills (we call this the “risk-free” rate). If these rates move up rapidly, asset prices may come under pressure. This pressure is further magnified by the fact that valuations are extremely high.

Global coordinated growth seems to be back and stock markets are up. This is in line with what we have expected. As discussed in last quarter’s letter, we expected the majority of returns to come from international and emerging markets and that has definitely been the case. Of course we will see volatility in the markets, so we must be prepared. With all of this growth, interest rate normalization is at the forefront of our minds.

As the current bull market continues, more investors are starting to predict the day it all comes to an end. Instead of trying to predict a market top, according to Mark Hulbert (of Marketwatch), investors should view market tops as a “gradual process in which equity exposure is slowly and deliberately reduced over time.” Predicting tops is not only unproductive, but it is also impossible to be accurate. Trying to pinpoint the precise date of a market top cannot be done because markets all reach their tops at different times. 

Venture capital has become an important driver of the economy and investment returns for many institutions. Even mutual funds have joined the party with the likes of Fidelity and T. Rowe Price having acquired the shares of pre-IPO companies in the private market within their mutual fund products. Now we are finding that these highly valued, venture backed companies may be as much as 50% overvalued.

Buffett was on CNBC yesterday (8/30/17) discussing the tragic disaster in Houston. Naturally, he was asked about Berkshire Hathaway's reinsurance exposure and his comments highlight the idea he espouses, "Be fearful when others are greedy."

I recently read the autobiography of Sam Zell, an extremely successful real estate investor known for his uncanny ability to buy low and sell high. In the book he tells the story of his father’s foresight and decisive action that preserved his family in Pre-world-war-2 Poland. As a successful grain merchant, his father kept apprised of political and social happenings in Europe through his extensive travel and interest in short wave radio. While some people looked at this “hobby” of international politics as a complete waste of time, it gave his father a unique outlook on the world. With this perspective, coupled with decisive action, the Zell’s were able to start a successful new life in the United States.