Foster Group Audio Updates
April 2013
April was another generally good month in global equities markets. Investors continued to be willing to accept risk, moving prices higher. Foreign developed markets outpaced US markets for the month, and emerging markets companies lagged both, returning slightly positive return for the month. Fixed income markets were also positive in April. The broad US bond market was up about 1% in April; shorter maturities of high-quality issuers were considerably below that level, and inflation-protected US Treasury securities continued to outpace nominal treasuries. Ed Green covers market and Foster Group model portfolio returns, then discusses a concern being expressed by many investors today, the potential for bond losses if interest rates begin to rise. Click here for charts and transcript.
First Quarter 2013
In our quarter-end update, Kent Kramer reports on a very strong start to the year in global equity markets. He also spends some time reviewing a few items of interest from the economic and political realm. Kent’s final topic is a brief discussion of what we mean when we refer to a “globally-diversified” portfolio, and how Foster Group thinks about what constitutes a reasonable global allocation for clients to hold in their portfolios. Click here for charts and transcript.
February 2013
In our February update, Brad Rempe covers a month of mixed returns. Markets, generally, were not nearly as strong as they were in January, with some asset classes showing positive returns while others gave back some earlier gains during the month. We continue the discussion from last month centering around some recent academic research. This work identifies “direct profitability” as a “fourth factor” that may be important to our portfolio construction in the future. Brad fleshes out the concept a bit further, explaining some of the questions that must be answered in order to consider a factor like this not only explanatory of returns, but practically useful as we construct portfolios. Click here for charts and transcript.
January 2013
Equity investors around the world began 2013 with an optimistic attitude. In our January update, Ed Green reviews the strong returns delivered by markets and Foster Group portfolios for the first month of 2013. Ed also introduces some high-level information about new academic research in the area of portfolio construction. This new research has the potential to “change the landscape” of how we think about, and construct, client portfolios in the future. The Foster Group team continues to expand and evolve; this month’s update also includes information about new roles for three existing team members as well as the addition of three new faces at Foster Group. Click here for charts and transcript.
Fourth Quarter 2012
Our wrap-up to 2012 features Kent Kramer and Ed Green. The 4th quarter was a solid finish to what turned out to be an outstanding, and somewhat surprising, year for investors. In spite of understandable concerns about the debate taking place in Washington, D.C. over fiscal and tax policy, equities markets produced significant return during the quarter, led by markets outside the US. After reviewing market and portfolio returns for the quarter and the full year, Kent and Ed also summarize some of the significant provisions in the recently-passed legislation that will be relevant to many Foster Group clients. Click here for charts and transcript.
Fiscal Cliff Q&A
On December 5, 2012, Foster Group advisors took a few minutes to discuss the impact of the Fiscal Cliff and what questions our clients have been asking.
Des Moines Client Dinner
Foster Group hosted its Client Dinner on October 18, 2012 at the Embassy Club in West Des Moines centered around Healthcare Reform and Tax Insights for 2012-2013. Kent Kramer, partner with Foster Group, and Dr. Tom Evans, president and CEO of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative were the guest speakers and brought valuable insight to these two important topics. Click here for presentation slides that go along with the recording.
Healthcare Reform Omaha
NMA, MOMS, Foster Group, and Koley Jessen held a panel event on October 16th with experts talking about the concerning personal impact of changes in healthcare, tax law, estate planning, and more. Panelists include: Karen Schuler – Koley Jessen, Kent Kramer – Foster Group, Dr. Harris Frankel – UNMC, Dr. Gamini Soori – Alegent Health, Christy Moss – Moss Resource Consulting, and Alex Wolf- Koley Jessen. Click here for presentation slides that go along with the recording.
Healthcare Reform Luncheon
Foster Group hosted a luncheon on October 17, 2012 with strategic alliances in the Des Moines centered around Healthcare Reform and Tax Insights for 2012-2013. Kent Kramer, partner with Foster Group, and Dr. Tom Evans, president and CEO of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative were the guest speakers and brought valuable insight to these two important topics. Click here for presentation slides that go along with the recording.
October 2012
Brad Rempe recaps September, another positive month in global markets. In spite of a number of economic and political situations around the world that could give investors reason for concern, markets have pushed higher over the past four months, erasing the pullback of April and May. Brad spends the majority of this month’s update talking about the principle of rebalancing an investment portfolio, and why we believe it’s a crucial part of long-term investment success. Click here for charts and transcript.
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