“Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” … Milton Friedman
“Music is a higher revelation than philosophy.” … Ludwig van Beethoven
Where are we, at the end of December 2020 and for the Year 2020?
The year 2020 was a remarkable, even astounding year for the stock market – certainly different than any stock market year that I have ever lived through, myself. It is cause for elation, and possibly concern. I say concern because the upward trajectory on investment returns must eventually smooth itself out. The market moves in waves and every scenario eventually exhibits its opposite. There are those who fear that investment returns are in a “bubble”.
However, the other (winning) argument is that we aren’t smart enough to know how or when this run will slow down or end. Right now, every market statistic says the bull market is still sound. My feeling is that we need to stay invested until the statistics say otherwise.
The year started strong, then we crashed in March and we have soared since then. Almost everyone who tried to time the waves up and down was certainly outsmarted. One person and fund who was not outsmarted in 2020 was the manager of our ATAC Rotation fund, which rose over 72% for the year and over 11% in December. His analysis avoided the March covid and shutdown crash.
December concluded a great fourth quarter, ESPECIALLY for clients of this firm. For the year, clients with a growth focus generally earned at least 20% and more – although the S&P 500 earned just over 18% and the NYSE composite earned 7%. This is thanks to our emphasis on technology, the ATAC fund and certain other overachieving investments such as Fidelity Blue Chip Growth and Wasatch Microcap. This is an amazing accomplishment, and I can only hope to continue such performance. Additionally, I am building out my “dividend payers” portfolio to add diversification and income to the mix.
How Did the Markets and our Funds Do in December 2020 and for the Year 2020?
The below numbers are courtesy Morningstar Workstation:
