Argent Quarterly Investment Commentary – September 2014
“International events, which seem so overwhelming at the time, occur frequently in history, but are ultimately addressed. The world moves on…” – Warren Buffett
As we write this fourth quarter commentary, we have just passed through a turbulent few weeks for both stocks and bonds. Stocks, which had generally been having a good year until late September, suddenly lost most of their year-to-date gains. Bonds, on the other hand, increased in value as interest rates plummeted from already low levels. Some blame the increased volatility on Ebola; others point to ISIS and the Middle East. Economists remind us that QE3 will be ending in October and that higher interest rates seem likely sometime in 2015. Newspaper headlines ramble about troubles in Ukraine and riots in Hong Kong. There is certainly no end to the number of culprits. Our best guess is that each of these has had some impact, but perhaps it is just that we are in the worrisome month of October and we were overdue for a downward drift to the market.
