Friends
Well that’s a wrap on 2013. As I pointed out yesterday, it was quite an amazing year. Investments thought to be safe (quality bonds) and those thought to protect from central banks devaluing currencies (gold), were the years worst performers. Most bonds lost money for the year and gold crashed. On the other hand, investments thought to carry the most risk (stocks) had a banner year. We haven’t seen returns in stocks like we did this year since the mid-nineties. Even with all the worrisome things that could have and in some cases did happen in 2013, positioning oneself in a protective stance actually worked against investment performance. Simply put, it paid to take risk in 2013.
As for today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 72 points to close at 16,576. The S&P 500 was up 7 points to finish the day at 1848. Gold was down $1 to trade at $1202 per ounce, while oil was down $.70 to trade at $98.59 per barrel WTI.
We hope everyone had a fulfilling 2013 and look forward to a rewarding 2014. We would like to invite you to come see us at our office if you have the time. We look forward to visiting with you as the new year unfolds.
Happy New Year Everyone from all of us at CHJ!
