Below you will find the Columbus strategy highlights for this month.  For more insights and a detailed discussion, including to get the monthly portfolio allocations, please download the report.

“Just Below” Neutral

• Fed chairman Powell ignited a stock market rally yesterday when he said interest rates are “just below” neutral.
• Meanwhile, the global economy is slowing down and trade tensions are still high.
• It has become clear that the economy is now more influenced by geopolitics and trade talks than by corporate earnings. The implications of this is a volatile and neurotic market.
• Columbus currently stands with a YTD loss of -3%, ahead of its world allocation benchmark (GMWAX, down -4.8%) and slightly below our 60/40 balanced fund benchmark (VSMGX, down -1.4%).
• The Columbus allocation for December is similar to November’s, with an emphasis on the dollar, short term treasuries and real estate.
• This is the time to be defensive and not take undue risks. Section 6 and Figure 2 in the report tells the story.

To learn more on how Columbus navigates this market, please download the report and read the discussion in section 6.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

Best regards,

Jean-Marc and the Laplace Insights team