August 2018 Market Update - Keep Perspective

This market update will not follow our normal format due to my travel schedule in August. I will have price, sentiment, and valuation updates again with the September market update. Instead this update will focus on the top 5 articles I've read in July to help us keep perspective as we transition into the second half of the year. If you want to read a review of July's market and a review of what could present itself this August read Ryan Vlastelica's MarketWatch article: After a Strong July, August looks Ominous for Stocks.

Retirement Data: 18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey

Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TRCS) published their 18th annual survey results at the end of June. Here are some highlights quoted from their press release and their research:

• American workers’ total household retirement savings have grown to $71,000 (estimated median) in 2017, up from $53,000 in 2013. Baby Boomer workers, the generation that is currently entering retirement, have saved $164,000 (estimated median) in all household retirement accounts, up from $103,000 in 2013.

July 2018 Market Update - Foreign Shares Lose Ground

The S&P 500 was up 0.48% in June. After falling 1.18% in Q1 of 2018 the S&P 500 increased 2.88% in Q2 2018. YTD through the end of June the S&P 500 is up 1.67%. The YTD gains are thanks to a rally in only two sectors: technology and consumer discretionary. Moreover, Amazon.com, a component of the consumer discretionary sector, has accounted for 34.6% of all the S&P 500 gains for the first six months of the year. Amazon.com has increased over 45% since the start of the year. Foreign investing continued to sour during June with the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index ETF, VEU, down 2.14%. VEU(price) enters July with negative YTD returns, measuring -3.88%. It's time to review price, sentiment and valuation as we start July.

Retirement Data: Vanguard How America Saves

In June, Vanguard released their report How America Saves 2018. Highlights from the report include:

• "In 2017, the average account balance for Vanguard participants was $103,866; the median balance was $26,331. In 2017, Vanguard participants’ average account balances rose by 8% compared with 2016 and median account balances rose by 7%. Two factors are driving the changes in participant account balances. The first is a changing business mix—new plans converting to Vanguard recently have had lower account balances. The second is the rising adoption of automatic enrollment, which results in more individuals saving, but also a growing number of smaller balances."