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In Q2, Prepare for Mettle-Testing Markets—Searching for Alpha for April 2012
I’ve spilled plenty of ink in the last few quarters touting the advantage of stocks over bonds (see March 2012 Searching for Alpha, and February 2012 on the best month for stocks in 15 years). Even after the first quarter’s stellar returns (see index returns below), it’s still likely that equities will continue their dominance. But with the approach of the seasonally weaker second quarter, I expect to see a respite to the near hyperbolic rise of stocks.
Rather than listing the laundry list of (mostly logical) reasons the rally should take a pause, it makes more sense to concentrate on those issues that are most pertinent. Uncertainty surrounding the presidential elections would make that list, as well as rising energy prices. Potential challenges to GDP growth, including weaker earnings and increased troubles in Europe, will also be on the radar screen. But let’s face it: there are so many problems in the world that bears will have no issue explaining away stocks hitting an air pocket.
Long-term investors should stay the course. The long-term fundamental case for stocks is still very strong. Trying to time any potential market sell-off is difficult to impossible for most traders, and could trigger adverse tax consequences. Rebalancing into any pullback is a much more reasonable strategy.
About the Author
Ben Warwick, Quantitative Equity Strategies
Veteran investment strategist Ben Warwick brings 20 years of investment management expertise to AdvisorOne.com in his blog, Searching for Alpha. His market and economic insights provide readers with an insider’s view on generating alpha through asset allocation, the use of strategic portfolio “tilts” and alternative investments.
Ben Warwick founded Quantitative Equity Strategies (QES) in 2002 as a platform for implementing his quantitative investment strategies. The firm manages assets with traditional long-only equity and fixed income, private equity, managed futures and alternative investment mandates. QES has developed an industry leading expertise in building investment programs that can replicate alternative returns, while offering daily liquidity and transparency. These products include the HFRq, a hedge fund replication strategy developed in concert with Hedge Fund Research in Chicago; the Managed Futures Beta Index, with Aspen Partners; and the Nomura QES Modeled Private Equity Returns Index (PERI), which was developed with Nomura Bank and Preqin, the leading source of information in the private equity industry.
He is the author of several books, including "Searching for Alpha: The Quest for Exceptional Investment Performance," (Wiley, 2000) and "The Handbook of Managed Futures," with Carl Peters, (McGraw-Hill, 1996). He can be reached at ben@qesinvest.com.
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