Appleseed Capital | News & Commentary

Q1 Commentary: Why Has the Stock Market Become So Volatile?

The S&P 500 Index generated a total return of ‐9.0% in December, which was the worst December return since 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression. The quarterly return of the S&P 500 Index was ‐13.5%, representing the worst fourth quarter return since 2008, which was in the midst of the Financial Crisis. Outside of cash, there was no place to hide for investors in 2018, which was just the opposite of 2017 when nearly every asset class generated a nicely profitable return. Judging by the December decline in market prices, it appears that the wheels may be coming off the bus.

10 Potential Investing Land Mines to Avoid in 2019

I wouldn’t touch an S&P 500 Index product such as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX, $234.91) with a 10-foot pole. It’s a passive index full of overvalued momentum stocks and overweight the most overvalued momentum stocks.

Why Emerging Market Stocks Look Attractive

Famed investor Warren Buffett generated fantastic returns over the course of his life by following a specific strategy of making investments in deeply undervalued companies when nobody else was interested in them. In the example quoted above, Warren Buffett took advantage of an outstanding buying opportunity in South Korea, once again committing capital to investments that were unpopular while avoiding those investments that were popular.

Q1 Commentary: Why Has the Stock Market Become So Volatile? (2/11/2019)- The S&P 500 Index generated a total return of ‐9.0% in December, which was the worst December return since 1931… ...
10 Potential Investing Land Mines to Avoid in 2019 (1/3/2019)- I wouldn’t touch an S&P 500 Index product such as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX, $234.91) with a 10-foot… ...
Why Emerging Market Stocks Look Attractive (11/15/2018)- Famed investor Warren Buffett generated fantastic returns over the course of his life by following a specific strategy of making… ...
A Sustainability-Focused Investor’s Guide to Short Selling (11/8/2018)- Short selling strategies play an important role in a complete investment portfolio. Using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) characteristics, a… ...
FA Magazine: Walking The Walk In Socially Responsible Investing (10/25/2018)- To learn more about this relatively new business structure and its application in financial services, we talked with Matt Blume… ...
Do You Know What You Own? (10/23/2018)- If you are a conscious consumer, you probably make decisions in your day-to-day life to support good businesses and business… ...
Forbes: Insiders Are Buying Agriculture Stock Titan International For Good Reasons (10/19/2018)- With sales beginning to rebound from depressed levels, Titan’s upside potential from the current price is considerable, which is probably… ...
NASDAQ: What Rising Interest Rates Means For Your Portfolio And Your Finances (10/3/2018)- Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time this year, with another hike expected before… ...
Forbes: Four Reasons To Invest In The Cheapest Wireless Company On The Planet (8/16/2018)- There’s a lot to like about the business, balance sheet, and valuation of SK Telecom. For a large-cap company, SK… ...
How To Invest In An Era Of $100 Trillion Financial Obligations (8/6/2018)- "The four most expensive words in the English language are 'this time it's different.'” It’s different this time, and it’s… ...
MarketWatch: Gold—even at its lowest levels in 2018—is behaving just as prescribed (8/6/2018)- "Sure, the opportunity cost of holding gold given where stocks are isn't great, but the long-term reasons to own gold… ...
NASDAQ: Are You an Investor or a Gambler? (7/19/2018)- Most of us have fallen victim to this cognitive bias at one time or another, whether with coin flips, dice… ...
NASDAQ: Green 401(k)s (6/4/2018)- Despite the compelling benefits and growing number of such strategies in the market, there is one area of the market… ...
Skytop Strategies: Impact Investing Conference Interview with Josh Strauss (5/25/2018)- Joshua Strauss from Appleseed Capital Talks Impact and Long/Short Investing by explaining our approach to applying ESG analysis and screening… ...
InvestmentNews: Best Places to Work 2018 for Financial Advisers (5/16/2018)- Appleseed Capital recognized in the Investment News Best Places to Work list. ...
NASDAQ: Spirit Airlines (5/3/2018)- The airline industry has undergone fundamental changes in the past five to seven years that have made it far more… ...
Trade War Investment Risks (4/26/2018)- History often repeats itself; when the economy is persistently weak, populism and trade protectionism tend to rise. ...
NASDAQ: Green Bonds (4/25/2018)- Green bonds differ from traditional bonds in that the issuers of green bonds publicly state that the capital raised through… ...
Forbes: Shareholder Influence on Impact Investing (4/18/2018)- Josh Strauss talks ESG with Forbes contributor Christopher Skroupa. ...
NASDAQ: China Mobile (4/17/2018)- China Mobile’s subscriber base is almost four times the size of the U.S. customer base of Verizon (VZ), the #1… ...
NASDAQ: How Investors Can Outsmart The Herd (3/29/2018)- Herd behavior is the tendency for individuals to mimic the actions of a larger group, even if, individually, most people… ...
Business Wire: Appleseed Capital Named One of the “Best Places to Work” (3/28/2018)- Appleseed Capital Named One of ‘Best Places to Work’ for Financial Advisors by InvestmentNews ...
Real Assets Adviser: ESG Investing in Commodities (3/22/2018)- Shop Talk: ESG investing in commodities Did you know that gold is the only recyclable commodity? ...
WSJ: Copper Extends Slide on Demand, Rate Worries (3/20/2018)- Copper Extends Slide on Demand, Rate Worries, Gold little-changed ahead of this week’s Fed meeting. ...
Bloomberg Markets: Market’s 1999 Look (2/9/2018)- Adam Strauss Radio Interview ...
Party Like It’s 1999 (2/5/2018)- Analyzing historical precedents can often provide useful insights. As Mark Twain once said, "history doesn't repeat itself, but it often… ...
The New Age of Monopoly (11/2/2017)- “This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United… I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers."… ...
Embracing Sustainability (10/11/2017)- In the late 1990s, Nike’s brand image had become increasingly tarnished due to a wave of environmental and safety scandals,… ...
Why the South Korean Stock Market is Attractive, Despite North Korea (9/6/2017)- The South Korean stock market is a great place to find value, and particularly right now when the U.S. stock… ...
Re-Post – How to Invest in the Age of Corporate Fraud (9/1/2017)- In hindsight, corporate scams are easy to identify; hindsight vision is always clearer at the bottom of an economic cycle… ...
Barrons: Qualcomm Bore Nokia; It Can Get Past Apple (8/24/2017)- Embroiled in a high-stakes, high-profile patent litigation with Apple, Qualcomm’s stock is cheap, pays a 4.3% dividend, and has the upper hand… ...
Price is What You Pay, Value is What You Get (8/8/2017)- Investors who closely follow the financial markets discover fairly quickly that the prices of stocks often do not reflect their… ...
2017 Impact Report (7/7/2017)- Shareholder Engagements with Titan International and Verizon Communications ...
The Active (Value) Investor’s Manifesto (5/24/2017)- Don’t let the conservative dress habits of the financial services industry fool you; the financial world is far from immune… ...
Future of Everything: What’s the Future of Impact Investing? (5/23/2017)- Impact investing – investments that focus on making a social or environmental impact – have historically been relegated to the… ...
ESG Integration in Short Selling (5/19/2017)- In this analysis, we argue that applying ESG integration concepts to short selling has the potential to uncover opportunities that… ...
Medium: Less Power for the Little Investor (4/27/2017)- One of the hallmarks of a well-functioning capital market system and a well-functioning democracy is the ability of shareholders to… ...
The Investment Case for Owning Gold (3/16/2017)- Nothing beats a little cash in a bear market, of course, and the oldest form of cash is gold. ...

10 Potential Investing Land Mines to Avoid in 2019 (1/3/2019)- I wouldn’t touch an S&P 500 Index product such as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX, $234.91) with a 10-foot… ...
FA Magazine: Walking The Walk In Socially Responsible Investing (10/25/2018)- To learn more about this relatively new business structure and its application in financial services, we talked with Matt Blume… ...
Forbes: Insiders Are Buying Agriculture Stock Titan International For Good Reasons (10/19/2018)- With sales beginning to rebound from depressed levels, Titan’s upside potential from the current price is considerable, which is probably… ...
NASDAQ: What Rising Interest Rates Means For Your Portfolio And Your Finances (10/3/2018)- Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time this year, with another hike expected before… ...
Forbes: Four Reasons To Invest In The Cheapest Wireless Company On The Planet (8/16/2018)- There’s a lot to like about the business, balance sheet, and valuation of SK Telecom. For a large-cap company, SK… ...
MarketWatch: Gold—even at its lowest levels in 2018—is behaving just as prescribed (8/6/2018)- "Sure, the opportunity cost of holding gold given where stocks are isn't great, but the long-term reasons to own gold… ...
NASDAQ: Are You an Investor or a Gambler? (7/19/2018)- Most of us have fallen victim to this cognitive bias at one time or another, whether with coin flips, dice… ...
NASDAQ: Green 401(k)s (6/4/2018)- Despite the compelling benefits and growing number of such strategies in the market, there is one area of the market… ...
Skytop Strategies: Impact Investing Conference Interview with Josh Strauss (5/25/2018)- Joshua Strauss from Appleseed Capital Talks Impact and Long/Short Investing by explaining our approach to applying ESG analysis and screening… ...
InvestmentNews: Best Places to Work 2018 for Financial Advisers (5/16/2018)- Appleseed Capital recognized in the Investment News Best Places to Work list. ...
Forbes: Shareholder Influence on Impact Investing (4/18/2018)- Josh Strauss talks ESG with Forbes contributor Christopher Skroupa. ...
NASDAQ: How Investors Can Outsmart The Herd (3/29/2018)- Herd behavior is the tendency for individuals to mimic the actions of a larger group, even if, individually, most people… ...
Business Wire: Appleseed Capital Named One of the “Best Places to Work” (3/28/2018)- Appleseed Capital Named One of ‘Best Places to Work’ for Financial Advisors by InvestmentNews ...
Real Assets Adviser: ESG Investing in Commodities (3/22/2018)- Shop Talk: ESG investing in commodities Did you know that gold is the only recyclable commodity? ...
WSJ: Copper Extends Slide on Demand, Rate Worries (3/20/2018)- Copper Extends Slide on Demand, Rate Worries, Gold little-changed ahead of this week’s Fed meeting. ...
Bloomberg Markets: Market’s 1999 Look (2/9/2018)- Adam Strauss Radio Interview ...
Barrons: Qualcomm Bore Nokia; It Can Get Past Apple (8/24/2017)- Embroiled in a high-stakes, high-profile patent litigation with Apple, Qualcomm’s stock is cheap, pays a 4.3% dividend, and has the upper hand… ...
Future of Everything: What’s the Future of Impact Investing? (5/23/2017)- Impact investing – investments that focus on making a social or environmental impact – have historically been relegated to the… ...
Medium: Less Power for the Little Investor (4/27/2017)- One of the hallmarks of a well-functioning capital market system and a well-functioning democracy is the ability of shareholders to… ...

NASDAQ: Spirit Airlines (5/3/2018)- The airline industry has undergone fundamental changes in the past five to seven years that have made it far more… ...
NASDAQ: Green Bonds (4/25/2018)- Green bonds differ from traditional bonds in that the issuers of green bonds publicly state that the capital raised through… ...
NASDAQ: China Mobile (4/17/2018)- China Mobile’s subscriber base is almost four times the size of the U.S. customer base of Verizon (VZ), the #1… ...
Why the South Korean Stock Market is Attractive, Despite North Korea (9/6/2017)- The South Korean stock market is a great place to find value, and particularly right now when the U.S. stock… ...
2017 Impact Report (7/7/2017)- Shareholder Engagements with Titan International and Verizon Communications ...

Q1 Commentary: Why Has the Stock Market Become So Volatile? (2/11/2019)- The S&P 500 Index generated a total return of ‐9.0% in December, which was the worst December return since 1931… ...
Why Emerging Market Stocks Look Attractive (11/15/2018)- Famed investor Warren Buffett generated fantastic returns over the course of his life by following a specific strategy of making… ...
How To Invest In An Era Of $100 Trillion Financial Obligations (8/6/2018)- "The four most expensive words in the English language are 'this time it's different.'” It’s different this time, and it’s… ...
Trade War Investment Risks (4/26/2018)- History often repeats itself; when the economy is persistently weak, populism and trade protectionism tend to rise. ...
Party Like It’s 1999 (2/5/2018)- Analyzing historical precedents can often provide useful insights. As Mark Twain once said, "history doesn't repeat itself, but it often… ...
The New Age of Monopoly (11/2/2017)- “This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United… I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers."… ...
Re-Post – How to Invest in the Age of Corporate Fraud (9/1/2017)- In hindsight, corporate scams are easy to identify; hindsight vision is always clearer at the bottom of an economic cycle… ...
Price is What You Pay, Value is What You Get (8/8/2017)- Investors who closely follow the financial markets discover fairly quickly that the prices of stocks often do not reflect their… ...

A Sustainability-Focused Investor’s Guide to Short Selling (11/8/2018)- Short selling strategies play an important role in a complete investment portfolio. Using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) characteristics, a… ...
Do You Know What You Own? (10/23/2018)- If you are a conscious consumer, you probably make decisions in your day-to-day life to support good businesses and business… ...
Embracing Sustainability (10/11/2017)- In the late 1990s, Nike’s brand image had become increasingly tarnished due to a wave of environmental and safety scandals,… ...
The Active (Value) Investor’s Manifesto (5/24/2017)- Don’t let the conservative dress habits of the financial services industry fool you; the financial world is far from immune… ...
ESG Integration in Short Selling (5/19/2017)- In this analysis, we argue that applying ESG integration concepts to short selling has the potential to uncover opportunities that… ...
The Investment Case for Owning Gold (3/16/2017)- Nothing beats a little cash in a bear market, of course, and the oldest form of cash is gold. ...

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