Market Update: Week of April 6

As we ponder what’s occurring today in the world and financial markets, and look ahead to the future, we believe that we must consider our investment philosophy and strategy in the context of how these unprecedented events might permanently impact us. The current reality is affecting all aspects of our life and society, both in the U.S. and globally. These changes include how we work, learn, communicate, socialize (Zoom party anyone?), purchase, consume news and information, and experience entertainment. Some of these changes have long been in process but are being accelerated as a result of the effects of COVID-19. Other areas being impacted – some only temporarily and some fundamentally – include travel, trade, labor, transportation, retail, and restaurants.   

The government takes action
Changes may trickle into the public arena as well, in terms of both an individual’s relationship to government and the interplay between federal and state governments. The pandemic has highlighted the role that the federal government, with its tremendous resources and ability to supply unlimited financing, can take. While state and local governments must rely on the federal government to provide these services to residents during crises, they predominate in other areas, such as health care, education, welfare and municipal services, such as fire and police, water and sewer, municipal transportation, and local roadway upkeep and maintenance. A renewed understanding of the roles of different levels of governments could influence our future opinions and decisions on taxation and regulations. 

Technology steps up
Innovations in technology have allowed most Americans to work, shop, and go to school from home, with varying degrees of success. Companies such as Slack, Zoom, Amazon, Prologis, Salesforce, Adobe, PayPal, Alphabet, Disney, Microsoft and others enable us to work, shop, learn and communicate from “distributed” locations. Forced experience has taught us that we do not need to physically congregate together every day to conduct business effectively, and may reorient our priorities about what is essential and what is not.

Winners will emerge
The necessity of conducting life from home is leading to the birth of new companies and technologies. Americans are highly creative, resilient, and restless, and we anticipate a great many new innovations in the next several quarters. As these innovations drive changes in our society, we may adjust our portfolios and investments to reflect this evolution. We are evaluating the potential of industries and sectors that may be less affected than others, such as food, pharmaceuticals, finance, and those, such as energy and automobiles, which are already in the midst of more permanent transformation. Our goal is to adjust asset allocation and individual investments in order to position portfolios to benefit from what we believe will be the economy of the future.

SHARE

The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personal investment advice. KF Advisors is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. If you are a KF Advisors client, please remember that it remains your responsibility to advise KF Advisors, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or by clicking here. Please read the expanded disclosures in the linked report.