The Month of Meh

Hello everyone and welcome back to the May 2022 edition of the Boodle blog. We are happy to have you back, and we appreciate that you share our passion for financial education and insight.
The year has been a very dissatisfying one for most investors in equities (stocks) and fixed income (bonds). Now that four months have passed, our forecast for a turbulent 2022 stock market has certainly been accurate, at least so far.
As we go to press, we see that the Market, as measured by the S&P 500 is down YTD 12.43% and the NASDAQ is almost in a bear market at 19.79%. The DOW is down 8.88%.
There is a lot to digest, and we will touch upon some key stats to illustrate our neutral stance for investors in 2022.
Inflation continues to rise, and you can feel that in high food & gas prices, among other consumables.
Boodle believes that we may be near a peak in Inflation which hit a 40 year high of 8.5% , and we will continue to report on this indicator.
Supply chain disruptions will continue to be a drag on the economy as parts from computer chips to automobiles remain in scarce supply. We expect to see this problem start to wane in the late summer or early fall.
The war between Ukraine and Russia continues to create stress and tension in the world communities, and we don’t see a resolution to this crises for some time to come.
Just when we thought things were getting slightly better, the pandemic crises brought on by Covid-19 has started to flare up with China locking down several key cities.
As if all of this distressing news wasn’t bad enough, the Federal Reserve has started to raise interest rates, and we expect to see a 50 basis point (half a percent) rise in May.
Boodle shares our investing insight with you, and we are grateful that you follow us and feel that you are adding value to your portfolios.
We maintain our current stance that you should not commit any money to your stock market portfolio at this time. Any money that you have earmarked for equity inclusion should be going into your money market funds at this time. Mutual funds and stocks already inside your portfolio should remain there, and not be sold at this time.
Boodle’s research is indicating a buying opportunity that will materialize sometime this year, possibly in the fall. When this opportunity is properly identified, boodle will alert all of our clients and issue a buy signal, and it is at this time you should purchase your equites and expect to see a rise in your portfolios, instead of a fall, which is what current markets have been doing.
We thank you for being a boodle member, and we would like to wish a “Happy Mother’s Day” to all the moms out there! Have a great month, and join us in June for more investing insight!