Blog | Pillar Capital

The third quarter of 2017 was positive for equity and bond markets around the world - with international and emerging markets again taking the lead. Health care legislation floundered - after which the US administration put forward a tax reform plan which could have important implications for not only economic growth but also equity valuations. Read about how monkeys throwing darts are statistically likely to beat returns of the average active equity managers.

Q3 2017 Quarterly Market Review

Markets not Presidents

I had an interesting discussion with my precocious ten-year-old daughter recently regarding U.S history. The genesis of the conversation was her hearing the lyrics of a song from the current Broadway hit "Hamilton" about the life and death of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, who was an influential founding father, was killed in a duel by the sitting Vice President at the time, Aaron Burr. Our conversation led to a discussion about US Presidents - from George Washington to present.

These 43 successors have ranged widely in their capacity and performance - from incredible to awful. Through it all the economic strength of the US has grown exponentially - largely attributable to the constitutional protections and freedoms that the Founders, Hamilton in particular, put in place hundreds of years ago. The winds of economic malaise, unemployment and war have blown savagely - but the country has prospered largely because of a sure foundation built by these very wise men.

Regardless of your personal appraisal of the current president, we can agree that he has been unusually controversial. I am grateful that the institutions of government and economy are more important than any person - even the president. Presidents come and go, but ultimately the value of your portfolios are mostly a reflection of the power of capitalism (companies' earnings expectations) - not geopolitics.

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