Newsletter Q2 2017

As of this writing, the gridlock in DC has remained strong. The markets seem to celebrate this fact daily as Republicans have been unable to accomplish much of anything with their majority-on the legislative front – no border wall, little success on immigration laws, no repeal or replacement of the Affordable Care Act, no tax cuts (personal or corporate), no repatriation of dollars abroad, and no signs of an infrastructure spending plan. These are massive, complex goals with myriad of potential results and consequences. While some of these initiatives could prove a boon to the market if enacted (corporate tax reform, repatriation, infrastructure spending) there is no way to know how this might play out.

We do know, however, that owning a diversified portfolio of quality assets at reasonable prices has proven to be a successful investment strategy over the long term. We will use market/stock volatility to add to higher quality stocks – companies that have a durable competitive advantage, solid balance sheet, robust cash flow, strong returns on invested capital and are attractively valuated. In addition, we will continue to have an allocation of the portfolio devoted to contrarian companies (i.e. value stocks) that in most cases have underperformed the general equity market in the short-term. Overall, Shorepoint intends to stay the course, looking for and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise and generating attractive returns to help our clients meet their goals.