Market Commentary for the week of April 3, 2017

The Markets

Although stocks fell Friday, Wall Street wrapped up a strong quarter, which saw the S&P gain 5.5 percent. The major indexes achieved multiple record highs since the November election, but investors will be watching to see if the upcoming quarter’s earnings merit pricy valuations. For the week, the Dow rose 0.32 percent to close at 20,663.22. The S&P gained 0.82 percent to finish at 2,362.72, and the NASDAQ climbed 1.42 percent to end the week at 5,911.74.

Source: Morningstar.com. *Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three- and five-year returns are annualized. The Dow Jones Industrials, MSCI EAFE, Barclays US Agg Bond and S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, are based on total return, which is a reflection of return to an investor by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax. The NASDAQ is based on price return, which is the capital appreciation of the portfolio, excluding income generated by the assets in the portfolio in the form of interest and dividends. (TR) indicates total return. (PR) indicates price return. MSCI EAFE returns stated in U.S. dollars.

Just Too Large — Of American adults who have health insurance coverage, 42 percent have difficulty affording their deductible (source: Kaiser Family Foundation, BTN Research).

Really Old Homes — As of Dec. 31, 2016, 40 percent of the 75 million single-family American homes that are owner-occupied were built before 1970 (source: Census Bureau, BTN Research).

College Costs — The cost of tuition, fees and room and board at an average in-state public college has increased 5.5 percent per year over the last 30 years, reaching $20,090 for the 2016-2017 school year. If college costs had instead risen only by the rate of inflation (using the CPI) over the last 30 years (2.7 percent per year), then a year of college would cost $8,892 during the current school year (source: College Board, Department of Labor, BTN Research).

* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australia and Far East Index (MSCI EAFE Index) is a widely recognized benchmark of non-U.S. stock markets. It is an unmanaged index composed of a sample of companies representative of the market structure of 20 European and Pacific Basin countries and includes reinvestment of all dividends. Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index comprised of U.S. investment-grade, fixed-rate bond market securities, including government, government agency, corporate and mortgage-backed securities between one and 10 years. Written by Securities America, Copyright April 2017. All rights reserved. Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. SAI# 1750583.1