Market Commentary for the week of November 26, 2018

The Markets

Stocks closed lower on the short post-holiday trading day. Thin trading, falling oil prices and continued concern over the trade conflict with China resulted in the indexes’ second week of declines. For the week, the Dow fell 4.40 percent to close at 24,285.95. The S&P lost 3.77 percent to finish at 2,632.56, and the NASDAQ dropped 4.26 percent to end the week at 6,938.98.

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 One Day of Trading — The S&P 500 was up 4.1 percent YTD (total return) through the close of trading on Friday, Nov. 16, the 223rd trading day of 2018. The best single trading day for the index so far this year was Monday, March 26, 2018, when the index gained 2.7 percent (source: BTN Research).

More Jobs — The number of national construction jobs grew by 330,000 in the 12 months preceding and through October 2018, reaching 7.3 million for the first time since April 2008, just before the global real estate crisis hit (source: Associated General Contractors of America, BTN Research).

Force Their Hand — 401(k) plans with auto-enrollment have an average participation rate of 85 percent vs. 63 percent for plans that do not have auto-enrollment (source: Alight Solutions LLC, BTN Research).

WEEKLY FOCUS – Making Gifts Do the Most Good

Charitable donations increase at the end of the year and really spike on Giving Tuesday, a day solely focused on charities following Black Friday and Cyber Monday's intensive shopping days. Last year, #GivingTuesday raised $177 million, according to GivingTuesday.org — and this year, Giving Tuesday is expected to surpass that amount.

While donating to causes that matter most to you, it's important to research and understand how a particular charity spends gifts. Many online tools are available to ensure your giving accomplishes the greatest good.

CharityNavigator.org is a great resource to see an organization’s previous work and the percentage of donations that directly benefit the cause. The site offers ratings based on two primary categories: financial health and accountability, and transparency. It includes 24 metrics to help you understand the charity's work. Charitywatch.org is another long-established, assertive charity watchdog, which rates charities from A to F and provides financial specifications on each nonprofit. It also exposes nonprofit abuses and advocates for donors’ interests. These tools help ensure your hard-earned, generous donations do the most good. But what if you want to build a strategy around your philanthropic endowments?

The face of philanthropy is changing, particularly how donors and financial professionals connect with charities. A 2016 study by U.S. Trust and the Philanthropic Initiative called “High Net Worth Philanthropy: Charitable Practices and Preferences of Wealthy Households” revealed an increasing number of prosperous donors are seeking counsel, or would like to, from financial professionals.  

More than 23 percent of wealthy individuals consulted with at least one professional about charitable donations. It also found nearly a third of all wealthy individuals surveyed would prefer to work with professionals who understand charitable giving. By working with professionals, you’ll get the best legal, tax and investment advice. Their objectivity can serve to caution against giving too much or going beyond your means. They can also find alternate ways to donate, such as real estate, vehicles and art.

The world of giving gets more complicated every day. Making a bad decision can reduce the impact you make.  We can work with your tax or estate planning professional to create a plan that’s right for you.

Securities America and its representatives do not provide tax advice; coordinate with your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.

* 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 November 2018. All rights reserved. Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. SAI#2327559.1