The Week Ahead – Bulls on Parade

Investments & Economy The Week Ahead Grow

The Week Ahead – Bulls on Parade

Andrew Chan, CAIA, Co-Chief Investment Officer

| 5/14/18 7:36 AM

market commentary cropped

Welcome to “The Week Ahead” where we take a moment to provide our thoughts on what we can expect in markets and the economy during the upcoming week.

After a pretty solid earnings season so far, we finally saw the market break out of its funk, having its best week since March. So far over 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings and first quarter earnings growth is on track to be the best in 7+ years. It’s not all just lower corporate taxes from tax reform, however, as growth in pre-tax profits has been +13% year-over-year, and pre-tax profits have beat expectations by 3%. Along with strong earnings, we’ve seen the CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX, drop back down to 13, the level it was at in late January, right before the wild swings of volatility. Can April continue that trend?

In the week ahead, we’ll have a pulse check on the real estate landscape mid-week with housing starts and new building permits. We’ll close the week with an update from the Conference Board’s leading indicators which has managed to see positive gains each month so far in 2018. Just as important, the conference finals for NBA basketball have started with the Celtics holding serve against the Cavaliers! Can the Warriors do the same with the Rockets?

Data deck for May 12 – May 18:

Date	Indicator	Period
May 15	Empire Manufacturing Index	May
May 15	Advanced Retail Sales	April
May 15	NAHB Housing Market Index	May
May 15	Business Inventories	March
May 16	Housing Starts	April
May 16	Building Permits	April
May 16	Industrial Production	April
May 17	Initial Jobless Claims	----
May 17	Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing	May
May 17	Leading Indicators	April

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Andrew Chan, CAIA, Co-Chief Investment Officer

About the Author

Andrew Chan, CAIA, Co-Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Chan co-leads the strategic investment committee and is responsible for overseeing First Foundation Advisor’s investment solutions platform which includes conducting investment manager research for both traditional and alternative investments as well as asset allocation guidance for portfolio construction. As a member of the investment committee, he provides market commentary and investment insights to clients. Additionally, Mr. Chan serves as a senior executive on the business strategy committee providing guidance on firm wide initiatives. With over 15 years of wealth management experience, Mr. Chan has played key roles across various aspects of investment and wealth management. Prior to joining First Foundation Advisors, Mr. Chan was most recently a portfolio manager at U.S. Trust where, in addition to his daily responsibilities, he served on numerous national committees including the investment manager committee, the portfolio model committee, and the strategic technology committee. He also served on the in-house strategic consultant committee reporting directly to the President of U.S. Trust. Mr. Chan is a graduate of the Wharton School Executive Program on Investment Management and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). Mr. Chan has previously served as an exam working group member and as an exam grader for CAIA. A member of the CAIA SoCal Executive Board since 2015, Mr. Chan has served as executive chapter head since 2017. Read more