If you have seen the news in the past few weeks, you have likely been inundated with information about the lethal and rapidly spreading coronavirus. Perhaps you noticed the value of your portfolio drop the last week of January as the uncertainties associated with this new health threat triggered volatility in global stock markets.
2019 Market Review
2019 was the best year for stocks since the Dot.com era of over twenty years ago. It was a fitting end to a decade where US stocks gained about 190%! Just over a year ago, the glass is half-empty crowd seemed firmly in control as US markets swooned nearly 20% in December of 2018. Even though 2018 ended on the heels of the worst stock market losses since 2008, in 2019 US stocks made an abrupt and steep recovery with more than a 30% run to new all-time highs. It wasn’t just US stocks that rallied, though, as virtually every asset class saw impressive gains during the year.