Jan 1, 2011 12:00 PM

Markets are extraordinarily volatile, and anxiety is still high — but now is an appropriate time for investors to move up to their long-term equity targets

By Gregory D. Singer & Dianne F. Lob

A few months ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made headlines when he coined a new catchphrase by describing the economic outlook as “unusually uncertain.” Although he was talking about the economy, his remark applied with equal force to the investment markets. Still, since the market turn in March 2009, the S&P 500 was up 67 percent through November 2010,¹ global stocks posted similar results and bonds produced some banner performance — but in all cases with notable volatility along the way. So Bernanke's judgment continues to define investor sentiment, though to a lesser degree.

Although the Great Recession was declared officially over as of June 2009, it doesn't feel that way to many investors. Many traditional measures of well-being continue to appear weak. Unemployment is stuck at a stubbornly high level. Much of the housing market is still mired in the doldrums. The government has felt it necessary to inject trillions of dollars of fiscal and monetary stimulus into the economy (most recently the Fed's second massive purchase of Treasury bonds, so-called Quantitative Easing 2, or QE2). And after a powerful surge in 2009, the stock market has been oscillating between strong rallies and periods of pronounced weakness.

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Topics of Interest

Estate Tax	Donor Advised Funds
GSTs	Family Offices
Private Foundations	Life Insurance
2010 Tax Act News	Industry Trends Surveys

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2011 Trust Glossary

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50 Years Ago This Month

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50 years ago, in May 1962, we featured articles such as: "Future of Canadian Trusteeship" by Arthur H. Mingay", "Training Trust Employees" by Ian M. Marr, "What is a Trust Officer?" by Eric J. Brown, and "Selling Services" by Donald I. Webb.

Conrad Teitell's Guide to Tax Benefits For Charitable Gifts

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