Was That the Greatest Quarter Ever? 

I just returned from a long weekend at my Bethany Beach house on the Delaware shore. We actually cut our trip short because it got so damn crowded.

Sunbathers were packed like sardines on the beach. 

I didn’t like crowded beaches before the pandemic. I certainly don’t like them now.

Bars and restaurants at the shore were slammed with people taking a vacation from the pandemic; but it backfired.

So instead of fighting the crowds, I decided to clean the garage. 

My wife and I purchased our Bethany house in 2007. 

It’s a behemoth of a house with five bedrooms and six baths, so it could easily accommodate our growing family of five children. 

But it was a lot more than we bargained for. You see, the old saying “You never know how many friends and family you have until you have a beach house” is true.

We used to spend every summer in Bethany. It was our escape to decompress and recharge our batteries.

But no sooner had the ink dried on our deed did the revolving door of endless guests start. 

And of course, they all wanted to party. From noon to midnight, beach, pool, drink. The recycling can spoke the truth. 

By the time Labor Day came around, my liver was sending me hate mail.  

I would always tell my wife, “We’re not doing this again next year.” But hangovers have short memories. 

It was usually around the time I was drying out that I reflected on the summer’s comings and goings.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a typical summer. 

So let me do some reflecting.

The Greatest Investment Quarter Ever?

Yesterday, the second quarter ended.

In terms of investment returns, it was a blockbuster. In fact, it was the greatest investing quarter of my entire career — and by a wide margin. 

From April 1 to yesterday, the Dow gained 17%, the S&P 500 gained 20%, and the NASDAQ gained 30%. From my March 13 buy alert, the Dow gained 22%, the S&P 500 rallied 25%, and the NASDAQ closed up 41%.

I started taking profits around a month ago. Admittedly, I sold too soon. But I’m not going to cry over a profit. 

So where do we go from here?

Honestly I’m not buying anything. The NASDAQ closed at its fourth-highest level yesterday. And it looks like the markets will start the third quarter in the positive. 

But I would love to see the market consolidate for a while. 

However, I will say this: Market action is encouraging; it’s a boost to the mood.

Why?

Well, last week, the markets sold off on fears that spikes in COVID cases would cause another economic lockdown. But the selling was absorbed, and the markets went back into rally mode. 

What does that tell me?

That the market sees a positive future. 

In fact, there’s some great unconventional research being done by a bunch of mathematical and statistical nerds who are drilling deep into the COVID data and advising Wall Street firms on what to do — and it isn’t doom and gloom. 

So my prediction is markets will probably continue their advance higher, and economies and Americans will continue to get out and about. It’ll just be done in a customized face mask with your favorite NFL team on it. 

Brian Hicks

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Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing. He writes about general investment strategies for Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.