Events often do not materialize when or even as expected. As 2015 began most market prognosticators predicted positive returns for global stock markets of 5% to 10% or more. However, market indexes around the world closed out the year on a downbeat, which was particularly disappointing given the sharp rebound in stock prices we experienced this past fall. This left many U.S. investors with their first negative annual return from stocks since the current bull market began in March of 2009 — a...

read more