December 23rd, 2019

Chadd Mason, CEO The Cabana Group

2019: A Great Year for Investors of all Types

On behalf of everyone at Cabana, I would like to thank our clients and investor partners for your continued belief in us. Without you we could not do any of the things we work to do in hopes of making the world a better place. Please know that I do not take your trust for granted.

This past week has seen equity markets again move higher as 2019 comes to an end. What a great year it has been for investors of all types. Regardless of your philosophy or strategy, you would be hard pressed to have not made money in 2019. This year was as good across all asset classes as 2018 was bad. Stocks and bonds both benefited from falling interest rates, as the Federal Reserve in the U.S. and central bankers across the world scrambled to support a slowing economy caused by trade wars and a resulting manufacturing recession. This proactive action kept markets afloat long enough for prospects of a political solution to kick in. The retail investor came through in a big way by spending even when the news was bad and predictions dire.

The broad U.S. equity indexes are up nearly 30%, making it the best year for stocks since 2013. Developed markets have also done well and are up nearly 20%. Emerging markets continued to lag but appear to have bottomed in the fourth quarter of this year and are seeing buying in response to abatement of the U.S./China trade dispute. Treasuries, bonds, real estate and dividend payers are all up nicely in response to falling interest rates and a very resilient and very old bull market in stocks. GDP continues to come in right around 2%, which is frankly amazing given the hurdles we have had to clear domestically and abroad. It certainly hasn’t been as smooth as 2017, but the markets figured it out… just like always.

I will end with a post I wrote several months ago about the thing that is always most important, Invest in Yourself. I find it is easy to forget in the hustle of modern life. Have a safe and healthy holiday season. We will pick our weekly commentary back up on January 6, 2020.

At Cabana we remain moderately bullish.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS

This mateIARl is prepared by Cabana LLC, dba Cabana Asset Management and/or its affiliates (together “Cabana”) for informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed reflect the judgement of the author, are as of the date of its publication and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this mateIARl are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed by Cabana to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Cabana, its officers, employees or agents.

This mateIARl may contain ‘forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this mateIARl is at the sole discretion of the reader. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product or strategy. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. All strategies have different degrees of risk. There is no guarantee that any specific investment or strategy will be suitable or profitable for a particular client. The information provided here is neither tax nor legal advice. Investors should speak to their tax professional for specific information regarding their tax situation. Investment involves risk including possible loss of principal.

Cabana LLC, dba Cabana Asset Management (“Cabana”), is an SEC registered investment adviser with offices in Fayetteville, AR and Plano, TX. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or is exempted from registration requirements. Registration as an investment adviser is not an endorsement of the firm by securities regulators and does not mean the adviser has achieved a specific level of skill or ability. Additional information regarding Cabana, including its fees, can be found in Cabana’s Form ADV, Part 2. A copy of which is    available upon request or online at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/.

The Financial Advisor Magazine 2018 Top 50 Fastest-Growing Firms ranking is not indicative of Cabana’s future performance and may not be   representative of actual client experiences. Cabana did not pay a fee to participate in the ranking and survey and is not affiliated with Financial Advisor magazine. IARs were ranked based on percentage growth in year-end 2017 AUM over year-end 2016 AUM with a minimum AUM of $250 million, assets per client, and growth in percentage assets per client. Visit www.fa-mag.com for more information regarding the ranking.

The Financial Advisor Magazine 2019 Top 50 Fastest-Growing Firms ranking is not indicative of Cabana’s future performance and may not be representative of actual client experiences. Cabana did not pay a fee to participate in the ranking and survey and is not affiliated with Financial Advisor Magazine. Working with a highly-rated advisor also does not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance. These ratings should not be viewed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client and do not represent any specific client’s evaluation. IARs were based on number of clients in 2018, percentage growth in total percentage assets under management from year end 2017 to 2018, and growth in percentage growth in assets per client during the same time period.  Visit www.fa-mag.com for more information regarding the ranking.

Cabana claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). In addition to the firm’s third-party verification, six of Cabana’s core portfolios have been performance examined consistent with GIPS® standards. The Global Investment Performance Standards are a trademark of the CFA Institute. The CFA Institute has not been involved in the preparation or review of this report/advertisement. Verification assesses whether (1) the firm has complied with all the composite construction requirements of the GIPS standards on a firm-wide basis and (2) the firm’s policies and procedures are designed to calculate and present performance in compliance with the GIPS® standards. Verification does not ensure the  accuracy of any specific composite presentation unless an independent performance examination has been conducted for a specific time period. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, the portfolios may no longer be reflective of current positions.

No client should assume that the future performance of any specific investment or strategy will be profitable or equal to past performance. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. All strategies have different degrees of risk. There is no guarantee that any specific investment or strategy will be suitable or profitable for any investor. Asset allocation and diversification will not necessarily improve an investor’s returns and cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. While loss tolerance and targeted “drawdown” are identified on the front end for each portfolio, Cabana’s algorithm does not take any one client’s situation into account. It is the responsibility of the advisor to determine what is suitable for the client. An advisor should not simply rely on the name of any portfolio to determine what is suitable. Cabana manages assets on multiple custodial platforms. Performance results for specific investors may vary based upon differences in associated costs and asset availability.