Financial Insights

KCM On Balance – January 2022

As 2022 begins, we face the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. December ended with the Omicron variant running rampant, but nonetheless we find ourselves in a far better position than this time last year. By all appearances, the Omicron variant is a milder form of Covid and as of mid-December, the CDC reported that 77.2% of the population over 5 years over age has had at least one vaccination.1 Despite inflation, the economy demonstrated healthy growth in 2021 – just over 6% in the first two quarters and over 2% in the third. Unemployment also reached a historically low level. And the Fed announced it will be taking steps to curb inflation through interest rate hikes in 2022.

The S&P 500 ended 2021 up by close to 27% as of December 31, while international markets, as measured by MSCI EAFE Index returned almost 9% for the year.2 There are risks, including the reduction of stimulus from the Fed, inflation, and the potential of new Covid variants. While the outlook for the market is positive, the fact remains that investors should continue to pursue a disciplined, diversified strategy and remain invested throughout all market conditions. As history has shown repeatedly, investors who stay the course will be rewarded by the markets over time.

Best wishes for a safe, happy, and prosperous 2022.

Articles of Interest

From Facebook to iTunes to Amazon, You Need a Digital Will!

Online accounts and digital media are valuable, and they could be misused, locked up or even lost if you don’t take the right steps. Your estate plan isn’t complete unless you’ve accounted for your digital assets.
Learn More



5 Ways COVID-19 Has Affected Women’s Financial Planning

The challenges the pandemic has posed for women are real, but they can be surmounted with the right planning.
Learn More



Why a Stock Peak Isn’t a Cliff

Many investors may think a market high is a signal stocks are overvalued or have reached a ceiling. Reaching a new high doesn’t mean the market will retreat.
Learn More


5 Tips for Making Financial Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

If 2021 threw your finances for a loop—or was a continuation of the challenges you encountered in 2020—a financial resolution might be on your list of ways to improve your life in 2022.
Learn More


The 50 Best Family Films to Stream on Movie Night

There’s never a bad time to gather your tribe around the TV and hunker down for a night of classic movies and a big bucket of popcorn.
Learn More

1. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total

2. Yahoo! Finance


Advisory services offered through KCPAG Financial Advisors LLC and insurance services offered through KCPAG Insurance Services LLC, subsidiaries of Kemper Capital Management LLC. Tax services offered through Kemper CPA Group LLP.

Symmetry Partners, LLC, is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered, or excluded or exempt from registration requirements. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission.

No one should assume that future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, product, or non-investment related content made reference to directly or indirectly in this newsletter will be profitable. You should not assume any discussion or information contained in this email serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice. As with any investment strategy, there is the possibility of profitability as well as loss. Symmetry does not provide tax or legal advice and nothing either stated or implied here should be inferred as providing such advice. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions.

Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Indexes have no fees. Historical performance results for investment indexes do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment management fee, the occurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. Actual performance for client accounts will differ from index performance.

S&P 500 Index represents the 500 leading U.S. companies, approximately 80% of the total U.S. market capitalization.

MSCI EAFE Index is an equity index which captures large and mid cap representation across 21 Developed Markets countries around the world, excluding the US and Canada.

Share This Article