We hope you have been staying cool amidst the heat waves. Our investment outlook for the balance of 2024 and a review of markets in the 2nd quarter of 2024 (2Q24) is below. +15.3% total returns year-to-date (YTD) in 2024 for U.S. large cap equities nearly matched the first half of last year, S&P 500 earnings growth consensus forecasts are +10.6% for 2024 and +14.1% for 2025, the unemployment rate of 4.0% remains near the 1-yr low of 3.6%, and the U.S. economy continues to outperform expectations. Unsurprisingly, the highest interest rates in over 15 years are causing problems for heavily indebted businesses and households...(read more). ​

We wish all our clients and friends a wonderful winter. Below we provide our investment outlook for 2024 and a review of markets in the 4th quarter of 2023. 

We were especially pleased by +26.3% total returns in 2023 for U.S. large cap equities. The highest bond yields in over 15 years bode well for future fixed income total returns, with investment grade municipal bonds paying out 6.5% to 8.5% taxable equivalent yields. +11.1% and +12.5% EPS growth is forecasted for 2024 and 2025, respectively, after S&P 500 earnings contracted in 4Q22, 1Q23, and 2Q23 i.e., the 2023 “corporate earnings recession” is behind us...(read more). 

We wish all our clients and friends a safe and more peaceful autumn. Below we provide our investment outlook and a review of markets in the 3rd quarter of 2023.

​+13% equity returns year-to-date for U.S. large caps were driven by improving earnings prospects for the highly profitable technology sector, which constitutes over 27% of the stock market’s capitalization. The highest bond yields in over 15 years bode well for future fixed income total returns, with investment grade municipal bonds paying out 8% to 10% taxable equivalent yields. Forward earnings estimates have stopped falling and are now rising, with +11% and +12% EPS growth forecasted for 2024 and 2025...(read more). 

We wish all our clients and friends a wonderful summer! Below we provide our outlook for the balance of the year and a review of markets in the 2nd quarter of 2023. 

GOOD NEWS: We are pleased to report very positive equities returns and the most attractive investment grade bond yields in over 15 years. Inflation fell to 3% in June 2023 after peaking at 9% in June 2022, and forward earnings estimates have stopped falling and are now rising. It’s too early for the Fed to declare “mission accomplished” on inflation, but it’s not too early for investors to anticipate it...(read more). 

We wish all our clients and friends a joyous spring! Below we provide a review of markets in the 1st quarter of 2023, which delivered positive and above average investment returns for equities and fixed income, plus our outlook for the balance of the year. 

FOMC “dot plot” projections signaled the Fed will hike rates for the last time on May 3rd, and then pause and leave the Fed Funds Rate at 5.25% for an “extended period of time,” and then begin cutting Fed Funds Rates in early 2024. The rule of thumb is that Fed Funds Rates should be 1% higher than inflation rates to force inflation down...(read more).

​LOS ANGELES, CA August 10, 2020 - Erik Ridgley, CFA is CEO & chief investment officer of Salem Partners Wealth Management, a boutique multi-family investment office for founders, CEOs, entrepreneurial families, and ultra-high net worth individuals. His firm is a fiduciary and fee-only SEC-registered investment adviser (RIA) that combines institutional expertise in public markets and private investments with personalized financial planning and customized portfolios to drive successful after-tax results and build long-term client relationships. This is his fourth decade of investment management...(read more) 

LOS ANGELES, CA August 6, 2019 - Erik Ridgley, CFA is CEO & Chief Investment Officer of Salem Partners Wealth Management, a boutique multi-family investment office for founders, CEOs, entrepreneurial families, and ultra-high net worth individuals. His firm is a fiduciary and fee-only SEC-registered investment adviser that combines institutional expertise in public markets and private investments with personalized financial planning and customized portfolios to drive successful outcomes and build long-term client relationships...(read more) ​

Emblematic of the state of the financial world, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is taking an advisory role with Citadel, the $25 billion hedge fund based in Chicago. Making less of a splash but certainly worth pointing out, Bernanke follows...(read more)

It’s a tempting proposition: Instead of working with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of clients, why not switch to the multifamily office (MFO) model and work with fewer wealthier clients and their families? For example, if your firm currently manages US$300 million divided among 100... (read more)

Salem Partners, a leading Los Angeles-based investment bank and wealth management firm, has appointed David Dodson as a director of its wealth management group. Salem Partners Wealth Management provides customized investment solutions in a multi-family... (read more)