Category: General Firm Info

80 posts categorized as "General Firm Info"

14Oct

Q3 2020 Economic Update

This year has had no shortage of twists and turns and the third quarter of 2020 has been no different. The end of Q3 provides an opportunity to look back at the path of the Astor Economic Index® (“AEI”) and our flagship Dynamic Allocation (“ADA”) strategy over the course of the past three months in…

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10Sep

September 2020 Update on the U.S. Economy

With COVID-19 largely on the decline across the United States, and much of the economy returning to some semblance of normal, we have begun to see the rough outlines of the economic shutdown’s long-term impacts and implications for recovery. This blog has previously questioned the extent to which the shutdown would have persistent effects on…

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13Aug

August 2020 Update on the U.S. Economy

The Astor Economic Index® has had a substantial improvement since the previous nonfarm payrolls report and is now at a level consistent with about average U.S. economic strength. Remarkably, this reading coincides with the AEI’s pre-COVID levels. As the chart below depicts, the AEI has effectively captured the twists and turns of the economy during…

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31Jul

Rob Stein Q2 2020

Recording of Astor’s Q2 2020 call, where CEO/Founder, Rob Stein discusses the current economic environment, gives an update on Astor’s portfolios, and holds Q&A.

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14Jul

July 2020 Update on the U.S. Economy

As the pandemic goes, so goes the United States’ economy. To the extent that public health measures move in lockstep with the pace of COVID-19, this month’s data reflects that reality. With restrictions easing in most states, macroeconomic fundamentals have improved accordingly. Of course, as epidemiological data shows, the pandemic is far from having run…

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12Jun

June 2020 Update on the U.S. Economy

On balance, the macroeconomic data released last month indicate a turning point in the rate of change of economic trends resulting from the pandemic. In some instances, data suggest an outright reversal in the underlying trend. Accordingly, the Astor Economic Index (AEI) stabilized this month at a level historically consistent with poor macroeconomic fundamentals after…

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27May

Rob Stein, CEO of Astor Investment Management on Government Spending and the Uncertainty in the Market in 2020 on Business First AM with Angela Miles

Watch Astor’s CEO and Founder, Rob Stein, on Economy Watch as he discusses government spending and the uncertainity in the market in 2020. AIM-6/29/20-VP75 The Astor Economic Index® is a proprietary index created by Astor Investment Management LLC. It represents an aggregation of various economic data points: including output and employment indicators. The Astor Economic…

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20May

May 2020 Update on the U.S. Economy

As expected, April brought new lows in the data we monitor, and with it our first full view of the economic impact of the pandemic. In many cases, the data are historical and record breaking. However, several green shoots have begun to emerge, although it is much too early to call the beginning of the…

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21Apr
20Apr

Letter to Investors: Brief Update on Astor Strategies

For A PDF Version of the Letter: Letter to Investors_April 2020 Dear Investors: On March 10th, I published my first ‘Letter to Investors’ of 2020. The U.S. and Global economies continue to change rapidly as the impact of COVID-19 ripples across the globe. At Astor, our job is to assess the amount of risk in…

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13Apr

April 2020 Update on the U.S. Economy

As the pandemic and response escalated last month, we left this blog with several crucial watch points for the weeks ahead. In the intervening period we’ve begun to receive some early answers to the queries we posed regarding the trajectory of the disease and the U.S. economy, although much remains uncertain. The economic impact of…

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23Mar

What Now?  How about a plan……

Click here for PDF version The markets and the economy have taken an unprecedented hit.  The size and speed of the downturn are like nothing we’ve witnessed before.  There was little anyone could have done unless they were prepared beforehand.  Even a portfolio like our flagship Astor Dynamic Allocation, which prior to this crisis had…

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20Mar
16Mar
11Mar

Letter to Investors

        03/11/2020 Dear Investors: We are certainly witnessing unprecedented times in the global financial markets. My career in the financial markets spans 30+ years with time spent on the Federal Reserve (Chairmanship of Paul Volcker), managing trading desks for some of the financial industries largest banks, to starting Astor in 1994. The…

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10Mar

Discussion on Recent Volatility—Episode 8

Founder and CEO, Rob Stein and Senior Managing Director, Mac O’Brien discuss the current market environment. 2020-74 Astor Investment Management LLC is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. This is not a solicitation to offer investment advice or services in any…

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3Mar

Fed Action: Rate Cut Immunity?

As was telegraphed to the market last Friday and over the weekend, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by half a percentage point today. In a press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “We saw the risk to the outlook of the economy and chose to act.” That action was fully anticipated by…

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3Mar

It’s Visibility—Not Uncertainty

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to shake the financial markets, with major stock indices dropping into correction territory. (As of Thursday’s close, the S&P 500 was off 12% from its Feb. 19 peak.) While some observers want to chalk it up to “uncertainty” I beg to differ. This problem has more to do…

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28Feb

Keeping the Coronavirus in Perspective

The major indices are clearly taking the coronavirus more seriously now, with the S&P 500 selling off by 3.4% on Monday, after seemingly ignoring the threat previously as the indices marched to new high after new high. The virus, known as COVID-19, has proven more difficult to contain than previous health scares such as SARS….

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18Feb

February Update on the U.S. Economy

The Astor Economic Index improved to slightly above average economic growth in January, buoyed by consistent jobs growth and a return to expansion in the manufacturing sector. U.S. payrolls increased by a solid 225,000 in January, supporting the notion of a durable expansion and labor market. The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 3.6%, and…

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All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. This is not a solicitation to offer investment advice or services in any state where to do so would be unlawful. Analysis and research are provided for informational purposes only, not for trading or investing purposes. All opinions expressed are as of the date of publication and subject to change. Astor and its affiliates are not liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any such information or liable for any trading or investing based on such information. Please refer to Astor’s Form ADV Part 2 for additional information regarding fees, risks and services.