Welcome to our April 2026 Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others.
Look on the Bright Side
Markets are up this year, but not without drama and volatility. April has been solid, but March was a tough month to stomach for many investors. Hartford Funds provided a useful commentary reminding investors “the glass has been more than half full, historically. If you’re swept up in volatility, remember that markets have been positive more often than not. In fact, stocks have turned in a positive return 68 out of the last 88 calendar years, which means they’ve been on the rise 76% of the time.”
While the above chart shows one-year holding periods, expanding to 10-year holding periods looks even better. Stocks were up 98% of the time in 10 year investment periods since 1937. Another point for long-term investors.
Retails Investors Taking a Breather
Robinhood stock has become a kind of barometer for the health and activity of the retail investor. The stock fell -14% today after a poor earnings report from a loss in crypto trading, among other things. Earlier this year, the company reported average daily equity trading was down more than 10% from the months previous. It seems trading enthusiasm may be fading.
An Immediate and Direct Impact
Sometimes it can be difficult, or it can take time, for any economic impact to be felt for consumers as a result of any geopolitical impacts. That hasn’t been the case when it comes to the US War with Iran. The price consumers are paying at the pump very quickly skyrocketed in March and, as the war drags on, shows no signs of really coming down.
Buy More Books?
In the table below, the light blue bar represents the prices of the various goods while the grey bar shows consumer spending. Interestingly, the categories in which prices have risen the most are the ones that show consumer spending down the most. Logically that makes sense, but it goes against what businesses and economists are saying. “Shoppers are buying less where prices are rising fastest, showing that inflation isn’t being driven by demand but by companies passing on costs.“
From Shoes To…AI?
On April 15th, it was announced that shoe company Allbirds would sell their shoe business and use the proceeds to buy processers and servers to become an AI company. In what seems like bubbly behavior, reminiscent of the dot.com bubble or the crypto craze, it remains to be seen whether they will have success or fail. The immediate shift for the stock was undoubtedly a success. Ticker BIRD went up as much as 800% in a day.
But in the scope of the history of Allbirds, there’s still a looooooooong way to go for anyone still holding from their IPO.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION: Please remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by PDS Planning, Inc. [“PDS”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PDS. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. PDS is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the PDS’ current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.pdsplanning.com. Please Note: PDS does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to PDS’ web site or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please Remember: If you are a PDS client, please contact PDS, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently. Please Also Remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.
