Entries by Jeff Bratzler

BCN Advantage – 2024 Annual Report

Download Full Report For 2024, the S&P 500 rose +23.3% to 5,882, the Nasdaq +28.6% to 19,311, and the Dow +12.9% to 42,544. The IBD Mutual Fund Index gained +8.78%. 2024 marked the second consecutive year the S&P 500 rose more than +20%, a feat not seen since 1997-1998. In September, the Fed slashed rates […]

BCN Advantage – 2023 Annual Report

Download Full Report For 2023, the S&P 500 rose +24.2% to 4,770, the Nasdaq +43.4% to 15,011, and the Dow +13.7% to 37,690. The IBD Mutual Fund Index gained +18.21%. A strong year – but far less impressive once the 2022 decline is factored in: The S&P 500 began 2022 at 4,766 – leaving the […]

BCN Advantage – 2022 Annual Report

Download Full Report For 2022, the S&P 500 fell -19.4% to 3,840, the Nasdaq -33.1% to 10,467, and the Dow -8.8% to 33,147. The IBD Mutual Fund Index declined -35%. The Fed initially regarded pricing pressures as “transitory,” resulting in a slow-footed response that included not only keeping interest rates near zero but maintaining asset […]

BCN Advantage – 2021 Annual Report

Download Full Report For 2021, the S&P 500 gained +26.9% to 4,766, the Nasdaq +21.4% to 15,645, and the Dow +18.7% to 36,338. Marking an important divergence: the IBD Mutual Fund Index lagged +13.5% for the year. January 2022 saw the S&P 500 fall more than 5%, its worst start since 2009. The Dow declined […]

BCN ADVANTAGE: 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

Download Full Report For 2020, the S&P 500 gained +16.3% to 3,756, the Nasdaq +43.6% to 12,888, and the Dow +7.2% to 30,607. These are extraordinary gains coming in the midst of a global pandemic that precipitated economic devastation in the U.S and worldwide. What cannot be underestimated is the power of fiscal and monetary […]

BCN ADVANTAGE: 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Download Full Report For 2019, the S&P 500 gained +28.9% to 3,231, the Nasdaq +35.2% to 8,973, and the Dow +22.3% to 28,538. The IBD Mutual Fund Index rose +29.59%. Over the decade, the S&P 500 gained more than +250%, the 80th percentile for rolling 10-year periods. The longest economic expansion on record is well […]

BCN ADVANTAGE: 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

Download Full Report For 2018, the S&P 500 fell -6.2% to 2,507, the Nasdaq -3.9% to 6,635, and the Dow -5.6% to 23,328, breaking a streak of 9 straight years of market gains. The IBD Mutual Fund Index declined -9.1%. The average hedge fund lost 6.7%. The S&P 500 dipped into official bear market territory, […]

BCN ADVANTAGE: 2017 ANNUAL REPORT

Download Full Report For 2017, the S&P 500 rallied 19.4% to 2,674, the Nasdaq 28.2% to 6,903, and the Dow 25.1% to 24,719. It’s been a nine-peat: nine straight years of market gains. The U.S. stock market has returned a compound 15.5% per year over that span, growing cumulatively more than 250%. January saw the […]

BCN ADVANTAGE: 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

Download Full Report For 2016, the S&P 500 rose 9.5% to 2,239, the Dow 13.4% to 19,763 and the Nasdaq 7.5% to 5,383. The IBD Mutual Fund Index gained only 4.7%. Stocks began 2016 with one of the worst Januarys on record, a reaction to the Fed’s first interest rate hike in a decade. But […]

BCN ADVANTAGE: 2015 ANNUAL REPORT

Download Full Report For 2015, the S&P 500 declined a fractional -0.7% to 2,044, the Dow fell -2.2% to 17,425 and the Nasdaq rose 5.7% to 5,007. Stocks around the world began 2016 with one of the worst Januarys on record, as slumping oil prices, deepening concerns over China, and the Federal Reserve’s first interest […]