Dec 31, 2019 - Economy

Why it was so hard for investors to lose money in 2019

Axios

2019 was the rare year when the simple investing strategy of targeting almost anything would have worked, the New York Times notes.

What happened: A series of interest rate cuts this year from the Federal Reserve — the first since the Great Recession — juiced the markets, making it a great time for investors.

The winners:

"The S&P 500 index was up 28.5 percent, through [yesterday], its best performance since 2013 and one of the best in decades."
"Broad indexes of the American bond markets are up nearly 9 percent."
"Gold jumped 18.5 percent and silver nearly 16 percent, and other commodities were also up."
"Futures prices for hogs, in case that had been your pick, gained about 18 percent."

The (few) losers: Not everything was a sure bet this year — natural gas and cobalt both fell. And individual stocks can have their risks, as the Times notes Macy's fell 40% this year.

Go deeper: The market will need the Fed again in 2020

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Why it was so hard for investors to lose money in 2019

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