Featured Commentaries Archive
Ouch, What a Great Quarter
With investors focused on unsettling world events, equity markets shone brightly during the first quarter of 2011, as small-cap stocks paced the broader market higher. This was the strongest first quarter in the stock market in 13 years, as measured by the S&P 500 Index. News on the domestic economy reflected a continuation of modest economic growth with stubbornly high unemployment. .. Read full article.- April 20, 2011 1st Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Optimum Mid Cap Fund
It was a surprisingly strong quarter for equity markets given the numerous disruptions to the world economy. The ongoing devastation in Japan and the turmoil in Africa and the Middle East are creating widespread dislocations in global supply chains and energy markets. Japan plays a critical role in the production of various components and finished products—including electronics and automobiles. .. Read full article.
Equity markets showed remarkable resilience during the first quarter of 2011, rallying in the face of sharply rising oil prices and a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Even the release of weak economic data in early March failed to have a lasting impact on stocks. Small-cap stocks performed especially well, with the Russell 2000 Index gaining nearly 8% versus a little more than 6% for the larger-cap Russell 1000 Index... Read full article.
The first quarter of 2011 saw the best performance by the S&P 500 Index for the beginning quarter of a year since 1998. This occurred despite a myriad of bad global news—more Middle East strife, a horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and more debt problems surfacing in southern Europe, specifically in Portugal. .. Read full article.
The first quarter of 2011 proved to be an eventful one for financial markets, with strong gains for the quarter being accompanied by a small dose of intra-quarter volatility. The year started off quietly enough, as stocks building on 2010’s strength marched steadily higher in a low-volatility uptrend to new 52-week highs by mid-February. .. Read full article.
The market continued to rise during the first quarter of 2011 on the back of modest improvement in the economy and a pickup in mergers and acquisitions activity. The U.S. economy showed further signs of recovery as employment growth picked up, though it remained modest despite a tick up in consumer expectations. .. Read full article.
Equity markets showed remarkable resilience during the first quarter of 2011, rallying in the face of sharply rising oil prices and a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Even the release of weak economic data in early March failed to have a lasting impact on stocks. .. Read full article.
Equity markets showed remarkable resilience during the first quarter of 2011, rallying in the face of sharply rising oil prices and a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Even the release of weak economic data in early March failed to have a lasting impact on stocks. Small-to-mid cap stocks performed especially well during the quarter, with the Russell 2500 Index gaining more than 8.5% versus a little more than 6% for the larger-cap Russell 1000 Index. .. Read full article.
The Fund underperformed its Russell 2000 Growth Index benchmark during the first quarter of 2011 as small-cap growth stocks continued to advance. This was not entirely unexpected as we shifted the portfolio positioning from the fourth quarter of last year into this year. .. Read full article.
The Fund gained just under 2% during the first quarter of 2011. This compares to an increase in value of almost 5% for the portfolio's underlying equity holdings. Thus, the combination of selling calls, that can limit the upside of the underlying equity, and buying put options for protection against a market decline significantly reduced the Fund's returns during the period. .. Read full article.
- April 15, 2011 1st Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/TCH Fixed Income Fund
The Fed Holds
In its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress released March 1, 2011, the Federal Reserve noted that the “strong tenor of the recent information, along with the additional fiscal stimulus… (suggested) that the recovery had gained some strength—a development seen as likely to carry into 2011—and that the expansion was on firmer footing.” .. Read full article. - April 15, 2011 1st Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Herndon Large Cap Value
The Fund outperformed the index during the first quarter of 2011. Stock selection and sector allocation were both positive with stock selection contributing roughly 74% of the outperformance and sector allocation 26%. Seven of 10 sectors in the portfolio bested their respective sector and/or the overall benchmark during the period. .. Read full article.
Despite the revolutionary fervor sweeping the Middle East and the devastating Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear crisis, the Russell 1000 Growth Index and the broader market S&P 500 Index posted gains of 6% and 5.9% respectively during the first quarter of 2011. .. Read full article.
The Fund generated a solid gain during the first quarter of 2011. We are pleased that it captured nearly half of the S&P 500 Index’s return of almost 6% while maintaining a composite net equity exposure of less than 40% on average. Moreover, the Fund outperformed its HFRX Equity Hedge Index benchmark, which actually declined 3.1% during the period... Read full article.
Equity markets continued their upward trajectory throughout January and February, months marked by outperformance of Developed over Emerging Markets, with March ending fairly flat. The portfolio slightly outperformed its MSCI EAFE & Emerging Markets Index benchmark during the first quarter of 2011. .. Read full article.
- April 15, 2011 1st Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/TAMRO Small Cap Fund
Ouch, What a Great Quarter
With investors focused on unsettling world events, equity markets shone brightly during the first quarter of 2011, as small-cap stocks paced the broader market higher. This was the strongest first quarter in the stock market (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) in 13 years. News on the domestic economy reflected a continuation of modest economic growth with stubbornly high unemployment. .. Read full article. The first quarter of 2011 saw the best performance by the S&P 500 Index for the beginning quarter of a year since 1998, and excellent results for the Fund. This occurred despite a myriad of bad global news—more Middle East strife, a horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and more debt problems surfacing in southern Europe, specifically in Portugal. .. Read full article.
Although equity markets exhibited mostly positive momentum throughout of the first quarter of 2011, there was another story being told in the underlying indicators. With the previous quarter closing out on new highs, though with low volume, our indicators showed that market strength could continue. .. Read full article.
- February 9, 2011 4th Quarter 2010 Commentary - ASTON Value Fund
The year started off with a continuation of the trends we saw in 2009—lower-quality companies leading the charge as investors became increasingly optimistic with regards to the prospects for a global economic recovery. .. Read full article.
- February 9, 2011 4th Quarter 2010 Commentary - ASTON/Fortis Real Estate Fund
North American property capped off a very solid year with the MSCI US REIT Index posting a return of 7.4% during the fourth quarter, bringing its total return for the year to 28.5%. This compares favorably with the 15% return generated by the S&P 500 Index in 2010. .. Read full article.
- February 9, 2011 4th Quarter 2010 Commentary - ASTON/Montag & Caldwell Balanced Fund
The Fund lagged its composite S&P 500 Index/Barclays Capital US Government Credit Bond Index benchmark during the fourth quarter and for all of 2010, the latter period by a substantial margin. The year 2010 can be divided into three distinct periods... Read full article.
- February 2, 2011 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Montag & Caldwell Balanced Fund
After dropping double-digits during the third quarter, U.S. equity markets recovered nicely during the final quarter of the year, with the broad-market S&P 500 Index rallying more than 10%. After a sluggish first half of 2011, economic growth increased at a healthier rate during the second half of the year. A pick-up in consumer spending and ongoing solid gains in business investment contributed to third quarter economic growth, while fourth quarter real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) benefited from improved inventory and trade trends, along with continued gains in consumer spending... Read full article.
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