Market Update End of Week:

3 Critical Events To Watch As They Influence Markets

1 - Investors are all-in on equities 📈

For the first time in nearly two years, global asset managers are throwing confetti and not bracing for a recession. That's right, the mood is more "let's party" than "let's bunker down."

According to the latest from Bank of America’s Fund Manager Survey (FMS), investors are betting heavily on a soft landing.

They no longer predict a global recession as the base case scenario. Instead, their cash piles are shrinking and equity allocation is back up around its long-term average.

So, whats the takeaway for us, retail savvy investors?

Don’t underestimate the power of dollar-cost averaging.

If you've been sitting on your hands, waiting for the sky to fall or for that elusive recession to hit, you've missed the boat. The market's been on a joyride without you for the last three months.

Those who've been sprinkling their cash into the market consistently over the past four years? They're the ones popping champagne now and watching their portfolios hit fresh all-time highs.

Moral of the story: Don’t try to be the smartest investor in the room. Be the most consistent. 💰

2 - Buffett adjusts his portfolio 👀

There's no investor whose moves are more closely watched (and copied) than Warren Buffett, the grandmaster of the financial chessboard.

As an institutional investor with more than $100M in assets under management, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is required to file a 13F within 45 days of the end of each quarter.

Well, Berkshire’s latest 13F just dropped—which means we get to see what the Oracle of Omaha was up to in Q4 2023.

Top Buys:

• Chevron: $2.36 Billion

• Occidental Petroleum: $1.17 billion

• Sirius XM: $167 million (We also hold this!)

Top Sells:

• HP: $2.40 billion

• Apple: $1.93 billion

• D.R Horton: $710 million

• Paramount: $450 million

Top Holdings:

• Apple: 50%

• Bank of America: 10%

• American Express: 8%

• Coca Cola: 7%

• Chevron: 5%

• See more

Overall, it looks like Buffett was a net seller in the 4th quarter.

He pared back his massive position in Apple, slashed his positions in Paramount and HP, and added to his energy bets in Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

That leaves Buffett heavy in technology, financials, energy, and consumer staples.

3 - Bitcoin rejoins the 4 comma club 🚀

Up nearly 15% in the past week, Bitcoin is back in rare air. The leading cryptocurrency is now a top 10 global asset, rocking a trillion-dollar market cap.

With its price soaring to $52,000 (and past the psychologically important level of $50,000), Bitcoin hasn't felt this loved since December 2021.

The catalyst? Bitcoin spot ETFs.

Outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) dragged the market down initially, due to the fund’s exorbitant fees and huge pool of previously locked-up bitcoin.

Since then, however, net inflows to Bitcoin ETFs total nearly $4 billion. For context, it took gold nearly 2 years to do the same.

It’s clear: investors are betting big on Bitcoin's scarcity, especially with the halving event on the horizon. This event, a supply squeeze coded into Bitcoin's DNA, is expected to take place in April.

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