March 2018 has almost ended and it looks like it will be another red month. Client portfolios will be affected. The title of this article is dedicated to one particular client who frustratingly refers to the way his portfolio drifts up and down as “seaweed”. His frustration is real and his concern valid. You are right I say. The term we professionally use for seaweed movement is volatility. Sometimes the tide is strong and the moves are high and sometimes the tide is low and the moves are shallow. My agreement with the client does not help his concern. However, "there is no such thing as absolute positive returns" I say, so let's evaluate our alternatives. Straight line, low risk or risk free, absolute returns for investments are a myth, a marketing term used to lead investors into believing that they should invest in whatever the salesman is offering. "Ok", says the investor. "If returns over time are low and potential for losses seems so high, why should we bother", he asks? "Let me just put my money in cash and forget about it". Then conversation goes back to financial planning basics.

In the second week of Match, the new government of Israel celebrated its first anniversary In honor of the event, the publis relations office of the Prime Minister's Office published a list of things that had been done. Among the items were a NIS 12.5 billion investment in transportation infrastructure throughout the country; free education for 290,000 kindergar ten age children; GDP growth of 3.3 percent, compared to the OECD average of 1.2%; an unemployment rate of 6.2%, compared to an average 8% in the OECD; and free dental care for children under 12.

2013 has surprised many with significant positive equity performance coming from major developed market indexes. America's main index - the S&P 500 - is up approximately 26% to end November, and the European main stock index is up 20%, with Germany's stock index showing ~20°m. lt would follow that the average investor made great money in 2013. However, when most investors look at their statements at year end they most likely will not be seeing these levels of numbers - why? Because of bonds.

On Rosh Hashana eve, with the start of the New Year, we find the world ecqnomy moving cautiously but optimistically forward. Over the last year, we have seen the markets stabilized and investors' confidence restored.

There has been a lot of discussion lately in the Israeli pres about "kaircuts" the term used for dept settlements in the bond market, where bond holders lose a substantial part of their invetment. One of the most spectacular settlements is that of the- lDB group, which has a mountain of debt (NIS 8 billion) owed to bond holders and an additional NIS 2.6 billion to banks.