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Tax Day is Behind Us and The Economy Continues to Establish New Benchmarks

The financial headlines are buzzing this week as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both notched fresh all-time highs. For those of us who have been in the trenches for a while, these numbers feel like more than just data points... they are milestones of a long, steady climb.

Remembering the Milestones

It’s easy to forget how significant the "thousands" felt when we first crossed them. Seeing the S&P 500 at its current levels brings back that distinct sense of shock from years ago:

  • The 3,000 Mark: First breached on July 12, 2019.
  • The 4,000 Mark: Crossed on April 1, 2021.

While the market lacks the frantic, overnight tenacity of the crypto world... there is a deep reassurance in this slow and steady growth. It represents the compounding power of traditional equity markets... the kind of growth that isn't just appearing out of thin air but is built on the back of corporate earnings and economic resilience.

Executing on Momentum: AMCR and SELF

My personal trading strategy continues to lean heavily on Momentum and Moving Averages. Precision in entry and exit is what keeps the emotion out of the "shocking" highs we are seeing today. Yesterday was focused on the Augmented Income Strategy, although there are good candidates within other Strategies, I am favoring AIS.

Amcor PLC (AMCR)

I recently increased my position in AMCR. As a global leader in packaging, AMCR is often seen as a steady "Dividend Aristocrat," but the recent price action caught my eye. My move was based on a pivot bottom signal and a bullish crossover on the 3-month MACD... finding companies that show a "buy" signal from their technical averages allows for calculated participation in the rally without chasing overextended tech.

Global Self Storage (SELF)

On the flip side, I made the decision to exit SELF yesterday. The move was dictated by the averages... once the stock successfully hit my established Price Targets and the momentum reached my target threshold, the discipline of the strategy required a harvest.

The "Accumulator" Economy

In my view, the self-storage industry... dominated by giants like Public Storage (PSA)... is a fascinating, if somewhat crowded, reflection of American consumerism. While I am aware, from my previous experiences in Transportation, a lot of small businesses utilize Storage to keep their Inventory, it seems strongly funded and growing because of the "Accumulator"!

There is a certain irony in the "Accumulator" mindset. We see a culture that spends with little regard for financial logic, filling up homes and then renting secondary spaces to store the overflow. To me, it’s a landscape of "Accumulators with Tattoos"... a visual representation of impulsive spending without thought on financial logic.

While the storage business model remains robust, I view it through a lens of skepticism regarding the underlying consumer health. When people prioritize "stuff" over the compounding logic of the markets, they provide the floor for certain REITs, but they miss out on the very "slow and steady" growth that makes the S&P milestones so rewarding.

The Strategy Remains: Trust the data, follow the momentum, and ignore the noise of the crowd.

Disclaimer: I am a developer and quantitative trader, not a financial advisor. The trades and strategies discussed in this post are for informational purposes only and reflect my personal trading journal. Investing involves risk. Always perform your own due diligence before making financial decisions.

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