Connor O’Brien, vice president and trust investment officer at Legacy Private Trust Co., joins co-hosts Kate Bruns of Insight on Manufacturing and Ann Franz of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance on this week’s new episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast.
O’Brien talks with Bruns and Franz about how Legacy prepares its clients to manage market instability, and why today’s volatility isn’t out of the ordinary.
Market volatility is simply markets fluctuating based on changes in demand for stocks—when demand is high, market goes up, O’Brien says. The reasons for shifts in demand is far more complex.
Those reasons can include things like expectations how companies report earnings, how good or bad economic data is going to be, new innovations and technology, changes in company leaderships, interest rates, and market sentiment. “I could keep going, but if you package all of those things along with hundreds of millions of investors that are buying and selling stocks, you can see why the markets tend to get a little jittery at times,” O’Brien says.
But recent factors—including a contentious election, tariff hikes, and increasing geopolitical pressure—the S&P and NASDAC are both up over a year ago, about 17 percent and 25 percent respectively.
“Over the long run, the markets really care about two things, and volatility is really driven by two big factors,” O’Brien says, “First is the economy expanding? And the second is (whether) corporate America profitable and growing.”
The best thing that companies can do to plan for inevitable volatility is to expect it, he says.
“We have tried to instill in our clients…this will happen, we need to plan for it, we need to expect it, so when it does come, we have prepared for it,” O’Brien says. “And you have a portfolio that’s built to weather this or any other storm that might come about.”
Listen to all of O’Brien’s insights, including why taking emotions out of investing is important, by downloading the full episode on Spreaker or anywhere you listen to podcasts. NEW Manufacturing Insights is produced by Woodward Community Media; new episodes are released on Thursdays.
