IN THE NEWS

November 11, 2020 – ​As we commemorate Veterans Day 2020, we are filled with tremendous gratitude at ​VETS Indexes​ for all United States Military Veterans. We sincerely thank these brave men and women for serving our great nation, so that we may live in freedom. We also wish the United States Marine Corps a belated happy 245t​ h​ birthday, a milestone the Corps reached yesterday. We must never forget the service and sacrifices made by Veterans from all branches of service.

The U.S. workforce is in a very different environment, where gathering in large groups is very difficult and many precautions are needed to keep personnel safe. We feel that this will have an ongoing impact on the way business is conducted and the marketplace. We have seen many organizations continue to work remotely for the remainder of the calendar year, especially with the flu season now upon us. Business travel has been significantly altered, which we expect to continue. These impacts have already been seen within commercial real estate and the travel industries. Bankruptcies are up in both sectors, and unfortunately it seems we will continue to see more of this before things improve. However, industries related to working remotely, such as technology and transportation that are focused on home delivery, have the potential to outperform many other industries.

The market is reacting very positively to the Biden – Harris victory and the split Congress that they will be working with. This is clear based on the price action of risk-on asset classes. This may mean that we’ll see infrastructure spending, which can be a big shot in the arm for the economy. Technology, which has been strong but under much scrutiny from the current administration, is performing extremely well indicating that investors believe the sector will not be under the microscope with a Biden administration.

Pfizer (PFE) just announced a 90% efficacy rate for their Covid 19 vaccine, which is still undergoing clinical trials, but looks very promising to be distributed in the very near future. We have seen pharmaceuticals and biotech companies outperforming the overall market recently, and we expect to see volatility in some of these names as it becomes clear which companies have an effective vaccine. As the Holiday Season closes in, perhaps Santa Claus will visit the markets for Christmas.

“On this Veterans Day, we thank all who have selflessly served our country,” said Karl Snyder, Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist of VETS Indexes. “As a Marine Corps veteran, I am proud to demonstrate that companies that hire and professionally develop our brothers and sisters in uniform benefit tremendously in their enterprise value.”

One of the best ways to support veterans is to help them find successful and fulfilling civilian careers. VETS Indexes remains steadfastly committed to that mission. We recently launched the VETS Indexes Employer Awards (www.vetsindexes.com/employer-awards​), a free program that evaluates employers’ efforts to recruit, develop, and support veterans and the military-connected community — recognizing the best organizations with awards. We have also set the date for our next Employing U.S. Vets Conference: April 15, 2021 at the New York Athletic Club. Learn more about our upcoming conference at the event website (www.employingusvets.com​), where you’ll also find full video from our recent, September 24, 2020 event.