The following is the July 2017 PaperChase365 Market Report. Please note all returns below exclude dividends:

The market continued to show its strength in July, despite the naysayers. Every sector I track put on gains, even weak sectors like energy and telecom. International markets and the Nasdaq continue to be the stars in this market. Quietly, throughout all the dramatic Affordable Care Act repeal and replace efforts, the healthcare sector continues to be an absolute monster. I regret not putting some money to work in IXUS in July, international markets continue to outperform. Maybe I’ll get a pull back sometime this month and jump in.

I have serious doubts about whether this performance will continue into August, the bears are ready to pounce on any sign of weakness. As such, I’m holding a considerable percentage in cash in both my 401k and non-retirement accounts. I recently sold all my large cap, mid cap and small cap mutual funds in my 401k in favor of ETFs in those same sectors, but at these elevated levels I haven’t been aggressive pulling the trigger getting back in. Right now I’m about 50% invested, and heavily weighted in tech.

I have to be careful about staying in cash, last month I also remarked about the large amount of negative sentiment and the market still rose a considerable amount.