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Minneapolis – December 02, 2019 – Today Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) announced that Larson Payne Larson Group, a team of experienced financial advisors managing approximately $222 million in assets, has joined its employee channel in Edina, Minn. The advisors, Tony Larson, Russell F. Payne and Rob Larson, were previously affiliated with Wells Fargo. Their support staff includes registered client service associates Michelle Farrell and Kevin Gathke.

After a brief, one-week hiatus, U.S. equities resumed their winning ways last week. The S&P^® 500 Index added 1.0 percent to close at 3,140.98. Due to a modest selloff on Friday, Thursday’s closing high of 3,153.63 stands as the new record close. Energy was the only sector to lose ground, while technology, real estate, and consumer discretionary led the way higher. In addition, the consumer seems poised to deliver a strong holiday shopping season. Early reports suggest that Black Friday was a particular success – especially for retailers with a heavy e-commerce presence, and less so for those with both e-commerce and mall square footage. Cyber Monday is expected to see similar strong results. Merger activity also lent to the overall momentum in equities last week, notably TD Ameritrade and Tiffany.

The rally in U.S. equities stalled last week. After six straight weeks of gains, the S&P 500^® Index slipped 0.3 percent, hardly cause for worry, and rather more indicative of some fatigue in the absence of market moving news. There was nothing much new on the trade front, although it is worth noting that another round of tariffs is scheduled for December 15, creating an unofficial deadline for getting a phase one deal done. On the other hand, the economic data was generally positive, just not enough to elicit much reaction. Perhaps the most encouraging reports were the flash Purchasing Managers' Indices (PMIs), which were stronger than anticipated for both manufacturing and services. The housing data was mostly in-line with estimates, while consumer sentiment was steady. Disappointingly, the index of leading economic indicators fell for the third straight month in October, for the first time since early 2016.