--- title: August Market Commentary - Burney Investment Management description: The stock market enjoyed a remarkably quiet month of August as the S&P 500 finished flat and did not see a single day in which it moved more than 1%. In fact, on July 12th the S&P 500 was down 1.5% and has not seen a greater than 1% move since then. What a contrast ... --- [Skip to content](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/august-market-commentary#main-content) [![Burney Investment Management](https://burneyinvest.com/hs-fs/hubfs/theme/Burney_Invest_Color_Horizontal_%232b.png?width=300&height=110&name=Burney_Invest_Color_Horizontal_%232b.png "Burney Investment Management")](https://burneyinvest.com/) - About - [Company Overview](https://burneyinvest.com/about) - [Burney Difference](https://burneyinvest.com/the-burney-difference) - Strategies - [Size & Style Responsive](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/size-style-responsive-ssr/) - [The Burney Master Portfolio](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/the-burney-master-portfolio/) - [Personalized Portfolios](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/personalized-portfolios/) - [Stock Selection](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/stock-selection/) - [Team](https://burneyinvest.com/team) - [Resources](https://burneyinvest.com/blog) - [Get In Touch](https://burneyinvest.com/contact) 9.8.2016 # August Market Commentary [Andy Pratt, CFA](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/author/andy-pratt-cfa) ![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/dots_y4.svg) ##### Popular Posts [How to Read VIX and VIX Term Structure](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/how-to-read-vix-and-vix-term-spread) [What Happened in the Stock Market Yesterday?](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/what-happened-in-the-stock-market-yesterday) [Performance Matters - 7 Steps Toward More Effective Investing](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/performance-matters-7-steps-toward-more-effective-investing) The stock market enjoyed a remarkably quiet month of August as the S&P 500 finished flat and did not see a single day in which it moved more than 1%. In fact, on July 12th the S&P 500 was down 1.5% and has not seen a greater than 1% move since then. [What a contrast to last August](https://www.burney.com/blog/2015-market-correction-whats-next/)! [This relative calm is reflected in VIX](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/06/something-rare-is-happening-in-the-market-with-the-vix-trader.html), the market fear gauge, though VIX only measures expected volatility 30 days out. ![VIX_August_Update](https://burneyinvest.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/VIX_August_Update.png?width=500&height=287&name=VIX_August_Update.png) Longer term measures of volatility are higher than normal suggesting possible future volatility. In an election year, especially an election year with two unpopular major party nominees, this perhaps should be expected, though there are other explanations as well. >   [Small caps continued the trend we saw earlier in July](https://www.burney.com/blog/equal-vs-market-cap-weighted-indexes/) as the small-cap Russell 2000 index outgained the S&P 500 by 1.7%. This trend is still not strong enough to change the long-term trend though it is something we are watching closely. ![August_Rolling_Size_Differential](https://burneyinvest.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/August_Rolling_Size_Differential.png?width=500&height=339&name=August_Rolling_Size_Differential.png) Utilities, telecom and healthcare stocks declined in August though all sectors have shown positive performance for the year as a whole. It will be interesting to watch the performance of financial stocks ahead now that [REITs were carved out to form the 11th sector](https://www.burney.com/blog/reits-are-now-the-11th-sector-in-the-s-p-500/). REITs served to prop the sector up in recent years. ![August_2016_Sector_Performance](https://burneyinvest.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/August_2016_Sector_Performance.png?width=500&height=191&name=August_2016_Sector_Performance.png)   --- *The Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possesses a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. Burney Company does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice, but offers it through third parties. Before making any financial decisions, clients should consult their legal and/or tax advisors.* ## Articles you may enjoy 07.11.16 #### [Are Index Trends Signaling a Change in the Market?](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/equal-vs-market-cap-weighted-indexes) [![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/circle_right.svg)](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/equal-vs-market-cap-weighted-indexes) 09.07.16 #### [REITS are Now the 11th Sector in the S&P 500](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/reits-are-now-the-11th-sector-in-the-s-p-500) [![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/circle_right.svg)](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/reits-are-now-the-11th-sector-in-the-s-p-500) 02.11.16 #### [On Market Volatility](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/market-volatility-since-1987) [![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/circle_right.svg)](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/market-volatility-since-1987) ![](https://burneyinvest.com/hubfs/theme/burney-invest-logo-white-1-1.png) - [Size & Style Responsive](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/size-style-responsive-ssr/) - [Burney Master Portfolio](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/the-burney-master-portfolio/) - [Personalized Portfolios](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/personalized-portfolios/) - [Stock Selection](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/stock-selection/) - [About](https://burneyinvest.com/about) - [Team](https://burneyinvest.com/team) - [Resources](https://burneyinvest.com/blog) - [Contact](https://burneyinvest.com/contact) **Headquarters** 1800 Alexander Bell Dr. STE 510 Reston, VA 20191 Advisory services are offered through the Burney Company, an investment advisor registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission nor does it indicate that the advisor has attained a particular level of skill or ability. © 2026 Burney Wealth Management | [Research](https://burneyinvest.com/research) | [Privacy Statement](https://burneyinvest.com/privacy-policy) | [Terms & Conditions](https://burneyinvest.com/terms-and-conditions) | [Disclosures](https://burneyinvest.com/disclosures) | [ADV](https://44214779.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/44214779/Burney%20Company%20ADV%20Part%202A%20IM%2026%20REV.pdf) | [Form CRS (ADV Part 3)](https://44214779.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/44214779/Burney%20Company%20Form%20CRS_March%202026.pdf) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Andy Pratt, CFA", "url" : "https://burneyinvest.com/blog/author/andy-pratt-cfa" }, "dateModified" : "2024-04-03T00:52:43.263Z", "datePublished" : "2016-09-08T16:12:40.000Z", "headline" : "August Market Commentary - Burney Investment Management", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://burneyinvest.com/blog/august-market-commentary", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://burneyinvest.com/hubfs/theme/Burney_Invest_Color_Horizontal_%232b.png" } } } ```