The markets are in an interesting place right now. It is has been 30 years since we have seen a sustained interest rate increase, companies and consumers are digesting new tax legislation and the geo-political landscape continues to change across the globe. Throwing in historically high P/E ratios, strong earnings and changing consumer habits to the mix and you have an amazingly high number of moving pieces to follow. Utilizing a Systematic Relative Strength process helps to dull out some of the noise and find pockets of strength that may not be immediately visible with a macro look at the market. The key that we have found is utilizing the systematic portion of our process. By objectively reviewing and adjusting the companies in our strategies we remove emotional attachment that any one person has to a company, allowing us to exit positions in favor of companies with stronger relative strength characteristics.