November 2018 Client Letter

Here is something I’ve been reviewing with clients that is helping with their unsettledness over the past three months. Most of you have a balanced portfolio, which includes a mix of cash, bonds, precious metals, and stocks. When you hear and read about the market’s decline and the uncertain period ahead, it is wise to remember these nasty headlines are not affecting your entire portfolio. Most of you have approximately 50% invested in equities and the other 50% invested in securities which tend to hold their value or decline less compared to stocks.

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October 2018 Client Letter

When stock market volatility escalates, clients may ask what needs to be done with their portfolio. I explain that often minimal, if any, trading is required. Certainly, heading to the exits is not a strategy we favor.

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September 2018 Client Letter

The 2008/2009 global financial crisis destroyed almost $12 trillion of America’s net wealth. Measured globally, the figure was much larger. Many households and businesses saw their net worth cut in half, or worse. Wealth that had been accumulated over years of diligent saving and investment was annihilated in a matter of months.

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August 2018 Client Letter

Not long ago, Wall Street’s favorite acronym was BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). The BRIC countries were hyped by many of the big brokerage firms as an investment opportunity with profound promise. As a group, the BRICs were believed to have attractive natural resources, a young overall population, and years of robust growth ahead.

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July 2018 Client Letter

Federal deficits and debt are a perennial worry for many investors, but while a burgeoning U.S. government is a long-term problem, public finance at the state level may be the more immediate concern. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a feature highlighting the troubling condition of state budgets.

Even nine years after the last recession, many state budgets still haven’t fully

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