Remember, the only choice is optimism, the pessimists never get it right.
Equity markets reached record levels last week after a really good July jobs report and an upgrade to June's report. The majority of corporations were on solid footing just before the pandemic. The positive tax and regulatory environment that was still in place were the ingredients that caught many pundits by surprised. Add to that the avalanche of stimulus money that articulated to the start of an earnings rebound that many pundits did not see coming. (What else is new?)
With the markets setting new high, just like night follows day, all the financial outlets talked about was selling. Once again, we are long-term investors with a focus on income. Last week's article "Don't Interrupt the Compounding" is what I'm focused on. We have to remain invested every day. Very few people can do that. If you haven't already done so, you might want to go back and read that article. Or you can reread just to refresh your memory. The numbers tell the story.
This is no newsflash but, as time marches on, we all are getting older. Recently a client began showing signs of dementia. When reviewing the documents with the designated Power of Attorney, we found a beneficiary for one of the accounts needed to be changed. Hence, when I read the attached article, I decided to attach it to this week's email. Going forward, we will be reviewing all beneficiary designations making sure they are up to date.
My friend, Charlie Stoll, wrote a book about this topic and one of his headlines was how much of our wealth will ignore our wills and follow its own path. We want to make sure that doesn't happen.
As always, should you have any questions or wish to meet with or talk with me, please don't hesitate to email, or call. Sometimes, with all the noise, it's very hard to remain positive. We all need to just keep focusing on what's important to each one of us.