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“George Costanza – Investment Guru?”

Is George Costanza smarter than we give him credit for? While he may be the self-professed “Lord of the Idiots,” one of the ideas that George advanced during his character’s tenure on Seinfeld is directly applicable to the mindset needed to successfully build net worth and handle the temperamental stock market.

As we are all aware, the financial markets are extremely volatile. Tariffs and a concurrent trade showdown with Chinacorporate earnings announcementsinterest rate fluctuationsdaily economic announcements, and the ongoing Washington D.C. political soap opera are just a few of the myriad of drivers (read: noise) contributing to the shorter-term fluctuations of the financial markets.

We feel the more important question is: How much of this noise should matter to an investor looking to grow their portfolio and net worth? And we feel the answer is: Not very much.

We believe it is good to be skeptical of market advances, and conversely, to expect (we would argue, even embrace) market pullbacks, a very healthy philosophy that can none-the-less seem counter-intuitive. In other words (and as a shout-out to you Seinfeld fans out there), consider applying the George Costanza approach to investing, do the opposite of what you are hearing from your friends and from the media, and do the opposite of what also, instinctually, may feel right to you:

Two final illustrations supporting our point:

1. Expect pullbacks.

2. Bulls are bigger and longer than bears. The average bull stock market period lasted 9.1 years, with an average cumulative total return of +480%; the average bear stock market lasted 1.4 years, with an average cumulative loss of -41%.

Closer to home, we trust it is evident that at Towerpoint Wealth we take great pride in serving our clients as a fully independent wealth management firm; but being independent does not mean being alone. The partnerships we continue to develop with financial industry leaders allows us to leverage the expertise of important external resources, as evidenced by our meeting on Wednesday with Erik Feldmanof Schwab Advisor Services, and Tom Glamuzina of Dynasty Financial Partners, at TPW’s downtown Sacramento headquarters.


Both Erik and Tom, along with Dynasty and Schwab, provide us direct support and counsel as we refine and improve our client service offering and internal systems and procedures, and we feel extremely fortunate to have them as part of the Towerpoint Wealth team.


In addition to the TPW firm development activities mentioned above, there have been a number of trending and notable events that have occurred over the past two weeks:

Lastly, please take three or four minutes to review the curated content found below, highlighted by:

  • Our most recent April, 2019 Monthly Market Lookback“This Is It!”
  • An excellent illustration that reviews just how important it is to diversify your portfolio, and just how cyclical the investment markets are
  • An excellent app, if you never want to rent a boring ride again

We encourage you to reach out to us (info@towerpointwealth.comwith any questions, concerns, or needs you have. The world continues to be an extremely complicated place, and we continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.

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This is It

This is It

There’ve been times in my life, I’ve been wonderin’ why

Still, somehow I believed we’d always survive Now, I’m not so sure

You’re waiting here, one good reason to try

But, what more can I say? What’s left to provide?

You think that maybe it’s over, Only if you want it to be

Are you gonna wait for a sign, your miracle? Stand up and fight

This is it

Make no mistake where you are This is it

Your back’s to the corner This is it

Don’t be a fool anymore This is it

The waiting is over

No, don’t you run No way to hide

No time for wonderin’ why

It’s here, the moment is now, about to decide

(From “This is It”, by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, 1979)

Why does the back of our neck itch right now? The economy seems to be doing fine, the stock market is booming, earnings are solid, inflation is non-existent, interest rates remain low, and global central banks remain accommodative.

All of the “signals” we’ve been focusing on in the past several months remain solidly “in the green”. So why are we apprehensive? Perhaps we shouldn’t be, and simply are falling prey to our inner “Chicken Little” who always thinks the sky is falling. We’ve been guilty of that before.

We think complacency is the root of our itch. Market volatility once again has become somnambulant, with the VIX trading below 15% since February (the historical norm is closer to 20%). The markets seemingly are ignoring geopolitical issues (trade tensions, Brexit, Italy, France, North Korea, etc.) and are trading in a very 

“Candide-ish” manner (“All is for the best in this the best of all possible worlds”). Nothing is moving the needle.

And that’s what’s bugging us. Nothing is moving the needle – the markets just keep trading higher. We hated the days when market movement revolved around Fed policy announcements

– when bad news was good news because the Fed would ride to the rescue – but we seem to be back in that mode.

Please don’t misunderstand – there is a lot to like about the global economy and corporate earnings right now. Frankly, we would be positively giddy if the rest of the world wasn’t in that same state already. We are reminded of Bob Farrell’s “10 Rules for Investing”:

  1. Markets tend to return to the mean over time
  2. Excesses in one direction will lead to an opposite excess in the other direction
  3. There are no new eras — excesses are never permanent
  4. Exponential rapidly rising or falling markets usually go further than you think, but they do not correct by going sideways
  5. The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom
  6. Fear and greed are stronger than long-term resolve
  7. Markets are strongest when they are broad and weakest when they narrow to a handful of blue-chip names
  8. Bear markets have three stages — sharp down, reflexive rebound and a drawn-out fundamental downtrend
  9. When all the experts and forecasts agree — something else is going to happen
  10. (emphasis added)
  11. Bull markets are more fun than bear markets

With that as a backdrop, looking out over the current economic and investment landscapes, here is what we see.

The Current Economic & Market Landscape

The global economy is still expanding, though slowly: 

  • The first estimate of Q1 GDP growth in the US is a whopping 3.2%, much higher than earlier expectations. A fair amount of this was due to inventory growth, which suggests lower growth in the future as the inventories are sold off (source: Bureau of Economic Analysis). We suspect future estimates of Q1 growth will show lower but still positive growth. Growth estimates for all of 2019 remain in the 2.0% — 2.5% range (source: The Wall Street Journal);
  • Ongoing trade negotiations and additional fiscal and / or monetary stimulus could change the economic outlook for the US over the course of the year. Specifically, US / China trade talks seem to be progressing (though our expectations are muted), and the table seems to have been set for a massive ($2 trillion) infrastructure project in the US. There are no details yet, no final agreement, and no suggestions as to how a deal of this magnitude might be paid for;
  • Both the US manufacturing and services sectors remain in expansionary mode (52.8 in April and 56.1 in March, respectively; any reading above 50 is considered expansionary) (source: Institute for Supply Management);
  • The federal debt and deficit are exploding and any infrastructure project will balloon these numbers, but neither political party is the least bit interested in addressing the issue – it is all about spending, all the time. There is no spending discipline in Washington, DC right now. This may be good for the current economy, but the piper will be paid;
  • Inflation is nowhere to be seen and there seems to be an insatiable demand for US Treasury paper. Both of these factors are keeping longer-term interest rates very low;
  • The Fed is in a bit of a “pickle” – high economic growth and low unemployment might suggest a “tightening” stance, but inflation is non-existent (for now), and the markets would probably react violently to a rate hike. We anticipate no movement – either higher or lower – from the Fed for the remainder of this year;
  • The employment picture in the US remains robust, and wage increases are finally showing up – not commensurate with the low levels of unemployment and not enough to spark inflation (yet), but workers definitely are making more money, across almost all industry sectors;
  • As we wade through the heart of Q1 earnings season in the US, both the revenue and earnings “beat rates” are positive and generally in line with historical averages;
  • The primary threats to continued economic expansion remain trade policy negotiations with China and ongoing political turmoil in Europe (Brexit, Italy, France, and Germany);
  • With little movement expected from the Fed, low inflation, and (perhaps) a slowing economy, there is little upward pressure on interest rates;
  • We maintain our outlook, however, that rates in the US generally will inch steadily higher, with periodic reversals during market disruptions;
  • The yield curve remains very flat, although it has steepened slightly from previous months, but the long end remains “tamped down” by high demand for US Treasuries and a lack of inflation fears;
  • Through the end of April, there is only ~21 basis points difference between the yield on the 2-year and 10-year Treasury – this is incredibly flat but actually represents a slight steepening from previous months;
  • We maintain our position that we do not fear an inverted yield curve – should one occur, we believe it will be because of investment flows and, even should it be a harbinger of recession, we will have 12-18 months of “lead time”;
  • Contrary to our expectations, the US dollar has strengthened over the past few months. We attribute this to the “cleanest dirty shirt” syndrome – despite the relatively dovish tone of the Fed, the US economy is outpacing the rest of the world and investment flows are responding accordingly;

Manufacturing all across the Euro area continues to slip and remains in non- expansionary territory – 47.8 in April, the second lowest reading since April 2013 (source: IHS Markit and TradingEconomics);

  • The Euro-area Services Index remains expansionary (52.7 in March), but is decidedly slowing (source: TradingEconomics.com);
  • Eurozone unemployment is stable at 7.8%, and remains at its lowest level since 2008 (source: TradingEconomics.com);
  • Inflation is a non-issue in Europe, and the ECB has changed course from its planned “tapering” of quantitative easing. Deflation is a bigger risk than out-of-control inflation at this point;
  • Japan’s GDP is back in positive territory, but remains sluggish and sensitive to changes in exchange rates. A slowing global economy and a weakening dollar (should it occur) will not help;
  • China’s (official) GDP growth in Q4 was 6.4% (annualized), the lowest reported growth rate since the Financial Crisis in 2008;
  • The Chinese manufacturing index remains in non-expansionary territory, for the first time since May 2017. There are signs, however, that Chinese fiscal and monetary stimulus is beginning to have a positive effect.
  • Should this continue, it will be beneficial to the global economy, especially Europe and other EM countries.

The Towerpoint Wealth Economic & Market Outlook: 

  • The global economy continues to expand, though there is a deceleration of growth;
  • US economic growth, interest rates, inflation, and earnings are all weakening but remain generally expansionary. Wages and input prices are starting to increase, though slowly, and we do not see them as threats (yet) to continued expansion;
  • Outside the US, inflation simply is not a problem, due to slow growth and relatively stable input prices (despite the fairly steady rise in oil prices);
  • Global central bank policies remain “synchronized” around an easing theme, and this should be beneficial for risk assets;
  • Market volatility is low, and we are concerned that “complacency” has set in;
  • US valuations are once again steep. We still like EM valuations relative to US valuations (though they are only average relative to their own historical norms);
  • The US yield curve remains incredibly flat (there is currently a ~21 bps difference between the 2-year and 10-year yields), as lower longer-term expected growth rates and investment flows combine with only modest inflation expectations to “tamp down” the long-end of the curve;
  • The public credit markets continue to look very expensive to us, although investors seem to be fairly compensated for default risk, as corporate balance sheets generally are in very good shape. We remain concerned, however, about high yield liquidity and refinancing risk and the growing level of “covenant lite” bank loans;
  • For investors who can access the private markets and handle some degree of illiquidity, we still believe there are better opportunities in the private versus public markets, though investors face compressed premiums versus historical levels, driven by huge investment flows over the past 24-30 months;
  • Alternative investments, both Hedge Funds and Liquid Alts, disappointed investors in 2018, and both spaces witnessed extensive investment outflows as a result (as we expected). 2019 so far seems to be a continuation of this trend, although we believe that the current stage of the market cycle suggests the need for lower-correlated investment strategies;
  • We believe that real assets, after a nice YTD rally, will more or less stabilize as we move through the remainder of 2019;
  • While we generally are constructive on the global economy and overall market potential, investors should not extrapolate now into forever – the market will turn;
  • With that in mind, clients need to have their expectations managed as to what a globally diversified portfolio can deliver over a full market cycle.

So, we find ourselves in a bit of a conundrum – most of the market signals remain “green”, and we generally are optimistic about the potential for risk assets over the remainder of 2019.

This is the consensus view and, frankly, that is what gives us pause. “When all the experts and forecasts agree — something else is going to happen”. We are not losing any sleep just yet, but we think there may be some sleepless nights ahead. Pay attention, stay diversified, and keep your investment horizon aligned with your financial plan.

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“We Have a Hunch You Can Take a Punch!”

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

A big part of a financial advisor’s job is to help clients develop a well-thought-out and comprehensive financial, investment, and retirement plan. Yet no matter how thorough and detailed a client’s plan is, what good does it do them if they abandon the plan during an inevitable bout of market volatility?


This is a very important question the wealth management industry continues to ask itself. Advisors can attempt to educate clients about, and prepare them for, these pullbacks and downturns, but until they actually happen it can be difficult to predict or measure just how prepared a client is to be “punched in the mouth.” At Towerpoint Wealth, we believe that developing the intestinal fortitude to tolerate, and even flat-out accept, temporary declines in account balances is one of the primary factors in helping clients build their net worth over time.

Recognizing that we are currently in the throes of the longest bull market in history, stock prices have basically moved in one direction (UP!) for the greater part of the past ten years. And while this remarkable decade-long run has been enjoyable for many investors, witnessing almost linear growth in their account balances and personal net worth, it is atypical.

At Towerpoint Wealth, we are not suggesting that we expect things to change, nor are we predicting an immanent pullback – we are quite humble in our ability (or lack thereof) to consistently and accurately predict the future. And we do remain optimistic that this current expansion can continue. But we will always be pragmatic, and are sober to the reality that building personal net worth is not easy, takes discipline and time, and rarely occurs in a straight-line fashion. Mike Tyson’s professional record was 37-0 before he was knocked out by Buster Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in sports history, and along the same vein, we recognize that a big part of our responsibility is to not only help our clients plan and prepare for the unexpected to happen, but to expect the unexpected to happen. It is essential that we work diligently with our clients to objectively construct a disciplined and customized wealth management plan in times of stability, to ensure we do not change it during inevitable times of instability. In other words, learn how to expect, and take, “a financial punch,” and just as importantly, learn how to minimize its impact.

Speaking of working with clients, our President, Joseph Eschleman, spent two days in Washington, DC last week conducting a comprehensive client financial review meeting. At Towerpoint Wealth, we believe strongly in face-to-face communication, and do not let geography stand in the way of the partnerships we have with our clients.


Additionally, we gave a big thank you earlier this week to one of our trusted business partners, Brian Kassis, of RE/MAX Gold – Sierra Oaks, for the lovely Edible Arrangements fruit basket he gave us. Comprehensive wealth management entails us helping our clients not just with their investments and portfolio, but with the proper coordination of ALL of their financial affairs, including tax minimizationinsurance and risk management, estate planning, income generation, personal liability managementcompany and employee benefits analysis, and real estate portfolio management. It is for this reason that we have formed close partnerships with professionals like Brian; we are afforded, and can offer our clients, a “deep bench” of wide-ranging financial experts who stand ready to help in a myriad of economic areas.

It has been two weeks since we last published Trending Today, and there have been a number of newsworthy and notable events that have occurred:

Lastly, we encourage you to take three or four minutes to review the curated content found below, highlighted by:

  • A YouTube video featuring Shirl Penney, CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, discussing the myriad of resources that Towerpoint Wealth draws from Dynasty, leveraging their very deep bench
  • An excellent, up-to-date, “insiders look” at what is happening in Washington, DC politics, including fresh perspectives on the 2020 Presidential election
  • A must-have app if you travel internationally

We encourage you to reach out to us (info@towerpointwealth.comwith any questions, concerns, or needs you have. The world continues to be an extremely complicated place, and we continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.

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“Streaming is Streaming”

It is getting more expensive to Netflix and chill.

In November, 2010, the streaming video leader introduced its “standard” service plan with a $7.99/month price point. Fast forward to January of this year, and that same standard plan now costs 63% more, or $12.99/month.

Not surprisingly, Netflix’s revenue, and stock price, demonstrated a close correlation with these price increases:

In the early days of video streaming services, the choice was simple: Get Netflix. But today, competition reigns supreme, and we have a plethora of choices in the streaming space: Hulu LiveAmazon VideoSling TVDirecTV NowYouTube TVPlayStation VueApple TV (among a host of others), and officially announced just today, Disney+.

The notion that streaming services will supplant the monolithic cable packageseemed far-fetched and improbable just a few years ago, but today, cutting the (cable) cord is a regular occurrence. However, many argue we have too much choice now (see the JustWatch app below to help sort out this fragmentation), and feel we are close to a breaking point in the market. As more services fill the streaming landscape, eventually some companies will feel the squeeze, and as these options continue to kaleidoscope, prices should compress as competition prevails. More choices and lower prices – consumers ultimately win with free market economy.

Closer to home, our Director of Tax and Financial Planning, Steve Pitchford, our Director of Research and Analytics, Nathan Billigmeier, and Partner – Wealth Advisor, Jonathan LaTurner, all sharpened their professional saws earlier this month, attending the Dynasty Financial Partners Investments Forum in Dallas, TX.

In addition to a keynote presentation from Richard Fisher, the former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Forum agenda included breakout sessions with industry experts discussing global economic forecasts, global equity, interest rates and credit, real assets, and non-traditional investments (alternatives and private equity). A Washington D.C. and political update was well received, as were workshops on evolving investment niches in ESGOpportunity Zones, and BitcoinJohn Elway also made an appearance!

Denver Bronco football not included, there have been a number of trending and notable events that have occurred over the past two weeks:

Lastly, we encourage you to take three or four minutes to review the curated content found below, highlighted by:

  • Our most recent March, 2019 Monthly Market Lookback, “Whataya Want From Me?”
  • An excellent article discussing how to manage the avalanche of emails we all seem to deal with today
  • A commentary discussing Apple’s upcoming April 30th earnings report, and supposedly massive capital return plan to shareholders

We encourage you to reach out to us (info@towerpointwealth.comwith any questions, concerns, or needs you have. The world continues to be an extremely complicated place, and we continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.

– Joseph, Jonathan, and the entire Towerpoint Wealth team

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“Stunned at Your Refund?”

Filed your taxes yet? Disconcerted by the results of your return if you have?

With the 2018 tax filing season currently in full swing, many of you non- procrastinators who have completed your 2018 returns have been flat-out surprised. The new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) the most sweeping update to the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years, looks, on the surface, to have had a negative impact on many taxpayers, with refunds being either greatly reduced, or for some, even worse: a debt now owed to the IRS.


However, we oftentimes forget there are two sides to virtually every story. Because, while a number of taxpayers have experienced a negative change in their actual income tax refund, many did not notice that the tax withholding on their paychecks also changed (decreased) last year, affecting their overall federal tax liability. Put simply, some people have been getting bigger paychecks thanks to TCJA, and this has affected their refund status.


For approximately two-thirds of the taxpayers in the country, the overall federal income tax liability for 2018 has actually decreased, but it has not felt that way for many. Taxpayers in high tax states like California and New York are upset about losing many of their itemized tax deductions, specifically two of the most popular: the SALT (state and local tax) deduction and the mortgage interest deduction. However, what has been overlooked is the overall net economic benefit of the new and much higher standard deduction (not to mention much less time being spent in completing their tax return):

If you feel stung as you prepare your 2018 income tax return, have questions about how to minimize your obligation to the IRS, or would like an expert opinion on managing your current and future tax circumstances, do not hesitate to contact us. Our Director of Tax and Financial Planning, Steve Pitchford, continues to be an amazing expert resource, is here to serve, and happy to collaborate with you and/or your tax advisor.


Closer to home, the entire Towerpoint Wealth team took a full day away from our responsibilities at the office to roll up our sleeves and help the Sacramento homeless community, volunteering to prepare and serve lunch at Sacramento Loaves and Fishes.


It was a productive, sobering, and rewarding day of giving back to the local community and to those in great need, and we look forward to continuing to cultivate the TPW culture of volunteerism and of community outreach and support.

Click HERE to see additional photos of our day posted to the Towerpoint Wealth Facebook page (don’t forget to follow us as well).

Lastly, we encourage you to take three or four minutes to review the curated content found below, highlighted by:

  • A well-written article discussing the “gold nuggets” of the tax world, tax credits
  • Our recently-published white paper discussing Responsible Investing
  • A handy iPhone/Android app that allows for seamless coordination of all travel-related details and information

We encourage you to reach out to us (info@towerpointwealth.comwith any questions, concerns, or needs you have. The world continues to be an extremely complicated place, and we continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.

– Joseph, Jonathan, and the entire Towerpoint Wealth team

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“How Low Can Stocks Go?”

That was the headline of the Money and Investing section of the March 9, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal. The Great Recession was still in full force, the economy was seemingly ripping apart at the seams, and we were in the throes of the scariest financial crisis since the 1930’s. The cover of Time magazine that same day summarized the somber set of financial and economic circumstances:

The stock market (S&P 500) was down 56% from its all-time high; big, well-known banks were going bankrupt; and unemployment in the U.S. was over 8%, leaving around 27 million workers (roughly one out of every six U.S. workers) either unemployed or underemployed. The world was clearly coming to an end, right?

Hit the fast forward button ten years. The bull market has now entered its tenth year. The S&P 500 is up 305% (!) since its March, 2009 nadir. Unemployment now stands at 3.8%. The energy crisis has gone the way of the dodo, as the U.S. has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia and is now the world’s biggest oil producer. Corporate profits are at record highs. And Apple has sold 1.3 billion iPhones. It has been only ten years, and the financial world is completely different, for the better!

The only problem with this ten-year advance? A large swath of regular investors, acting out of fear, either completely missed or did not fully participate in this advance. We know this to be true, because reliable data regarding stock ownership shows that since the 2008 financial crisis, hundreds of billions of dollars have been pulled from U.S. stock funds. Also, Gallup, which annually polls to discover the percentage of Americans who own stocks in one way, shape, or form, found that ownership has dropped: From 62% of Americans in 2008, to 54% as of 2017.


The world continues to evolve, and economies continue to develop and revolutionize way more quickly than any of us are aware of, driving economic growth and global stock markets over timeWe urge you to not let fear cause you to miss out, as the fun part is imagining where we will be ten years from now. Our guess is that we would barely recognize what our economy, society, and markets look like compared to today, but that it will be much better than any of us can even imagine.


While exciting, the much-talked-about ten year bull-market anniversary has not been the only newsworthy story over the past two weeks, as a plethora of notable events have occurred:

Lastly, we encourage you to take three or four minutes to review the curated content found below, highlighted by:

  • A timely article discussing the Top 10 Tax Facts in 2019 you need to know.
  • A well-written article discussing how a robust IPO market this year may drive real estate prices even higher in and around San Francisco.
  • A straightforward fact sheet outlining why at Towerpoint Wealth we affectionately call CDs certificates of depreciation.

The fact remains: The world is a very complicated place, and we encourage you to call (916-405-9140), email (info@towerpointwealth.com), or Tweet (@twrpointwealth) with any concerns, questions, or needs you have. We continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.

– Joseph, Jonathan, and the entire Towerpoint Wealth team

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‘The New Metrics of Tesla’s Electrics’

An “affordable” electric car has officially hit the U.S. mainstream, as Tesla launched the long-awaited standard Model 3 just yesterday, with a starting cost of $35,000.

Whether this represents the “acceleration of the transition to sustainable transportation” or another unprofitable nail in the electric car maker’s eventual coffin remains to be seen (TSLA stock slid -7.8% today upon release of this news). However, we are quite confident in Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s continued penchant for thinking big, jettisoning the status quo, and continuing to surprise the marketplace with his vision, ambition, and execution. Regardless if the ending is happy or sad, the TSLA story will continue to be a very exciting one!

Speaking of thinking big, the NASDAQ enjoyed its tenth straight positive week this week. The last time that happened was nearly two decades ago, in 1999!

Locally at Towerpoint Wealth, we enjoyed letting our hair down and celebrating our sincere appreciation of each of our clients and friends, hosting our BIG second annual client appreciation event at The Bank in downtown Sacramento. We had 130+ “family members” enjoy wonderful food catered by Mama Kim’s, wonderful music by Vince and Fred (a.k.a. Two On a String), craft cocktails by The Bank’s fabulous bartenders, and a fun photo booth from Perfect Pixel!

We fully recognize we would not exist without our clients, and that a strong and confident clientele is the lifeblood of Towerpoint Wealth. And we are already planning for our next outsized appreciation/thank you party in 2020…!
   
Click HERE to see all of the photos of the event!

Lastly, we encourage you to take three or four minutes to review the curated content found below, highlighted by:

Towerpoint Wealth’s February, 2019 Monthly Market Lookback: Always Look on the Bright Side of Things

A well-written article discussing the problems that fake online reviews cause, how to spot them, and whether or not online reviews can be trusted at all

A fresh perspective on the myriad of Social Security issues our country faces, and the wall Social Security is set to run into in just 15 years

The fact remains: The world is a very complicated place, and we encourage you to call (916-405-9140), email (info@towerpointwealth.com), or Tweet (@twrpointwealth) with any concerns, questions, or needs you have. We continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.
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Trending Today – GOING GREEN – Gospel or Gimmick?

February 15, 2019

Whether you endorse it or mock it, whether you believe it is an ambitious social plan to implement new and critical greenhouse gas-reducing, zero-emission energy policy, or an idealistic and intrusive utopian manifesto, you must acknowledge that the Green New Deal (GND) has not only been a controversial lightning rod, but also a perfect microcosm of partisan politics.

Understanding Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Ed Markey’s new resolution is not legally binding proposed legislation, rather, simply a declaration of aspirations and goals, it has captured the attention of Americans throughout our great country. And whether you agree or disagree with parts or all of it, the GND further advances the idea that environmental policy and economic policy are inextricably linked, and represents another chapter in the ongoing fight about our future as a nation.
An investment-specific tangent to the publicity generated by the Green New Deal has been the increased attention given to responsible investing (also known as socially responsible investing -SRI – or environmental, social, and governance – ESG – investing) by both institutional and retail investors. According to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investmentmore than one out of every four dollars under professional management in the United States (more than $12 trillion) was invested according to SRI strategies.

At Towerpoint Wealth, we fully recognize that many of our clients have an interest in ensuring that their portfolio parallels and is reflective of their personal values, and we have embraced this important theme within our overall wealth management philosophy Read more HERE. Recently, we tasked our Investment Committee with the directive of developing a model responsible investment portfolio, and in the interests of making the subject a little easier to understand, we also penned a thorough white paper on the subject. 

Towerpoint Wealth, we had a quorum yesterday, which led to a productive brainstorming session about improving our client service standards and outlining key client educational and marketing initiatives for 2019. We truly feel blessed and fortunate at the myriad of skills, capabilities, talents, and personality each member of the TPW team brings to the table, ALL in the interests of serving our clients and helping them achieve, and then maintain, their complete financial independence.

The world is a very complicated place, and we encourage you to call (916-405-9140), email (info@towerpointwealth.com), or Tweet (@twrpointwealth) with any concerns, questions, or needs you have. We continue to be here for you, and look forward to connecting with, helping, and being a direct, fully independent, and objective expert financial resource for you.