Outen the Lights!
by Towerpoint Wealth
Often the Lights! 10 14 2019 Towerpoint Wealth Trending Today
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Outen the Lights!

In today’s modern society, it is hard to remember or even fathom that some people live their entire lives without the use of electricity. The Pennsylvania Dutch and one of the more amusing, and this week, apropos, calques from their dialect comes to mind: “Outen the lights.“

This week, more than 1 million people in the greater San Francisco Bay Area who live in targeted high-wind and drought conditions had their lights “outened” by the embattled utility PG&E.

While it is difficult to argue that the economic and social costs of another major wildfire outweigh the costs of a planned power outage, planned outages like this cost more than money. Not having electricity is more than an inconvenience – it creates its own new set of safety and health issues, and many have justifiably questioned how the tech center of the universe and the world’s fifth largest economy does not have a better preventative solution.

While the shutoffs helped to protect customers from potential wildfires caused from downed power lines – and also PG&E from new wildfire liabilities – it effectively shut down any public support for the company. In addition to the turmoil surrounding its electricity shutdown, PG&E’s stock plummeted 28% on Wednesday due in part to the bankruptcy judge covering PG&E’s restructuring case allowing for the consideration of alternative restructuring plans for PG&E, plans that would potentially result in a complete loss of value for current PG&E shareholders.

So, putting aside the immensely important societal consequences, there is an important economic lesson to be learned here as well: Owning a concentrated position in any one stock is dangerous and risky, and even blue chip stocks, like PG&E, can and oftentimes do suffer unexpected and precipitous declines.

However, and not surprisingly, emotions, overconfidence, and taxes can get in the way of making intelligent, objective decisions when owning a heavy concentration of stock in just one company, and common questions almost always arise:

  1. Should I continue to just hold it?
  2. Should I sell all of it? Some of it? When?
  3. Should/how can I hedge it?
  4. What if the price goes up? What if it moves down?
  5. How can I at least begin to unwind it?

All very important questions, the answers to which can have a hugely important impact on your shorter- and longer-term financial health and independence, and questions we regularly help clients answer here at Towerpoint Wealth. While we have not been blessed with a crystal ball (at least not with one that actually works!) and cannot predict the future, we do have the expertise, experience, and tools to help you assemble an intelligent and well-thought-out plan, and also, behaviorally, be disciplined and objective in executing on it.

Get started by clicking the Own a Concentrated Stock Position? story found below, and follow up by calling or emailing us to discuss your circumstances further. Unlike employees who work for any of the major Wall Street firms, we have a legal fiduciary obligation to you, and look forward to helping you make well-thought-out and smart decisions.

TPW CLIENT UPDATE – Black Diamond Client Portal

Black Diamond provides an all-in-one portal for Towerpoint Wealth private clients, who are able to monitor ALL of their accounts, assets, and liabilities within one singular headache-free platform and secure online portal. Clients enjoy daily aggregated net-worth reporting and viewing, leveraging Black Diamond’s technology to centralize their financial affairs by connecting to over 800 custodians for real-time data flows.

Click HERE to log in.

The Black Diamond investor platform automatically adapts to the device being used for optimal viewing, on a smart phone, tablet, or desktop, offering Towerpoint Wealth clients greater convenience through anytime, anywhere easy access to all of their financial data, and to their complete wealth picture.

Napkin Finance: Financial Advisors

Credit to Napkin Finance. Click HERE for details.

Wealth + Health: The Ultimate Wellness Prescription – TPW’s Fall, 2019 Client Appreciation Event

We were fortunate to have 45 clients, colleagues, and friends join us for the Wealth+Health: The Ultimate Wellness Prescription client appreciation event we hosted last week at Shasta Smith’s amazing and unique venue in Sacramento, The Vintage Monkey.

We are proud to have brought together such an amazing group of people to not only socialize and mingle, but also to listen to and synthesize the important message that Dr. Bill Lloyd delivered during his presentation. Marrying the inseparable lifelong connection between financial and physical wellness, Dr. Lloyd discussed the key concepts of 1.) awareness, 2.) connection, 3.) resources, 4.) preparation, and 5.) trust, and their pertinence when navigating the most effective and comprehensive approach to growing older.

Client education (and fraternization!) will always be a central philosophy of the Towerpoint Wealth experience, as we relish opportunities to assemble fun and educational events that help to both enrich and educate our clients and friends on a myriad of different themes, subjects, and current issues.

Click HERE to see a few additional photos!

Trending Today

In addition to mingling and motorcycles, a number of trending and notable events occurred over the past two weeks:

As always, we encourage you to reach out to us (info@towerpointwealth.com) with any questions, concerns, or needs you may have. The world continues to be an extremely complicated place. We are 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