Luis, Joseph, Niki, and Robin spent more than an hour collaborating about TPW’s current efforts and new opportunities to connect with and help both current and new clients, and we look forward to leveraging Luis’ experience and skills in continuing to enhance the overall value and comprehensive wealth management service offering we provide to our clients.
Or, as Jerry said to George in one of the highest rated episodes of the iconic Seinfeld series, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right!”
Do you think the stock market is a safe place to invest money right now? Is now a good time to channel your inner George Costanza?
Yes, we are currently in an extremely unsettled and unpredictable investment climate, and yes, it stinks when economic and investment “visibility” is poor, account balances are declining, and the daily headlines are less than sanguine.
On the flip side, the labor market is extremely tight – so described when there are more job openings and fewer unemployed people. Indeed, the unemployment rate is extremely low. Consumer activity continues to pick up on the back of the “global reopening,” and China has resumed both monetary and fiscal stimulus. And in a true contrarian sense, we believe the financial markets have fully “priced in” today’s extremely high oil and gas prices, and an ongoing war in Ukraine- if either shows signs of abating, it could be an unexpected source of positive stimulus.
Putting aside the negatives and positives of the current investment and economic climate, we will go out on a very small limb and make the assumption that many of you have some level of internal temptation right now to “stop the bleeding” or “take a breather” from what seems like anything but a safe place to invest money right now: today’s stock market.
It is not only understandable, it is natural to feel this way. It’s human nature to fix an injury, to stanch bleeding, and lately, most investors are feeling punctured. In this environment, the temptation to sell when prices are low can manifest quickly, begging the question – do you have the intestinal fortitude to:
1. Not give in to the compulsion to sell (read: capitulate)
2. Go againstthe herd, making yourself feel even more uncomfortable, and a la George Costanza, do the opposite of what feels right (read: buy when prices are low)
To be clear, everyone has a unique set of personal and financial circumstances, and everyone has different sensitivities to market gyrations and investment risk. This message to “do the opposite” is not intended to be prescriptive. We are not making blanket recommendations to thousands of different people, nor are we specifically directing anyone to head out for a pre-weekend stock market shopping spree. We are simply attempting to convey the importance of the idea of contrarianism, and how going against the herd, while quite difficult, can pay large dividends over time.
While buying low is simple, it certainly is not easy. It definitely falls into the easier said than done category. Yet doing so has proven to pay the largest dividends over time, supporting two timeless quotes from two extremely successful investors:
Is the stock market a safe place to invest money? While safe is a binary word, and while there is no exact, correct binary answer to that question, we strongly encourage you to remind yourself that the stock market is always a safer place to invest when prices are lower.
What’s Happening at TPW?
Our President, Joseph F. Eschleman, CIMA® , spent an intensive three days last week at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), learning (and practicing) how to be a better leader and CEO as an invitee and participant in Dynasty Financial Partners’ Advisor-to-CEO program.
Visit the Towerpoint Wealth YouTube page (don’t forget to click the SUBSCRIBE button!) to see a video “short” containing a full panoramic recap of another incredible visual white board from the course curriculum, similar to the one seen below!
Administered through the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Advisor-to-CEO program contained a spectacular curriculum of experiential executive coursework on a variety of topics, including diversity & inclusivity (D&I), leadership, entrepreneurship, and strategic design thinking, as well as:
✅ Collective ambition ✅ Leadership and culture ✅ The longevity economy ✅ Adaptability quotient (AQ) ✅ Client experience and innovation
Our firm, and ultimately and most importantly, our TPW clients, will undoubtedly benefit from Joe’s continued growth as the President of Towerpoint Wealth, as we are already beginning to integrate a number of ideas that Joe brought back with him from Boston!
Click the image below to watch a short YouTube video and learn about the visual work management andvisual project design (a.k.a. Post-It Note project planning!) that Towerpoint Wealth is implementing.
What else is happening with the Towerpoint Wealth family?
Click the image below to read an excellent article from Bloomberg Tax that itemizes some of the more common characteristics of a return that may make it more likely to be selected for audit, including some features highlighted in the IRS’s 2022 Annual Audit Plan.
TPW News You Can Use
Useful and interesting content we read the past two weeks:
The red-hot housing market is starting to cool this spring, after nearly two years of soaring prices and shrinking inventories. Homebuyers and renters should begin to have more choices and fewer bidding wars, if only just a little.
The avowed white supremacist who killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket first became radicalized during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by scouring extremist internet messaging boards, according to his twisted online diary.
The 18-year-old spent months reflecting on his plans to conduct a mass shooting in the digital journal and said his exposure to 4Chan, an online message board known as a hotbed for extremism, kept him motivated to stick to his plans.
Do Kwon, a South Korean entrepreneur, hyped the Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies. Their failures have devastated some traders, though not the investment firms that cashed out early.
TPW Chart of the Week
Year-to-date returns on US bonds (as measured by the Bloomberg US Agg) through May 6 have been worse than any calendar year on record since 1976.
Over time, inflation hurts purchasing power – A LOT.
An excellent graph below from our friends at Bespoke Investment Group, reflecting the forward one-year price return of the S&P 500, subsequent to a five-month decline of greater than 15% (i.e. what has happened so far in 2022):
Quote of the Week
No caption needed…
Trending Today
As the 24/7 news cycle churns, twists, and turns, a number of trending and notable events have occurred over the past few weeks:
As always, we sincerely value our relationships and partnerships with each of you, as well as your trust and confidence in us here at Towerpoint Wealth. We encourage you to reach out to us at any time (916-405-9140, info@towerpointwealth.com) with any questions, concerns, or needs you may have. The world continues to be an extremely unsettled and complicated place, and we are here to help you properly plan for and make sense of it.
The stock market has been a friend to investors in recent years, just as Brutus was a friend (for a time) to Caesar. However, most of us know the end of that ancient tale: Caesar ignored the soothsayer’s dark and gloomy warning, “beware the ides of March,” ultimately to his peril, as Brutus stabbed him in the back.
Seeing that we are only three days removed from 2022’s Ides of March, should today’s investors be concerned that their portfolio this year may suffer a similar outcome as Caesar, especially understanding the recent spate of “doom and gloom” economic, geo-political, and market forecasts?
Through the Ides of March (March 15), the S&P 500 was down more than 11% year-to-date, marking the fifth worststart to the year ever.
However, then came Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s, and yesterday’s swift and major rebound.
Historically, and as evidenced by the “10 Worst Starts for the S&P 500*” chart found above, comparably
1) The remainder of March 2) The remainder of the first half of the year 3) The remainder of the entire year
How closely are you regularly following financial news stories? Do you feel that 2022 will, or will not, follow this bounceback trend? Click HERE to message us and let us know your thoughts.
Towerpoint Wealth’s wealth-building and wealth-protection philosophy leads us to rarely be led by feelings, get worried or excited by daily market movements (please see the below Chart/Infographic of the Week). And despite historical trends, we have no soothsayer. However, considering the deluge of troubling and worrisome news we have been overburdened with recently, it is important not to get overwhelmed, but instead to be aware and not lose perspective. While history rarely repeats itself exactly, it is certainly rhyming so far this March.
Of course, we would be remiss if we did not also briefly touch upon the price of oil, and concurrently, the price at the pump of a gallon of gasoline. While it is evident that supply disruptions will continue to persist, we feel there is a high probability of a “settling out” of oil and gasoline prices. In fact, it’s already underway.
US oil production is increasing again
The price of oil is down ~ 25% from its recent early March highs
The U.S. imports WAY more oil from Canada than from any other country
What is happening at TPW?
Cheers and a BIG thank you to two excellent Towerpoint Wealth clients, Steve and Toni Shaffer!
We were humbled and privileged to assemble, and then distribute, 100+ bagged lunches, hot coffee, and hand warmers to Sacramento’s homeless community late last month at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament here in downtown Sacramento.
A big thank you to Marilynn Fairgood (again!), and the Brown Bag Lunch program she is in charge of, for helping us coordinate our volunteering efforts.
TPW in the Media
Speaking of financial news stories, our President was recently featured in the February 25 edition of Financial Advisor IQ, a highly regarded wealth management industry publication, discussing what clients need to know about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the impact these developments may have on investments, and how clients can and potentially should respond.
Click the thumbnail image below to read Joseph’s insightful comments and perspective in greater detail.
TPW Taxes – 2022 – Financial News Stories
As the April 18, 2022 “Tax Day” personal filing deadline draws closer, we have seen an unsurprising uptick in tax-related questions, CPA inquiries, and service-related needs. And in the interests of making your life a little easier as you gather your information and prepare to file, we continue to stand ready to help you (and your CPA)!
Please click HERE if you have a specific tax-related question, issue, or need.
Additionally, click on any of the six thumbnail images below for resources, tax tips, commonly asked tax-related questions, and other information. Enjoy!
Wall Street loved the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point interest rate hike on Wednesday, with the Dow soaring 500 points. That’s a clear signal that Fed chief Jerome Powell is not doing enough to fight inflation Read Article
After months of anticipation following his December, 2021 firing by Jeff Zucker, Chris Cuomo has just launched the official opening salvo in what looks to be a protracted legal battle with CNN over not only $125 million, but his character and family drama as well. Read Article
Vladimir Putin’s history makes it hard to imagine a peace agreement in which an independent Ukraine continues to exist. The success of the US, EU, and Britain’s imposition of sanctions in order to force Putin to accept some version of defeat hangs on the four main points outlined in this article. Read Article
Chart/Infographic of the Week
Understanding we can all be influenced by today’s in-your-face, 24/7 news cycle, we believe it is extremely important to put some SPACE between these events, and any response that they may (or perhaps more likely, may *not*) merit.
Quote of the Week
Once again, Warren Buffett nails it. While nobody is perfectly comfortable with volatility and temporary market and portfolio declines, we believe it is important to both expect and embrace volatility throughout your career as an investor.
Trending Today
As the 24/7 news cycle churns, twists, and turns, a number of trending and notable events have occurred over the past few weeks:
As always, we sincerely value our relationships and partnerships with each of you, as well as your trust and confidence in us here at Towerpoint Wealth. We encourage you to reach out to us at any time (916-405-9140, info@towerpointwealth.com) with any questions, concerns, or needs you may have. The world continues to be an extremely unsettled and complicated place, and we are here to help you properly plan for and make sense of it.
The entire TPW family was proudly rocking their new company-branded winter vests today at the office. Everyone is excited at how both warm and chic their new gear is, and a big thanks to FnD Embroidery for helping with the finishing touches!
