With stock indexes hitting new highs this week, it is worth taking a closer look at what areas are leading the U.S. stock market.  The stocks leading the market during the last six to seven months are very different than the stocks which led the market last year. It may take an increase in interest rates for market leadership to shift again, but when it comes to valuations, there is risk that FANG may bite back against the RUST.

If you have been tuning into the Olympics, chances are you cheered on David Boudia a few days ago as he earned silver in synchronized diving with partner Steele Johnson. While this was Steele’s first appearance at the Olympic games, David competed in Beijing in 2008, though leaving empty-handed. It was during those games he realized no matter what goal he accomplished, fulfillment always seemed just beyond his grasp. David pursued the dream of Olympic glory for what he though it could deliver: fame, adoration, acceptance, happiness; he was misplacing hope and looking for joy in the wrong places. During the 2012 games in London, David brought bronze and gold back to the USA due to a new perspective on life and his sport.. one “greater than gold.”

When asked the secret to happiness and health, Harvest psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Robert Waldinger says it has nothing to do with fame, money, or success. In fact, he believes that good relationships keep us happier and healthier. His evidence? The Harvard Study of Adult Development. Under Robert’s direction, his team and their predecessors have tracked the lives of 724 men to study their work, home lives, and health. Over the past 75 years, 60 of the original group of men are still living and participating in the study while the team begins to look into the lives of more than 2,000 Baby Boomer sons and daughters of the original 724 men. The biggest takeaways from their findings? 

Tonight marks the opening ceremony for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games and for the next two weeks, the world’s focus will be on the games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  While people are flipping around their TVs trying to see if Michael Phelps or the U.S. men’s basketball team will win a gold medal, they are likely to see more “green” as they flip past the financial news.  That’s because history shows the stock market tends to go up during the summer Olympics.

While politics have been the spotlight in news headlines, we can now expect competition to bring us together as coverage of the much anticipated 2016 Olympic Games in Rio begins.  As we cheer on our country and favorite athletes we are sure to witness many victorious celebrations, but at the same time learn from moments of struggle and defeat. Four-time United States National Champion Heather (Dorniden) Kampf once used a setback to propel herself into making a powerful comeback to win gold at a Big Ten Championship.  Today, author Michael Hyatt shares with us three reasons we should stay in the game when the going gets tough. 

Yesterday we held our monthly “Portfolios at Panera” event – a time for clients and friends to have a casual discussion about what is happening in markets.  Our focus yesterday was going through different strategies and looking at the performance leaders and laggards to identify common themes.  If there was one major theme which might summarize the whole discussion it was “the search for income.”

Helen Walton was once quoted saying “It’s not what you gather but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.” Married to the founder of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, she certainly knew a thing or two about wealth but more importantly, the significance of living a life of influence and positively impacting others. Writer Gail Rodgers shares a similar message reminding us our words and actions touch lives far beyond the boundaries we think they go.

As discussed in last week’s issue of Wealth Notes, positive surprises in recent economic data have coincided with new stock market highs. However, we note certain technical indicators are throwing up caution flags regarding how much higher the market may run. The aptly named “Smart Money/Dumb Money” Confidence indicator is one of our favorite measures of investor sentiment. The indicator uses “real money” gauges to track what different groups of investors are actually doing with their money. Oftentimes the behavior of the indicator is simply noise, but extreme movements incite awareness.

After more than a year of treading water the S&P 500 finally moved above its former all-time high of 2135 (set May 21, 2015) this week to set new all-time record highs.  Being only two weeks removed from the “Brexit” market turmoil, setting new highs has seemed to take most investors by surprise. It’s probably not hard to come up with reasons for market caution (we’ve heard there is a presidential election coming up this year) but we are definitely struck by the strength we have seen in recent U.S. economic data.  In this issue we share what we are seeing with three major pieces of economic data.

On Wednesday evening the ESPY Awards were held recognizing individual and team athletic achievement. The winning streak continued for the Cleveland Cavaliers off the court as they received several awards, and the careers of retirees Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, and Abby Wambach were celebrated. As athletes were recognized and admired for their determination, commitment, and confidence throughout the season, an individual “on the sidelines” provided the greatest inspiration that night.