To Inform:  The Stockdale Paradox is a concept popularized by the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. The name refers to Admiral James Stockdale who was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. According to the concept, balancing realism and optimism in a […]

To Inform:  After a week of 1000 point moves in the Dow in both directions, it’s strange seeing another down -700 points (as I’m typing this) but knowing the U.S. stock market is actually UP over 2% from where it was a week ago. We continue to pray for the people impacted by the coronavirus […]

To Inform:  As we said in a separate client update, what a difference a week makes. The S&P 500 hit an all-time record high on February 19. A week ago, leading economic indicators were hitting new highs and a large percentage of corporate earnings reports were exceeding expectations. Then the Coronavirus news hit… in the […]

To Inform: If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, it seems the financial media is focused on negative headlines. Despite concerns related to Coronavirus, 2020 U.S. elections, and uncertain geopolitical risk, it’s worth noting that there is still good news to be found. One area of good news is the state of the […]

To Inform: It’s not the most fun thing to think about on Valentine’s Day weekend, but our financial news feed is being dominated right now by the Wuhan coronavirus and its potential impact on the global economy. While our discussion here focuses on the economic impact, our prayers are for the much more terrible human […]

To Inform: This week we are continuing to unpack our “Top 5 Investment Themes for 2020.” These themes reflect the major discussion points we are currently having in our Investment Strategy Team meetings and are driving the way we are positioning client portfolios. This week’s theme is “Focus on Scenarios, Not Forecasts.” This time of […]

To Inform: Earlier this week we held a successful Portfolio and Pints event where we unpacked The Joseph Group’s “Top 5 Investment Themes for 2020.” For those who were unable to make the event, we also plan to feature some of those themes over the next few weeks in the “To Inform” portion of WealthNotes. […]

To Inform: At next week’s Portfolios and Pints event we plan to focus on The Joseph Group’s “5 Investment Themes for 2020.” For those unable to make next week’s event, we also plan to unpack some of those themes over the next few weeks in the “To Inform” portion of WealthNotes. Our “Top 5 Investment […]

To Inform: To paraphrase the Wizard of Oz, “Impeachment, Iran drone strikes, Recession, oh my!”  The financial markets have been dealing with a lot over the last few months.  The 3rd quarter ended on Monday, and despite the swings, it was a positive quarter for many asset classes and most portfolios.  However, as I’m writing […]

To Inform: With interest rates across the world continuing to decline, a curious thing happened here in the U.S. this week.  The interest rate on a 30-year Treasury, also known as the “long bond” dropped below the dividend yield on the S&P 500. While not unprecedented, stocks paying more in dividend income than the long […]