To Inspire: Got the winter blues? The medical community calls this seasonal affective disorder (SAD), an actual depression that can happen, most often in winter. The causes are not entirely clear but the shorter days (less sunlight) are thought to trigger a chemical change in the brain that brings about depression-type symptoms. SAD can impact […]

To Inspire: In a year where close to 40% of both global population and global GDP head to the polls, I thought it might be interesting to unpack some of the 2024 political themes our research partners are sharing with us. If you read last week’s Wealthnotes you might recall the average performance of the […]

To Inspire:   One woman’s dream of becoming an author came true this holiday season, with a little help from her grandson. In 1972, Barbara Rieco wrote a children’s book. Despite her best efforts to find a publisher, rejection after rejection followed. More than forty years later, her grandson Chad Cooper decided to publish the […]

To Inform: Last night we had a get together to celebrate my daughter’s 18th birthday. We were standing in the kitchen and my father-in-law asked me, “What do you think about the markets this year? If you look at the news you have some people who think it’s going to be a great year and […]

To Inspire: New Year’s resolutions – over one third of Americans make them but most drop them quickly. A recent Forbes study found that 23% of those making New Year’s resolutions will drop them after only one week and 80% will have abandoned them by March. Only 9% stick with them for an entire year. […]

To Inform: With four trading days left in 2023, we do not believe it is too early to start looking forward toward markets in 2024. Earlier this week, Alex Durbin shared a piece with The Joseph Group’s Investment Committee written by Strategas’ Head of Technical and Macro Research, Chris Verrone. Verrone was sharing “guesses” of […]

To Inspire: Dear Clients and Friends – As is always the case, people from all faith traditions are once again joining Christians in celebrating the Christmas season. For Christians, we celebrate the birth of God’s son who takes on our humanity to reveal God’s love and to suffer and die in atonement for our sins. […]

To Inform: The phrase “Gradually, then suddenly” entered the vernacular through Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. While the characters in Hemingway’s novel were discussing how one of them went bankrupt, we get to talk about a much more pleasing subject, and that is Fed interest rate policy (I said pleasing, not fun!). To borrow […]

To Inspire:   I had a conversation with a friend recently about deciding to be nice. Getting up in the morning and deliberately deciding to be nice. The pre-order scheduled to be picked up early isn’t ready? “No problem.” The repair tech scheduled and re-scheduled multiple times still isn’t going to be here today? “Okay, […]

To Inspire: Many college football fans are extremely disappointed that undefeated ACC Champion Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoffs, replaced by one loss Alabama. Florida State Coach Mike Norvell said he was “disgusted and infuriated” while ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said the decision was “unfathomable.” Like Mike and Jim, I happen […]