facebooklinkedintwitter

The Joseph Group

Wealth Notes

  • Becoming the Best Version of You

    May 23, 2017

    Perhaps you read the recent Columbus Dispatch article on Michelle Melland.  She’s the 50 year old wife and mother of twin teenage girls who battles ALS, the incurable, paralyzing and eventually fatal disease otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

    More Info
  • Local High School has 100% of its Seniors Accepted to One or More Colleges!

    April 20, 2017

    Can you name the local high school that has 100% of its seniors accepted to one or more colleges?  Upper Arlington?  Bexley?  Columbus Academy?  CSG?  Nope, it’s Cristo Rey Columbus the amazing downtown Catholic school that provides a college preparatory education to under-served central Ohio youth from all faiths who come from economically challenged families.  More than half of that school’s seniors will be the first in their families to attend college!  Talk about a game changer – this school is producing pioneers – young people whose futures will be radically transformed because of this life changing high school.

    More Info
  • Is Politics Proving Taxing for Small Cap Stocks?

    April 20, 2017

    Looking at performance for different areas of the U.S. stock market, small cap stocks are the weakest performers so far in 2017.  While the Morningstar Large Company Blend average is up about 4.5% year-to-date (through April 19th), the Morningstar Small Blend average is essentially flat for the same period.

    More Info
  • First Quarter Asset Class Recap

    April 7, 2017

    With a backdrop of political headlines and strong economic data, most asset classes posted positive results for the first three months of 2017.  What we found most interesting though was the change in leadership from the end of 2016.  Areas of the markets which led the markets immediately after Trump’s election lagged in the first quarter, while areas which did not perform as well in November and December of 2016 were the market leaders in the 1st quarter of 2017.  

    More Info
  • How to Live Life With Purpose

    April 7, 2017

    Greg Knopp, one of my college fraternity brothers, now lives in Washington DC and serves as the Executive Director, Political Affairs for the American Council of Engineering Companies.  In a recent newsletter to his members, Greg shared the following:
    “After 35 years in the advocacy business, the best secret I’ve learned about growing your organization (or yourself, for that matter) is that there are no secrets. What makes a real difference is a commitment to the fundamentals, to what Covey referred to as “principles.” Jim Rohn put it this way: “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals. ”It’s not fun. It’s not sexy. It requires focus, hard work and patience. But when you trust both the process and yourself, you will see results.”

    More Info
  • Joseph Palmer

    March 20, 2017

    We’re sorry to share that our father, Joseph Palmer, died last Friday March 10th. Dad would have been 86 on March 22nd. We are so thankful to God for his long and good life and we are so thankful that God gave dad to us – what a priceless gift! If we can love the way dad loved as a husband, father, grandfather and friend, we will have lived well indeed.

    More Info
  • INTERESTing Market Response to Fed Rate Hike

    March 20, 2017

    Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased their upper target for the Federal Fund Rate (think short-term interest rates) from 0.75% to 1.00%. The increase was the second rate hike in the last three months, but only the third hike since the global financial crisis. We share with you some of our thoughts on the response to the Fed rate hike from different areas of the financial markets.

    More Info
  • Stocks Can Get Cheaper as They Go Up

    February 17, 2017

    One of the biggest questions clients are asking right now is “Are stocks expensive?” And the short answer is yes – based on historical comparisons, valuations on U.S. stocks are definitely high. According to research from the Leuthold Group, as of 12/31/2016 the S&P 500 trailing price to earnings (P/E) ratio was in the 90th percentile (meaning stocks have only been more expensive 10% of the time) of valuations going back to 1920. Does that mean stock prices need to fall in order to get back to more reasonable valuations? Not necessarily…

    More Info
  • 3 Timeless Lessons from Honest Abe

    February 17, 2017

    Presidents’ Day has long been a time to reflect on the many achievements of the United States’ greatest leaders, thinkers and architects of democracy. Originally celebrated on February 22nd to coincide with the birthday of the country’s first head of state, George Washington, Presidents Day was later shifted to the third Monday in February as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington and Abraham Lincoln, many now view this day as one to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present. Our country’s leaders have all taught us valuable lessons. We share with you today three simple considerations from ‘Honest Abe’ reminding us honesty seeds trust in our homes, workplaces, worship spaces, and communities, and most importantly, is the keystone of our credibility as leaders. 

    More Info
  • Forecasts Are for Show – and Shows Are Entertaining

    January 27, 2017

    Earlier this week we held our regular “Portfolios at Panera” and “Markets on Marconi” events where the primary discussion topic was how we were allocating portfolios as we start 2017. One of the key discussion points was our current target “overweight” to stocks within our Harvest strategy and how we are structuring that allocation across U.S. and foreign stocks, and large and small companies. A question which came up at both events was “Where do you think the stock market will finish 2017?” 

    More Info