Words of Wisdom

Given the journey we have endured in 2020, the next twelve months will be an especially interesting time. There is hope, but there is still much unknown. Let’s mind travel to December 2021. Next year at this time, we may look back and say, “Of course, how did I miss that”? This activity of jumping forward to look back is known as prospective hindsight.

Tis the season of gratitude. Thanksgiving is perhaps one of the most underappreciated holidays, but at the same time, one of the most needed. Given the year we have endured it may be difficult to be naturally thankful. This year, more so than any other in recent memory, may require us to purposefully seek to be grateful.

There are so many things beyond our individual control – the virus, a vaccine, politics, the media and the stock market to name a few. 

One of the many benefits of my involvement with the Financial Planning Association are the research and learning opportunities. The FPA’s forthcoming quarterly education meeting will include a session entitled Current Events & Insurance: California Fires, Working from Home, and Earthquakes. We reached out to the professional that will be presenting the session and asked him to share some important tips in light of the current and recent wildfires affecting California. I thought you might find this to be informative and helpful.

Behavioral economics is a rapidly growing field of study. A component of this, behavioral finance, is a primary area of focus in the academic circles of the financial planning profession. As such, I thought you might find this interesting.

It has been an unusual election year in that a concurrent story has dominated the headlines thus far. Nonetheless, as you are all aware the 2020 election is right around the corner. As such, we know the campaigns will be ramping up quickly and will be, by design, targeting our emotions. As such, I wanted to share some important points to consider:

With the COVID pandemic dominating the headlines over the last 6 months, the U.S. presidential election news coverage has been quite limited compared to a typical election year. Nonetheless, the 2020 election is indeed just around the corner and will undoubtedly be accompanied with much speculation about how the outcome will affect the financial markets. As such, I wanted to share with you the attached commentary authored by Commonwealth’s managing principal and CIO, Brad McMillan. Brad is very effective at distilling these types of matters with brevity and perspective. I hope you find this to be a good read.

As always, my team and I are here and available to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.

We are halfway through the year, and many people wish to say “good riddance” to 2020. Undoubtedly, this has been a challenging year.

There is ongoing uncertainty about how the pandemic will play out and what “normal” will be moving forward. Exactly what the future will bring is outside of our individual control.

With the economy starting to reopen, we are now transitioning into the next phase of this journey. It is certainly encouraging to see us starting to head in the right direction. As such, I wanted to share with you the attached commentary authored by Commonwealth’s managing principal and CIO, Brad McMillan. Brad is very effective at distilling these types of matters with brevity and perspective. To the extent you have an appetite for more analysis on this matter, I believe you will find this to be a good read.  

As always, please know that my team and I here and available to discuss any concerns you may have.