Insights Articles

Articles

Market Pulse: Quarter 4, 2024


We are excited to share the inaugural version of Confluence Financial Partner’s Market Pulse: A Quarterly Review of Investment Trends and Insights. We aim to succinctly recap key investment trends and events on a quarterly basis, while providing insightful and actionable outlooks for the coming months. 

Q4 2024 Insights: Three Key Takeaways

Policy Shift: 2024 saw the Federal Reserve shift gears and lower interest rates, ending the rate hiking cycle that began in June 2022 and featured 9 rate hikes.

Mega Leadership: Mega cap stocks, the largest companies in the US, pulled the S&P 500 to a second consecutive +25% annual gain, outpacing smaller stocks, international stocks, and bonds.

High Concentration: The mega cap leadership resulted in a very narrow market by historical standards: the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 represent over 38% of the index (highest in over 40 years).

William Winkeler
About the Author

Bill has more than 12 years of experience in the investment industry, most recently as Managing Director of Investments at a private wealth management firm. In his role at Confluence, Bill chairs the…

Insights Articles

Articles

Smart Tax Strategies to Keep More of Your Income in 2025


As we enter the new year, don’t wait to implement tax strategies that could improve your financial situation. For investors, smart tax strategies can mean keeping more of what you earn and maximizing the value of your portfolio. Here are some key approaches to consider as you plan for 2025:

1. Maximize Tax-Advantaged Accounts*

Contributing to tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can reduce your taxable income. For 2025, the 401(k) contribution limit is $23,500 for those under 50, with an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution for those 50 and older. A new provision allows individuals aged 60 to 63 to make an enhanced catch-up contribution of $3,750 in addition to the traditional catch-up contribution, providing a significant opportunity to boost retirement savings during those critical pre-retirement years.

Traditional IRAs also allow for tax-deferred growth, and contributions may be deductible depending on your income and retirement plan coverage.

Roth accounts, while funded with after-tax dollars, offer tax-free withdrawals in retirement—a great option if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket later.

2. Utilize Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)**

If you’re 70½ or older, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) allows you to donate up to $108,000 directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. This strategy not only satisfies your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) but also reduces your taxable income. By directing funds straight to the charity, you avoid having the distribution counted as part of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), which can help minimize taxes on Social Security benefits or Medicare premiums. This approach is particularly advantageous for retirees who wish to support charitable causes while managing their tax liabilities efficiently.

3. Gift Appreciated Securities

Instead of donating cash or selling investments to give proceeds, consider gifting appreciated stocks or mutual fund shares directly to family members or charities. By gifting to family members in lower tax brackets, they may pay significantly lower taxes on the capital gains, or possibly none at all, depending on their income level. For charitable donations, you can deduct the fair market value of the securities while avoiding the capital gains tax you’d incur if you sold them. This dual benefit maximizes the impact of your gift while offering meaningful tax savings. It’s a smart way to reduce the tax burden on highly appreciated assets.

4. Be Strategic with Municipal Bonds

Municipal bonds, often referred to as “munis,” offer a reliable source of tax-free interest income at the federal level. If you purchase bonds issued by your home state, you may also avoid state and local taxes. For high-income earners, the tax-equivalent yield of municipal bonds can be more attractive than taxable bonds, especially if you’re in the highest federal income tax brackets. Additionally, municipal bonds are generally considered lower-risk investments, providing steady income without increasing your taxable income—a win-win for those seeking both stability and tax efficiency. Whether you should own taxable or tax-free bonds, however, is unique to each individual and should be analyzed as such.

5. Stay Informed on Tax Law Changes*

Tax laws are dynamic, and staying informed helps ensures you’re prepared to adapt your strategy to new opportunities or avoid pitfalls. The individual tax cuts introduced under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are set to expire at the end of 2025 unless new legislation extends them. This includes potential increases in individual income tax rates, a reduction in the standard deduction, and a lower threshold for estate tax exemptions, which may revert to pre-2018 levels—around $7 million per individual instead of the current $14 million. By monitoring legislation, you can adjust your portfolio and tax strategies proactively.

Take Action Now

The key to effective tax planning is proactive management. By leveraging these strategies, you may be able to reduce your tax bill and keep more of your income in 2025. Don’t wait until the end of the year to start planning! Schedule a consultation with one of our experienced wealth managers today to discuss personalized strategies that align with your financial goals.

Sources:

*https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/your-tax-fact-sheet-calendar

**https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/reducing-rmds-with-qcds#:~:text=What%20are%20the%20QCD%20limits,charitable%20gift%20annuity%20(CGA).

Confluence Financial Partners does not provide tax advice. You should consult your own tax advisors before engaging in any transaction.

Gregory Weimer
About the Author

Gregory became interested in the financial services industry from an early age and quickly realized how investing and financial planning can have an impact on a person’s life. He strives to simplify the…

Insights Articles

Articles

Protect Your Legacy – Review and Understand Your Beneficiary Designations Today


When it comes to estate planning, your beneficiary designations are one of the most critical yet often overlooked components. These designations determine how your assets—such as retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities—are distributed upon your passing. Beneficiary designations often supersede other estate documents, making it essential to ensure they are accurate and up to date.

Understanding the Key Difference: Per Capita vs. Per Stirpes
When naming individual beneficiaries, two terms that frequently come up in this context are “per stirpes” and “per capita”. While these terms may seem similar, they represent very different ways of dividing an inheritance among your heirs.

What is “Per Stirpes”?
The term per stirpes translates to “by branch” and refers to dividing an estate among the branches of a family. This method ensures that if an heir predeceases you, their share will be passed on to their descendants. In other words, per stirpes keeps the inheritance within a specific family line.

Example: If you have three children, but one of them passes away before you, the deceased child’s share would be divided equally among their children (your grandchildren). The remaining two children would each receive their full share, and the deceased child’s share would be inherited by their descendants.

What is “Per Capita”?
Per capita, on the other hand, translates to “by head.” This distribution method divides the estate equally among all living heirs, regardless of their family branch. If one of your heirs passes away before you, their share does not get passed on to their descendants. Instead, the estate is divided equally among the remaining living heirs.

Example: If you have four children, but one predeceases you, the remaining three children would share the full estate equally. The children of the deceased heir would not receive anything, as the division happens equally among the surviving heirs.

While the difference between these two options may seem subtle, the impact on your loved ones can be significant. Choosing the wrong option—or failing to clarify your preference—could lead to unintended consequences, disputes among heirs, or even legal challenges.

Why Review Your Beneficiary Designations Now?
Life rarely stands still. Over time, your family dynamic and financial situation can shift. Perhaps you’ve welcomed new children or grandchildren, experienced a marriage or divorce, or lost a loved one. Each of these changes could alter how you want your assets to be distributed.

Outdated or incorrect beneficiary designations can result in assets being distributed contrary to your intentions. For example:

• A former spouse could unintentionally remain the beneficiary of a retirement account. If there is a per stirpes designation, any new children of the ex-spouse could stand to inherit a portion of the assets, in addition to your own.
• A child or grandchild born after you last updated your beneficiary designations could be left out entirely when using a per capita designation.

Without a clear understanding of per capita versus per stirpes, your heirs may not receive the inheritance you intended for them.

Which Method Should You Choose?
Choosing between per stirpes and per capita depends on your family dynamics and the goals you have for your estate. Here are a few considerations:

Per Stirpes: This method is often ideal for families with multiple generations or if you want to ensure that your descendants (grandchildren, for example) are taken care of. If your family includes children and grandchildren, per stirpes guarantees that each branch of your family is represented.

Per Capita: This method works best for families where you want an equal division of assets among the surviving heirs. It’s particularly useful if you prefer to ensure that all living heirs receive an equal share, regardless of how many generations are involved or descendants of a particular family line there are.

How Confluence Financial Partners Can Help
Your Wealth Manager can help you gather all your account and policy documents, check the names of the beneficiaries listed, the percentages assigned to each, and whether the designation is per capita or per stirpes. Furthermore, we can prepare a report summarizing the disposition of your estate to make sure it aligns with your wishes.

Ready to Make Changes?
Estate planning is complex, and small details can make a big difference. You may need to consult with your existing attorney to update your plan or your wealth manager can make an introduction to a qualified professional to draft a new one. Our team is here to help you navigate these decisions and help ensure your legacy is preserved. Call us today to schedule a personalized beneficiary review. Let’s work together to help ensure your estate plan reflects your current wishes and protects your family’s future. Don’t leave it to chance—act now to avoid unintended surprises tomorrow. Your peace of mind is worth it, and your loved ones will thank you.

Chuck Zuzak
About the Author

Chuck joins Confluence Financial Partners with 13 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as Director of Financial Planning at JFS Wealth Advisors. At a fundamental level, Chuck’s passion for…

Insights Articles

Articles

Stock Market Recap: November 2024


  • Markets rallied sharply in November following the US elections, with US small cap stocks leading all markets higher at +10.97% for the month (Russell 2000 TR Index). This represents the first all-time high for small caps in three years.
  • US large cap stocks also participated, with the S&P 500 TR Index rising +5.87% in November. The gains for large cap growth and large cap value were about even for the month.
  • The strength of the US dollar weighed on international stocks, which fell slightly during the month (-0.57%, MSCI EAFE NR USD Index). After interest rates initially rose sharply, longer-term rates ultimately fell in November, resulting in a +1.06% gain for the bond market (Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond TR Index).

This year has been another strong year for equity markets, particularly US large-cap stocks. For example, the S&P 500 has made over 50 all-time highs in 2024, which is on pace for the fifth most in a calendar year since 1957. Through the end of November, it was also the strongest election year since 1936 for the S&P 500. What do investors have to look to as we head into 2025?

In the very near-term, investors have the month of December. Going back to 1928, the S&P 500 has had a positive return 74% of all Decembers, the highest positive return rate of any month. The average monthly return of +1.3% in December is the second-best month of the calendar year, on average.

There are also historical trends around US election cycles to consider. Since 1926, the S&P 500 has averaged +10.7% during the year after Presidential elections, slightly higher than the +10.4% for any given year. This trend largely reflects the ability for new administrations to enact legislative change prior to mid-term election years, which have historically had below-average results.

Morningstar as of 10/31/24.  Stock market represented by the S&P 500 Index from 1/1/70 to 10/31/24 and  IA SBBI U.S. large cap stocks index from 1/1/26 to 1/1/70. Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results. Index performance is for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in the index.

  • The Federal Reserve will announce any changes to policy on December 18th. As of December 2nd, the market is pricing a 65% chance of a 0.25% reduction in the Federal Funds Rate.
William Winkeler
About the Author

Bill has more than 12 years of experience in the investment industry, most recently as Managing Director of Investments at a private wealth management firm. In his role at Confluence, Bill chairs the…

Insights Articles

Articles

Navigating the Maze: Understanding and Maximizing Your RSU & ISO Benefits


Many companies offer equity compensation programs to attract, motivate, and retain top talent while conserving cash and aligning the interests of the employees and shareholders. While these incentive programs provide a great benefit, they must be carefully managed to avoid upsetting your financial strategy or posing a significant tax burden. Below we discuss two of the most common stock option plans that we help our clients understand and maximize.

RSU – Restricted Stock Units

As an employee, you may receive a Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) grant as part of your annual performance assessment or generally as part of your overall compensation package. The majority of RSUs have a vesting schedule, so you don’t receive the full value from the outset (Your employer wants to schedule vesting over a period, rather than all at once, to retain your services!). For example, if your company grants you 400 RSUs, you’ll probably get 100 shares to vest each year (typically on a quarterly schedule) until you vest all 400 shares, at which time you may receive a new grant.

RSUs give you an interest in the company but no actual value until they are vested. Upon vesting, the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the shares is considered income. You will then have the right to sell the vested shares and receive the cash proceeds or hold the shares for a longer period.

Regarding Taxes

Your income will include the FMV of the shares as they vest. You can sell your vested shares and convert them to cash. Alternatively, you may keep the shares, but any gains made after the vesting date would be taxed as capital gains when you sell. If you hold shares and they drop in value, you might be faced with selling those shares at a loss, while paying tax on vesting date FMV you never actually received.

Your employer typically handles your tax withholding at the vesting date by selling enough shares on your behalf to cover the estimated tax liability and distributing the remainder to you. The IRS requires a statutory 22% withholding rate. Because your vested RSUs influence your taxable income, and effective tax bracket, your employer’s tax withholding rate may not be enough.

Strategy

RSUs accrue over time and, if held, can lead to a significantly consolidated position in one firm. An experienced executive might start with 100 shares vested, then 200, then 300, and so on. Suddenly, they discover that a sizable chunk of their holdings, perhaps also a significant percentage of their net worth, consists of company stock.

Accumulation of company stock can lead to more than just lack of portfolio diversification. Generally, having a sizable stock position in the same company that also pays your salary isn’t advisable. If that organization, for a myriad of reasons, experiences a downturn this could have a double-whammy effect.

As a result, it may be advisable to sell all RSUs as they vest. There should be no additional taxes owed, because your costs basis will be the FMV at which you received the stock. In fact, keeping RSUs as they vest is the exact same thing as taking each cash bonus and investing it 100% in your company stock. If you wouldn’t do that, you shouldn’t hold all of your RSUs. By converting the shares to cash you will be better able to manage taxes due and invest proceeds in a more diverse manner. This should provide you with greater and more predictable long-term success.

ISO – Incentive Stock Options

Incentive Stock Options (ISO) are issued by public companies or private companies planning to go public in the future. They are most typically offered to executives and highly valued employees and are designed to encourage these employees to stay with the company over the long term.

An ISO provides an ‘option’ to purchase shares in a company at a set price, called the ‘strike price’, for a specified period. Like RSUs, ISOs are typically subject to a vesting schedule that could be several years. As the ISOs vest, you can exercise them at the strike price stated in the grant. Employees may have 10 years to exercise their options before they expire. Once you exercise vested shares, you now own the shares at the strike price. You may hold them or sell them immediately, but there are several things to consider.

Regarding Taxes

When you exercise your ISOs, you don’t receive any proceeds, as the exercise is only the purchase of the stock. To qualify for the most favorable tax strategy, ISOs need to be held for 2 years from grant date and 1 year after exercise, allowing for Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) treatment at sale. Pursuing this strategy, however, can trigger what is known as Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT.

This tax liability is created by the spread, or difference between, the Fair Market Value (FMV) and the Strike price you were granted. This is often referred to as the ‘Bargain Element’, and if large enough, will create AMT. This can be very complex and confusing as many employees are unaware of this and are caught off guard by their sometimes-significant tax liability due to AMT. We help our clients understand the AMT involved with their ISO strategy, and the ways that they can use any excess AMT payments as credits against future taxes in years where they aren’t subject to AMT.

Another option for ISOs is to do a “cashless exercise,” which means you never actually purchase the stock at the strike price, but rather you are simply paid out the spread between the strike price and the current FMV. This is a good choice if you don’t want to worry about AMT, or if you don’t have the cash necessary to buy the shares at the strike price. However, this strategy will cause the spread to be taxed at ordinary income rates instead of capital gains rates, and it effectively forgoes the potential tax benefits offered by ISOs.

Strategy

We generally recommend exercising options as soon as they vest and holding for long term capital gains treatment. Your specific strategy may vary based on your goals, but reducing what could be a concentrated position, and reinvesting the proceeds in a more diverse portfolio can lead to more predictable long-term outcomes.

The Bottom Line:

The most common misconceptions about equity incentive programs relate to taxation and vesting.

  • RSU: Taxed immediately upon vesting using the FMV of the vested shares, usually vest over a period of years, and you can sell them as they vest. No tax benefit to holding after they vest.
  • ISO: Subject to vesting schedules, may create AMT liability when exercised and held, and must be held for 2 years from grant and 1 year from exercise to apply LTCG. Typically expire after 10 years.

If your employer offers these unique and valuable benefits, don’t let the financial planning overwhelm you.  Act today and consult with an experienced financial planner and a tax professional to develop a solid strategy for maximizing your wealth. If we can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Nathan Garcia
About the Author

Nathan Garcia has served as a financial advisor and planner for individuals, families, and organizations since 2001. He understands the meaningful positive impact quality financial advice can have. He listens to clients needs…

Insights Articles

Articles

How to Optimize Metabolic Health Through Lifestyle


The human body is intricately detailed and complex, similar to a car. While many of us don’t comprehend a car’s inner workings, we can sense when something is “off” and impacting optimal functionality. Similarly to a check engine light flipped on, there are many cues the body gives that it’s utilizing food for fuel less than optimally, such as the following: cravings, weight struggles, energy slumps, relentless fatigue, etc. Sadly, many of us have ignored these signals for too long.

The engine of the car is likened to the body’s metabolism. Just as the engine converts fuel into usable energy so the car can operate, being in good metabolic health ensures our body is able to generate and process energy efficiently to sustain life.

What factors determine metabolic health, you may wonder?

Clinically, it hinges on five specific and measurable factors¹:

  1. Abdominal obesity (>40” around waist in men, >35” around waist in women)
  2. Impaired fasted blood sugar (100 mg/dL or higher)
  3. High blood pressure (130/85 mm/Hg or higher on multiple occasions or on medication for high levels)
  4. High triglycerides (type of fat; 150 mg/dL or greater or on medication for high levels)
  5. Low “helpful” cholesterol (HDL) levels (<40 mg/dL for men, <50 mg/dL for women)

According to the recent study published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology in July 2022, it’s estimated that only ~7% of adult Americans adults have optimal metabolic health, leaving 93% with markers in unhealthy ranges².

Each marker out of range increases the risk for development of complications like heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, or stroke. Three or more out of range is considered metabolic syndrome. Getting an annual physical exam and bloodwork empowers your healthcare provider to evaluate your risk for metabolic syndrome. The good news is that lifestyle choices highly influence the health of these markers – namely eating a balanced diet and shunning a sedentary existence as two very practical realms to target.

Nutritionally, a balanced diet revolves around diverse, nutrient-rich whole foods while limiting processed items. A simple example of this would be choosing an apple (whole form) as opposed to apple sauce or apple juice, as often as is doable. This is due to the quality of nutrients the whole form contains as opposed to added processing.

When it comes to energy, the body’s preferred fuel source is glucose (think of this like gasoline), which comes from eating carbohydrates (carbs). In simplest terms, when we eat foods containing carbs, our blood sugars rise (as we expect). In those with good metabolic health, the body efficiently takes that glucose and converts it into usable energy and blood sugar levels are returned to normal through a process of hormonal “checks and balances”.

Conversely, poor metabolic health impedes glucose being used for energy efficiently, but rather leaves it in the blood stream, hence the term “high blood sugar”. When levels are high in the moment, you may experience the check engine symptoms listed above. Over time, chronically elevated blood sugar levels can lead to conditions like Type 2 Diabetes. When it comes to managing blood sugar levels – a quick tip you can implement today is the principle of “no naked carbs”.

A sedentary lifestyle can be described as one marked by excessive sitting, lying down, and not engaging intentionally in physical activities that would increase heart rate or test muscle tone. For many Americans, especially depending on time of year and where one lives, this can include commute time to work, working from home sitting in front of a computer for most of the day, television watching, video game playing, etc.

Lack of movement, especially after eating food, can be disadvantageous for metabolic health as it can promote an “insulin resistant” state. Movement, like exercise (as simple as walking at a brisk pace or weight lifting) can promote “insulin sensitivity” which allows the body to utilize the incoming sources of foods more efficiently. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends the American adult to engage in physical activity categorized as moderate-intensity of 150 minutes per week and optimally 2 days of muscle strengthening, also³. This helps not only with metabolic health, but weight maintenance, mood, increasing “helpful” cholesterol (HDL), increasing creativity and promoting longevity, among many other benefits.

No matter where your starting point is, it’s time to get moving!

This introductory overview offers a flyover look into the intricacies of metabolic health, distinguishing between manifestations and potential risks. I hope you are encouraged that lifestyle factors like what you eat (good nutrition) and how much you move (exercise) can greatly reduce your risk for chronic disease, keeping your “engine” operating efficiently. By fostering awareness of the importance of metabolic health, we can be proactive in our approach to reducing risk factors. Time to take a look “under the hood” of your car!

Sarah Rupp
About the Author

Sarah’s lifelong passion for health and wellness began in her early years, learning about nutrition and meal planning alongside her mother. As an athlete, she experienced the direct influence of nutrition on physical…

McMurray

Sources:

  1. Ndumele, Chiadi E, MD, MHS. The Metabolic Syndrome. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Accessed 14 March 2024. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/the-metabolic-syndrome
  2. O’Hearn, M, Lauren, B, Wong, J. et al. Trends and Disparities in Cardiometabolic Health Among U.S. Adults, 1999-2018. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022 Jul, 80 (2) 138–151.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.04.046
  3. How much physical activity do adults need? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 14 March 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm#:~:text=Each%20week%20adults%20need%20150,Physical%20Activity%20Guidelines%20for%20Americans.

Healthcare Disclaimer: The contents of this article are meant for educational purposes and not to be misconstrued as medical treatment advice. Please speak with a qualified healthcare provider regarding personalized guidance regarding your specific medical condition before making changes to your unique plan of care.

Insights Articles

Articles

Stock Market Recap: October 2024


  • October was a challenging month for stock and bond markets as bond yields rose sharply during the month. All major markets finished the month lower, with international equities and interest rate sensitive equities falling the most.
  • The S&P 500 finished October down slightly at -0.91% (S&P 500 TR Index), marking the first time in five months that the index has declined.
  • The yield of the 10-year US Treasury rose to +4.28% in October (+0.54% increase for the month), which weighed on bond market returns: the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index fell -2.48% in October.

The Federal Reserve began its interest rate cutting cycle in September, reducing the Federal Funds target rate by 0.50%. Historically, the start of an interest rate reduction policy has been associated with a decline in bond yields. Why is this? Typically, the Federal Reserve reduces interest rates to help support a slowing economy, whether its slowing due to changes in the business cycle, or an external event.

This year has been an exception, compared to the seven easing cycles since 1989 (before 1989 Federal Reserve did not officially target interest rate changes). Since the September 18th rate cut, the 10-year Treasury yield has increased nearly 0.60%, the largest increase at this stage compared to the previous seven cycles. It is worth noting that 50-days after the first rate cut, during the previous seven cycles, the 10-year yield was either the same, or lower, than the start.

What could be driving bond yields higher during the present cycle? It is likely the fact that inflation is declining, while the economy and jobs markets are still growing (at a slowing rate), similar to the 1995 soft landing outcome. Alternatively, it could be a sign that investors are concerned about the lack of any clear plan to address the US government’s fiscal situation. Measuring outstanding debt relative to annual economic growth, the United States has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 123%- meaning more debt outstanding than the rate of economic growth in a given year.

Source: Yardeni Research, LSEG Datastream

  • US Election Day is on November 5th, which will be a closely followed affair.
  • Earnings season is well underway for the Third Quarter of 2024. Consensus estimates for year/year earnings growth for the S&P 500 was +4.3% for the quarter.
William Winkeler
About the Author

Bill has more than 12 years of experience in the investment industry, most recently as Managing Director of Investments at a private wealth management firm. In his role at Confluence, Bill chairs the…

Insights Insights

Insights

Confluence Financial Partners Quarterly Webinar – 1Q21


Your 2021 outlook: What’s it all about?

The live event occurred on 1/12/21, but you can still watch our 2021 Outlook presentation.

Join Greg Weimer and Jim Wilding, Partners at Confluence Financial Partners, as we close the books on an unforgettable year and look forward to all that lies ahead. Jim Wilding will recap 2020 and examine the forces and trends driving the worldwide economic recovery. He’ll also share the practice’s perspective on investing in equities versus bonds, along with insights into companies poised for growth. Then, Greg Weimer will explore the five key questions investors should be asking to maximize their lives and legacies. Tune in as we prepare our friends, family and stakeholders for the financial challenges and opportunities to come. Let’s make it a great year.

Heather:

Thank you for attending the Confluence Financial Partners Quarterly Webinar, 2021 Outlook “What’s It all about?” with Greg Weimer and Jim Wilding. We’ll be starting shortly.

 

Greg:

Thanks, Heather. This is Greg Weimer and I just wanted to welcome all of you to our webinar on behalf of my partner. So you can see, hopefully on the screen, Jim Wilding and all the associates of Confluence, we want to welcome you to the webinar and tell you, we are very, very grateful for the relationship and it’s been a challenging year, but we got through it together. And our thoughts and prayers obviously go out to all of the people that have been affected by the horrible pandemic that we’ve been through. So, we continue to pray. We continue to stick together and let’s all just believe there are greater days ahead. I think at a time like this, in January, everybody tends to say, “happy new year.” And I was thinking about that and just thinking, well, happy new year, that sounds like somewhat hopeful.

How about we all together agree as a team and we start saying, “let’s make it a great year.” That just sounds a little more active. Like, we have some control, which we do. So, let’s say, “let’s make it a great year” instead of the past. So, I’m hoping it’s a great year. So, to all of you, let’s make it a great year. We look forward to continuing to work with you. And in that regard, just to say, congratulations. It was a challenging year. In fact, I just looked, if you didn’t pay attention in the last year, you would have thought it was somewhat boring. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 7% from 12 months ago today, which is amazing. Now other indexes could have, or were up a lot more, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the one that a lot of people think about and it was only up 7%.

So, it’s like not much happened, boring year, 7%. Not really. So, but I will tell you, we navigated it well as a team. And, and I just want to thank all of you, and we want to thank all of you for your, you know, your informed patience as we got through this year, because it was bumpy. We’re not dancing. You know, if you’re running a hundred mile race, you don’t, you don’t celebrate too much when you, when you do well for one lap. But I think our team, with you at the driver or steering wheel, the driver’s seat, I think we did well. I will tell you that your spotter, your crew chief and the pit crew, all worked really well together, but without all of you looking through the windshield and focusing on your goals and looking forward, we wouldn’t have navigated together as well.

So, we want to thank you for just sticking with us and making sure we got to the end of the lap. We have a lot more to go, but thank you. And congratulations. Here’s what we thought we’d talk about today. The agenda for today is really, it’s reflect and plan. So, I’m going to turn it over to my partner, Jim Wilding. And he’s going to talk about the 2021 outlook, and then I’m going to come back on and we’re going to talk about how we can, our passion, your passion is how we can plan to help you maximize your life and legacy. But first I’d like to turn it over my partner, Jim Wilding.

 

Jim:

Thanks very much, Greg let’s make 2021 a great year together. And thank you to everybody for joining us today. As Greg mentioned, I’m going to give an outlook for 2021, but I’m going to start by giving a quick market recap in 2020. We’re going to talk a little bit about the worldwide economy and we’re also gonna talk about stocks and bonds and the some of the valuation issues going on right now in some of the areas where we think there could be a good potential within the next year.

2020 was sure an unforgettable year. We can go to the next slide. There are lots of things about the year we’d like to forget, but I doubt we ever will. The market actually got off to a good start in 2020. As a lot of you might remember, mid-February, it was up almost 5% for the year on February 19th.

That was the peak before the decline. The S&P 500 was at 3393, but that was the peak for a while. And what followed was, was real challenging. The spread of the coronavirus with a simultaneous huge drop in the price of oil led to a major decline in economic activity and stock prices. The ensuing loss of jobs produced 22 million unemployment claims in a month. And just to give you a historical perspective about that, if you went back to the great recession that we had in 2008, in 2009, cumulatively, over that whole time, we lost about 9 million jobs. So, 22 million in a month was unbelievable. The chart on the left hand side of the screen shows that by Friday, March 20th, the S&P 500 was down 35% from its high just four weeks ago. From February 19th to March 20th, that decline was actually the fastest drop of 30% or more ever.

And as almost all declines do, it felt awful and nobody knew how much worse it might get. The next week on the right-hand side of the screen, we see the recovery that began three days later. On Monday, March 23rd, the day the Federal Reserve came out and announced that it was committed to using its full range of tools to support households, businesses, and the U.S. economy overall. Amazingly, right after the S&P 500 completes its quickest decline into a bear market, we actually have the best 50 days ever for the market. And by late August, we’re actually back to a new all-time high for the S&P 500. The early fall is challenging. You might remember the focus turns to elections and September and October were both down months. The market pundits on CNBC, CNN and Fox News tell us that divided government is the best election outcome that we could hope for.

Sounds good to me, as you know, that’s not what happens. And the S&P 500 now is up about 13% since the election day, a little over two months ago. We think 2020 might just be the best year ever for illustrating the impossibility of timing the market. Last year showed that even if you could somehow accurately predict a global pandemic and a U.S. Presidential election, you probably could not reliably anticipate the market reaction for the year. The S&P advanced by over 16%, as Greg mentioned, the Dow was only up seven, and there was a big disparity between the returns generated by traditional dividend paying stocks and growth stocks. We’ll talk a little bit more about that later.

We could be on the cusp of a synchronized worldwide economic recovery. 2021 has the potential to be a year where most of the world’s major economies are growing, which could be very good news for global stocks. The International Monetary Fund estimates that global economic growth will exceed 5% in 2021. The current recovery in China has been surprisingly swift, as you probably realize China is the world’s second largest economy. They are expected to have growth, not only in 2020, but also in 2021. The U.S. contracted in 2020 by about 4% slightly over. It’s anticipated that our economy is going to grow by a little bit, over 3% in 2021. And as the chart shows on the screen, emerging markets are actually expected to do even better, up about 6% in 2021. We think all of these growth forecasts are very dependent on the vaccines implemented around the world.

In addition to a strong worldwide economy, a weaker dollar may also strengthen the non U.S. markets. The dollar has been in a bull market for about 10 years. That cycle may start to change with our super low interest rates that we now have in the United States and drastically higher government spending. The dollar may become a little bit less attractive. The valuations of non U.S. markets are also significantly lower than U.S. markets. Said another way, expectations for companies outside of the U.S. are generally not as high, which may turn out to be a positive for the non U.S. portion of our portfolios.

As I mentioned in the 2020 recap and that, and you can see on the left-hand side of the screen, the Fed cut rates drastically last March and pledged to keep rates low for the perceivable future. An ultra-low interest rate environment encourages investors to move assets out of the safe havens and into riskier investments, especially stocks. And I mentioned earlier that growth stocks had done very well lately. One of the reasons is actually the very low interest rate. A company shares are valued, not just by the current earnings, but also what the projected future earnings are going to be. And that valuation is made by discounting back to today. All of those future earnings, when you have a discount rate that is drastically lower than the old discount rate, you’re going to come up with a much higher number for what the value of that company would be.

It’s really the exact same math that allows you to buy a much more expensive home with the same monthly payment when the mortgage rate is 3% instead of 8%. So very low interest rates do generally make stocks more expensive. The long-term decline of interest rates is like having some wind at our back, helping us if we’re investing in stocks. So, one of the things we gotta be aware of now is the long-term decline of rates. That’s probably over. You can see on the right-hand side of the screen, that the Fed’s announcement on March 23rd kicked off the fastest recovery from a bear market. Once the market was confident that the Fed was going to help with all of its tools, the recovery was on. The old saying is don’t fight the Fed. With interest rates so low now, one of the questions that we get quite frequently is it, does it still make sense for investors to have bonds in their portfolio?

And for a lot of investors, the answer is still yes. And here’s why. What happened in the stock market last February, March potentially could happen at any time. And so, there’s two main reasons you’d want to have some of your portfolio in bonds. Number one, if you have a cash need in the short term, whether that’s your retirement living expenses, paying for your child’s college tuition next year, an upcoming wedding, you don’t want to have to sell when the prices are low. So, it makes sense that some of your money in bonds or money market. It’s what we call having the bucket strategy.

The other reason would be if you prefer your portfolio to not move down during the temporary stock market setbacks, as much as the stock market does, it probably makes sense to have bonds in your portfolio, because that would lessen the decline. We can help you build a plan and determine what the right percentage of bonds in your portfolio should be for your risk tolerance. And that still lets you accomplish your long-term goals. But for long-term investors, bonds do not currently offer what they historically have, which is a somewhat reduced return with significantly less risk. Today it is almost no return. And you do have risks with longer-term bonds. The average yield on the ten-year Treasury during the past 60 years is almost exactly 6%. Today, the ten-year Treasury yields about 1%. So you have to have six times as much money in those bonds to get the same amount of interest that you would’ve gotten on average over the past 60 years. It is our opinion that bonds today are a lot more expensive than stocks.

Amazon, Alphabet (also known as Google), Facebook and Netflix — those are the names that most people think about when they think about digital leaders. But there’s also a lot of online payment processors, cloud computing providers. Microsoft is one of them. And chip makers, such as Taiwan Semiconductors that are also digital leaders. Not to mention companies in such varied industry as personal fitness, automobile sales and foot and athletic wear. Companies with strong digital business models have an advantage. And that advantage widened substantially during the coronavirus outbreak. A senior analyst at an investment firm that we use in our portfolios said, “the growth rates at companies with a digital advantage have been phenomenal during the downturn.” And in my view, we’re not going back when the pandemic is over. We may see slower growth rates, but I don’t think a lot of people will be canceling their Netflix subscription or returning their Peloton bike. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And there are some cases where the market might be placing an unsustainably high premium on a company’s digital model. The market might be, in some cases, a little over enthusiastic about that. And I’ll give you one example, and I’m not saying for sure, this is, but this is a valuation difference. So, CarMax is an established car retailer been around for a while. They sell about a little over $20 billion of cars a year and their latest year, they had pre-tax income of $1.2 billion. Their stock was up about 15% in the last 12 months and the market values their total enterprise at about $17 billion. A much newer car retailer that has a more of a digital platform is Carvana.

They have annualized, right now, about $5 billion in sales in a year. They have yet to make a profit. In their most recent full year, they lost $365 million. Their stock in the last 12 months was up 237%. The stock market places a value on them of about three times as much as CarMax. Their value is just under $50 billion. So not all experiences can be digitized and digitized for phenomenal success. And there’s pent-up demand for a lot of those businesses. Have you heard of the flight to nowhere? Probably not, but on October 10th of 2020, 150 restless passengers boarded a seven hour Qantas flight from Sydney, Australia to Sydney, Australia, and the flights sold out in 10 minutes. Wow. I’m not the biggest fan of air travel, especially if I’m going nowhere, but maybe I’m in the minority on that.

Air travel is back to pre-coronavirus levels in China. As you can see from this chart, I doubt the U.S. can be far behind. After September 11th, 2001, there was a lot of talk that air travel was permanently going to be low. That turned out not to be true. I think there’s a lot of behaviors due to the coronavirus that we have a feeling that maybe it’s not going to come back. I think in a lot of ways, it is going to come back. Certainly, the pandemic has expedited changes in our society, for sure. Online shopping and working from home. They might never go back completely to what they were pre-COVID, but most people are very eager to return to many parts of our old ways of doing things, attending concerts, going to casinos, attending live sporting events, eating out at restaurants and traveling. I had with, with some other associates in Confluence, we had a few meetings this week with clients reviewing their plan. And each of the clients mentioned that in the next few years, they intend to travel more than they normally would because they didn’t get to travel in the last year.

There are many airline cruise, hotel, entertainment and restaurant companies whose businesses could be back to booming soon. Not everything can be done on a computer. In summary, I went over the stock market of 2020, a crazy year, but maybe the best one ever for learning or relearning some of the most important lessons in investing. It’s not tim-ing the market, it’s time in the market. And don’t let your political views shape your investment philosophy. We talked about a synchronized worldwide economic recovery that we think could be coming in the near term. And we do think that’s pretty dependent upon the vaccine availability and how the rollout goes. And then, finally we believe equities remain significantly more attractive than bonds, but for a lot of investors, bonds absolutely play a very important role in your portfolio and your long-term plan. With that, I’m going to turn it back over to my partner, Greg. Thank you.

 

Greg:

Hey, thanks, Jim. We appreciate the update. And the review of 2020 and thinking about what’s going to happen in 2021 and beyond. And by the way, I agree with you. It was if you, if someone had told you exactly what happened last year, even if you knew exactly what was going to happen, your response as an investor may not have been to stay invested the whole time. But it also reminds me of the saying, you never get hit by the bus that you’re watching. And it’s so true, but even though you don’t get hit by the bus that you’re watching, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to plan for it. On a positive side, you know, I think that was an interesting year. When you, we watched the private sector companies, we watched science and we watched government come together to focus on one enemy.

And that is the pandemic. And 12 months later, we have a vaccine. That just shows you the human spirit. When it comes together, we really can solve great things, right? If some people are thinking, yeah, but what’s going on in TV sometimes what, regardless of what news channel you watch, can be disappointing. I totally agree. We totally agree. But at the end of the day, as a society, we have not been very good at solving problems. We have been great at solving a crisis, and this is a crisis and we’re closer to the end than the beginning. We’re not in the prediction business. Obviously, we are, in the end, in the anticipation business. I think there’s a subtle difference there and we’re in the planning business. So, one of the things that we, that I’ve noticed, I’ve had the privilege and I’ve been blessed to be around some just brilliant people over the years.

And what I notice about these brilliant people, they don’t pride themselves on having the right answers all the time, but they’re brilliant. And making sure that they’re asking themselves the right questions. So, my goal and my segment is helping you really think about maximizing your life and legacy, is just really challenging you. Challenging you to ask the right questions of yourself. I’m going to give you five. There’s a lot more questions we should be asking together, but let’s go through the five questions that if you ask yourself this year, let’s make it a great year. If we ask yourself these questions this year, at the end of the year, you’ll be better off than you are at the beginning of the year. So, let’s go to the first question.

It’s a simple one that we don’t ask enough, and we don’t ask this enough. And it’s, what’s it all about? And there are purposefully a piece of driftwood on the beach. And you know, I mean, at one point that driftwood was a tree and vibrant now it’s driftwood. And I, and I’ll tell you what caused me to think about this? And, and I’m reminded all the time to ask myself, my family, my loved ones, “what’s it all about?” I was in Turks and Caicos, and sometimes people can make a huge impact on you and not even know. And this gentleman in Turks and Caicos did. We were sitting, looking outside. I wish we had this weather now, but we we’re sitting in a hut. One of those high bars up by the beach and this older gentleman, and he is in his eighties, but I’m telling you, this guy had spunk.

He led a full life and you could just tell he had that…He had that “it” about him. And he said to me he said, son, never forget to ask, ‘What’s it all about?’ And I said, Oh do tell, tell me about that. What do you mean? He said, Well, 20, 30 years ago, I was out in the ocean, he went to Turks and Caicos every year. He said I was out in the ocean and I saw a piece of driftwood and I grabbed the piece of driftwood and I wrote on it, “What’s it all about?” And he said, I put that on top of my bed and I have it in my bedroom. So, every day I asked myself the question, what’s it all about? In 2020, if there was ever a year that we should be asking ourselves, coming off of that, what’s it all about? It certainly should have happened last year. So, we really, you know, so the question becomes, what’s your portfolio all about?

Is it just about money? Or if you look at the next slide, is it about creating moments with you, your family and your loved ones? Most people would agree, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. And oh, by the way, if you look at the couple, I never thought of it, but they sort of matching hats on, which is odd, but right above the TS, you see the couple, let’s assume they’re 75. Guess what? They have 12, their life expectancy, they have 12 more expected Christmases or summer vacations with their family. That’s what it’s all about. Maybe you want to create a legacy, whatever you want to do. We have to remember, life is short. Like, let us help you with the dash. We all have a dash, right? Two dates and the dash. The dash is your life. But at the end of the day, what’s it all about is moments.

And we want to help you plan for those moments. Maybe you say, I’d like to buy a house in Florida someday. Well, that day, may be today! We can help you figure that out mathematically and say, yep, let’s go get that house in Florida, so you’re really enjoying special moments with your loved ones. So just really thinking about that and really thinking about what’s it all about.

Let’s go to the next set of questions. Are you protected? I don’t think you’re going to enjoy those moments if you’re worried about risk. So, we need to help you with that. You know, we spent a lot of time on helping you maximize your wealth, but you know, if an unforeseen event comes and it throws you off your plan, we haven’t really helped you. So, we’ve noticed this year, we’ve been asking the question, tell us about your umbrella policy.

And it’s interesting. And, by the way, it’s with your homeowner’s. So, we just want to make sure this year that a few had an unforeseen event where you were sued because of an accident or whatever, that you have the right umbrella policy. It’s fascinating how many times we see clients with an umbrella policy that, that you may not even know what your coverage is. So, we want to help you with that income protection. You know, what happens if something happens to you? What if you die prematurely? What if you become disabled, let us help you with that. And then the one that I think, the truth be told, the other moat that you can build around your castle, that a lot of people worry about, because the senior care, because not only are you worried about senior care on what it means to you, let’s be candid.

It also is a concern of what it means to your family and the burden that they may have. So, we’re not suggesting by the way, long-term care is for everyone. You may have enough money in your portfolio that you’re protected already. And that’s great. We’re not suggesting that everybody go out and buy long-term care, but we are suggesting, it probably makes sense to do that evaluation in your plan. And when you look at the next slide that shows some data points on long-term care, and I don’t know about you, I sort of find them startling. And unfortunately, surprising. And I’ll just acclimate you to the slide. So, the top bar chart, the one in green shows that 69% of us will have some type of a long-term care event. Now, in all fairness, a big percentage of those will be unpaid home care by family and friends, but still, I mean, when you look at the amount of people in nursing home, it’s still 35% will have an event that has, that causes them to go a nursing home.

The one that’s also startling for me and everybody receives this information differently. It’s the purple one. And I guess that gray line at the bottom, the bars. And it says, ‘greater than five years.’ It’s amazing to me that if you’re a man, you’re going to have a one in ten chance of needing some type of care for more than five years. And if you’re a female, it’s one out of 20. So, we want to help you with that. I know that everybody says, I’m going to look at that someday. Let’s make some day today. So, then you can be at the beach with your loved ones and you don’t have to worry about all these potential events, what ifs. One of the peace of mind we can give you is, we can help you think about the what-ifs and give you some certainty around that.

When you look at the next slide, this just takes me back to March. I don’t know if you remember. We were, I think almost begging people to say, let’s focus on the horizon, not the waves, the waves will make you sick. And let’s stay focused on the horizon. By the way, it is interesting how technology changed. We were on conference calls when we thought we — now, all of a sudden, everybody knows how to use Zoom and we’re on a teleconference. Wow. I mean, the pandemic sure did all teach us how to use technology and accelerated our growth. But this is the picture. And we wanted to share this again, because when you look, there’s two ways you can live your life. There’s two ways you can think about investing. When you look at the line going across, to me, that looks like an EKG.

The good news is the patient still alive, but it looks like an EKG. The mountain chart, the blue getting bigger over time. That is, that is the same investment from 2010 to 2019. So, let me make that a little clear. The EKG is the S&P 500 results on a monthly basis. Said differently, if you’re going to make decisions based on monthly investment results, good luck. If people are telling you they can make investment decisions based on monthly investment results, run away. More importantly, if you focus on the horizon, it’s a very, very, very different path, very, very different feelings. So, ask yourself in what timeframe am I thinking. Now, by the way, in productivity. So, if you want to get a lot done today, you think in terms of 30-minute increments or 15-minute increments, that doesn’t work in investment. You need to think in terms of 10-year increments.

Because if we make a mistake in thinking short-term increments, and it affects our behavior, it’s not like it’s hard to catch up. Think about it. If you’re in a boat and there’s waves and you jump out of the boat — by the way, not a good idea. If you’re ever in the middle of the ocean and there’s waves all around the boat, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t jump because what’s going to happen is, when you want to go get back on that boat, the boat is going to keep moving, and you’re never going to catch up to that boat. Look at the next slide. That’s a story. Here’s the proof. These are, this is 2010 to 2019. If you invested a thousand dollars and kept it invested in the S&P 500, you almost would have tripled your money.

If you lost 10 days, just missed the 10 best days. You’ll see, you almost doubled it. So you would, the boat’s gone. By making that decision, you’re never going to catch it. You’re trying to get back on. We’re gonna try to help you, but you’re never going to catch the boat or the people that didn’t jump. So that’s the math behind it. And interestingly enough, and we’ll have people say, you know, I want to wait until I feel better with the market. Well, guess what? When you feel better, let me make my point. Some of these, these days, when you look back at the S&P 500, and you look back, you go back to the 1930s. You could look 2000, whatever you look at the 10 best days, like going back, the 10 biggest increases percentage, not points. People look at points in the media. It doesn’t make any sense. You gotta look at percentages. The best day ever was in 1933. The market in one day went up 16%. I’ll remind you, in March, why were we saying stay in, stay in, don’t jump out of the boat? Because in March there were two days, in March alone, that the market went up, indicated by the S&P 500, over 9%. Two days. And oh, by the way, other great days were days in ’08, right after 1987, because what happens is — it’s a rubber band and the market, as it goes down, it does snap back. So, by the time you feel better, you may have missed the opportunity.

I don’t even know. I don’t like the next slide, but we got to talk about it. So, let’s go to the next one. Will taxes go up? I think people are asking that. You’re going to see a lot in the media.

This is a tough one, because if you figured out how to predict what these folks are doing in DC, you’re a heck of a lot smarter than us. But we do need to prepare for it. Because there’s a lot of talk about income tax going up, capital gains going up, and the estate taxes going up. So, we need to think about that. I mean, I will give you an opinion. I don’t know if Jim shares it — my opinion is that this will be more of a 2022 issue than a 2021. And the reason for that, that is you don’t put all the medicine into the patient in the new stimulus and then ask them for their blood. And cash in the stimulus is what’s really causing the economy to hum along and start to look like it could recover.

So, we’re putting money into the economy. It’s hard for me to understand, although I wouldn’t be shocked, if at the same time, they’re taking money out. So, I think what we’re going to hear, at least at the beginning of 2021 is we’re gonna hear about stimulus. And we’re going to hear about $2,000 checks and putting money in. Having said that, either at the end of this year or 2022, you’re going to have your income taxes are going up, going up capital gains. And clearly, you know President Biden’s proposals are out there, but, you know, it’s such a thin, thin majority in the House and the Senate, there’s likely to have to be some, some, some moderation in that. But the big, we just got to pay attention to these this year, we are here to help you, you know, do some tax planning with your accountant.

So, if you want to do some of that, please reach out to us. We have a lot of great tools. You know, a lot of people don’t even know their actual income tax bracket. You know, what are your capital gains, you know, and capital gains, is there going to be a step-up in basis that goes away? I don’t know. One of the things on capital gains, it’s interesting how many people don’t use appreciated shares to donate to charity. So, you know, we should do that. Before you donate $20,000 to charity, call us. We have appreciated shares that you should probably donate instead. I’ll tell you the big one — estate taxes. I mean, estate taxes are huge. I don’t think most people really focus on it enough. And I think we’ve been lulled to sleep on this one a little bit, because the currently, anything over roughly 22, $23 million, anything over, anything under that amount, you don’t have to pay estate, federal estate taxes on.

But you should know, in 2025, that’s coming down. And you should also know there’s some proposals right now to bring it down to 7 million. And that’s husband and wife, obviously one spouse, it would be, it would one, a single person, it would be half that. But it can be a lot of money. It could be millions. So, you know, in Pennsylvania, between federal and state, you know, to be 45%. And you should know, 17 states actually have an estate tax. So, there’s things we can do. We need to ask these questions together because there could be a lot of planning opportunities that we can work on this year.

The fifth thing and final — enough about taxes. Fifth one: Is it time to talk? We’ve talked about this before, but is it time to talk? And I’ll remind you, it’s tragic: 70% of wealth that’s inherited is squandered in the second generation, by the way, 90% in the third. Number one reason: lack of communication.

And everybody has different types of meetings. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to tell my heirs exactly how much money you have. Some people are comfortable with that. Some people aren’t and our family, we’ve had, I think we’re on four family meetings and they get better. We do them every year. So, it could be: what moments do we want to do? What moments do we want to have in our family? Let’s make sure our dashes together are special, right? Let us help you facilitate those. I was in Chicago, meeting with just a great friend, he’s probably on the call. So just a great friend. And it was a Saturday morning. We were meeting with his whole family. And we were talking about like, you know, what you care about. And we, many of you we’ve done this with also, we’ve had the pictures out and say, okay, which pictures?

And Jim’s smiling. I think he knows the story. So which pictures, you know, talk to you? So, it could be time on the beach. It could be you know, whatever, it could be a charity. It could be the symphony, what talks to you, the arts, whatever talks to you. Every family member. Cause it’s hard to put into words how you feel, but when you have pictures, that allows you an opportunity to express yourself through the pictures. So, the father, my good friend, he picked he picked the skydiver and one of his children said, dad, you want to sky dive? And he cursed a little bit. I’ll let that out. And he said, no, no, I don’t want to sky dive. I want us to have moments. I want us to have moments. As a family, I want us to have moments.

So, whatever those moments are for you, it’s not about skydiving. It’s about making sure, if you’re 75, you make the next 12 years of your life expectancy truly special. And or it could be like, what charity did we, do we care about? Let’s go, let’s go bend the curve on mental health for goodness sake. There’s so much to be done. And then, end of the day, when we become, you know, when we meet at the end, at least we have a legacy. And at least we have moments, because at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. So, there are the five questions. You probably have more. We have some more, let’s get together by asking those questions. We’re not going to just look at each other and say, happy new year. We’re going to say, let’s make it a good year.

And we’re going to do the planning. That’s going to allow us to do it. So next slide and recap. 2021 market outlook and beyond. Thanks, Jim. That was a lot of that was a lot of great information. That’ll allow us to make great decisions. And then, you know, I just wanted to give you some things to think about. I think the greatest thing one adult can do for another is cause them to think. And hopefully it just inspired you to write a couple of notes. I am going to look at my umbrella policy this year. I am going to talk to my family. I am going to think about my estate, my legacy and my life, whatever those things are.

You know, just in closing, we are here to help you maximize your life and legacy. And I got to tell you, it is not our goal. It is our passion. So, we have a passion to help you maximize your life and legacy. And we are well aware, in reflecting on last year and talking to a lot of people, we are stunned actually in the last couple of months, how many people we’ve talked to that, not everybody navigated as well as all of you. And it is our passion to help you.

If you’re a client on the line, tell us how we can help you more. If you’re someone that is thinking about coming to become a client, let’s talk, we want to help you maximize your life and legacy. And this is an offer from the bottom of our hearts. We know it’s a challenging time. If you have a loved one and you think we can help them, we stand ready to help them. We want you to introduce us to your friends and your family. If in fact, you think we can make a difference in their life and help them ensure the moment.

So, in closing, on behalf of Jim and on behalf of the rest of the team of Confluence Financial Partners, we are grateful for our relationship and we’re going to work as hard as we humanly can to continue to get results for you. Thanks.

test alt text

Insights Insights

Insights

Test Post that has a title that is very very long.


Short introduction to this individual vitae, condimentum ut quam aenean euismod. Condimentum lorem augue fermentum risus enim. Morbi diam massa odio est tellus ornare pretium nisi nibh. Volutpat feugiat nulla habitant quis ullamcorper donec ultricies ipsum.

Short subhead if necessary

Ut cras diam nec tincidunt id libero turpis. Turpis consectetur nec lacus, in. Aliquet aliquam hac in egestas arcu id auctor. Urna, mattis et amet morbi turpis tellus sapien auctor. Sem neque tortor in semper. Feugiat placerat et sit auctor. Faucibus lectus mollis dignissim cursus elementum ut arcu integer. Egestas et at vulputate molestie feugiat. Vitae sed nec, proin amet. Semper lobortis interdum ullamcorper dui urna eu. Aliquet aliquet non urna dui.

Sit luctus vestibulum, risus faucibus feugiat arcu. Sagittis, iaculis mattis eu a. Habitant venenatis viverra vestibulum in nec, etiam faucibus euismod. Feugiat sit pellentesque sit diam. Eget porttitor amet elementum pulvinar dui libero. Vulputate arcu quam vestibulum id purus cum. Ut mauris tempor leo.

Subhead appears here

Aenean tortor ultrices id sodales eleifend consectetur in magna at. Tincidunt est urna sollicitudin risus lectus lobortis nunc mollis. Cursus eu imperdiet egestas ligula proin sit vitae blandit. Blandit odio nulla tempus neque lacus tempus. Facilisi in felis gravida scelerisque in luctus morbi. At sed facilisis ipsum diam. Nibh tempus vitae ac rutrum mi. Dapibus diam lacus molestie dignissim sed tristique mauris auctor. Mauris nascetur nec, amet maecenas gravida.

Subhead appears here

  • Aenean tortor ultrices id sodales eleifend consectetur in magna at.
  • Tincidunt est urna sollicitudin risus lectus lobortis nunc mollis.
  • Cursus eu imperdiet egestas ligula proin sit vitae blandit.
  • Blandit odio nulla tempus neque lacus tempus.
H5 subhead with icon

Adipiscing libero amet sodales fermentum, tempor at ut pellentesque. Ultrices ornare tempus cras quis. A sed tellus vulputate amet penatibus in. At a fermentum in imperdiet euismod.

H5 subhead with icon

Adipiscing libero amet sodales fermentum, tempor at ut pellentesque. Ultrices ornare tempus cras quis. A sed tellus vulputate amet penatibus in. At a fermentum in imperdiet euismod.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ornare consequat id tincidunt scelerisque adipiscing. Egestas felis pharetra, velit malesuada platea vitae lacinia. Facilisi at curabitur ut nulla mi urna arcu ut. Sagittis ornare phasellus aenean massa scelerisque nulla risus et venenatis. At nisi tortor, neque tincidunt congue amet vel. Nullam adipiscing risus quis elementum. Rhoncus morbi metus sed proin. Diam consectetur sollicitudin vel sapien maecenas. Tortor quisque cras eu.

Ornare consequat id tincidunt scelerisque adipiscing. Egestas felis pharetra, velit malesuada platea vitae lacinia. Facilisi at curabitur ut nulla mi urna arcu ut. Sagittis ornare phasellus aenean massa scelerisque nulla risus et venenatis. At nisi tortor, neque tincidunt congue amet vel. Nullam adipiscing risus quis elementum. Rhoncus morbi metus sed proin. Diam consectetur sollicitudin vel sapien maecenas. Tortor quisque cras eu.


John Doe
About the Author

Vel quam auctor amet lectus suscipit non amet, velit. Massa pellentesque sed nunc senectus diam mi tristique magna. Sed lectus cursus fusce ullamcorper mattis id.

Image caption cras diam nec tincidunt id libero turpis. Turpis consectetur nec lacus, in. Aliquet aliquam hac in egestas arcu id auctor. Urna, mattis et amet morbi turpis tellus sapien auctor. Sem neque tortor in semper. Image caption cras diam nec tincidunt id libero turpis. Turpis consectetur nec lacus, in. Aliquet aliquam hac in egestas arcu id auctor. Urna, mattis et amet morbi turpis tellus sapien auctor. Sem neque tortor in semper.

Alt text example

Image caption cras diam nec tincidunt id libero turpis.

Insights Articles

Articles

Inflation: A Way Forward


After a long hiatus, inflation has made quite a comeback in everyday lives of consumers around the world. Generally defined as the increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy, inflation had been below historical averages most of the past decade, with the backdrop of a longer-term decline since peaking in the early 1980’s. The COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst for a revival, initially due to constraints on supply chains and global trade. However, as economies globally recovered from the pandemic, inflation readings continued to show signs of growth.

The phenomenon was initially described as “transitory” by economists and investors, believing that inflation would slow as supply chains and global trade healed. This assumption proved to be incorrect, with the “transitory” description has been dropped since mid-2021, as all major measures of inflation have continued to increase at a consistent and rapid pace. The most commonly referenced inflation measurement, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is tracked including food and energy prices (headline CPI) and excluding food and energy prices (core CPI). The reading through February showed that compared to one-year ago, headline CPI rose +7.9% and core CPI rose +6.4%, the highest level in almost 40-year for both readings. Importantly, this reading does not account for the subsequent increase in energy and other commodities after the escalation in Ukraine.

Core CPI through February 2022; 1970 to 2022

Inflation is an impactful force to the global economy and therefore financial markets; the sharp increase certainly has the attention of policymakers. In the United States, the Federal Reserve operates under a “dual mandate” of “price stability and maximum sustainable employment”, with the former goal referencing inflation. Due to the improvement in the labor market, and consistently high inflation readings, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates starting in the March meeting.  The first increase will mark the start of tighter monetary policy, which will influence equity and bond markets in the short-term. The additional unknown duration of the supply disruptions in the oil and gas market will also muddy the waters for policymakers over the coming months.

The long, secular decline in inflation readings is over in the short-term. With inflation readings already near 40-year highs prior to the conflict in Ukraine, the response by policymakers over the coming months will be widely followed by investors. As we transition to a rate hiking cycle and inflation stays firm, the environment will likely require investors to shift their approach. Looking back historically over periods of rising inflation, asset classes such as commodities, real estate, value equities, US small cap equities and international equities tended to do well. Within equities, dividend paying stocks may offer an attractive opportunity for investors seeking growth with income in an inflationary environment. One additional portfolio consideration for investors: inflationary periods have had implications for the relationship between stock and bond returns, with high and rising inflation historically reducing the diversification benefit from bonds (positive correlation between stocks and bonds). While the approach may be different than the past 20 years for investors, there are likely to be opportunities for long-term investors to take advantage of as we navigate the ever-changing investment environment.

Views and opinions expressed are current as of the date of this white paper and may be subject to change; they are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Prior to making any investment decision, you should consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation. Although certain information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete.

Forecasts, projections, and other forward-looking statements are based upon current beliefs and expectations. They are for illustrative purposes only and serve as an indication of what may occur. Given the inherent uncertainties and risks associated with such forward-looking statements, it is important to note that actual events or results may differ materially from those contemplated.

Confluence Wealth Services, Inc. d/b/a Confluence Financial Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any level of skill or training. Please refer to our Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS for further information regarding our investment services and their corresponding risks.

William Winkeler
About the Author

Bill has more than 12 years of experience in the investment industry, most recently as Managing Director of Investments at a private wealth management firm. In his role at Confluence, Bill chairs the…

Ask an Advisor

We’re here to help. You can use this form to get timely answers from a financial advisor — or give us a call to get the guidance you need.

"*" indicates required fields

Sign up for updates, insights, and notifications for new podcast episodes.

"*" indicates required fields