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Honoring Our Heroes: A Heartfelt Thank You This Veterans Day

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in Posts.

Most of us know somebody who’s served in the military or did so ourselves. For those who haven’t, it can be difficult to understand what it’s like to serve. It’s easy to forget the many sacrifices that our service men and women make. Hopefully, we all take the opportunity this Veterans Day to thank our soldiers, both past and present, for the courage they show(ed) in the face of the unimaginable. So, if you see a soldier, or someone who once was a soldier, please say:

Thank You.

Thank you for all that you do, and the sacrifices you’ve made. Thank you for leaving your friends and the comforts of home. Thank you for risking your lives, so that we can enjoy ours. Thanks for giving up the small moments in life: inside jokes, Super Bowls, backyard barbeques, and fishing trips. Thank you for allowing us to have our small victories, homecoming games, homeruns, touchdowns, dance recitals, first kisses, and first drinks. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to sleep soundly in our beds; to go to work and provide a life for our families.

Thank you for being dignified and respectful while representing our nation. Thank you for having your fellow soldiers’ backs; for suffering, bleeding, and in far too many cases, dying for our way of life. Thank you for being willing to endure cold nights, cold food, hard cots, and blisters. Thank you for coming home and doing your best to fit in, to not jump when a pot falls on the floor, or when the neighbors set off fireworks. Thank you for going through more than you thought possible. Thank you for your lost friends and comrades. Thank you for all the things we understand, and for everything we don’t.

Happy Veterans Day!

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Questions You Were Afraid to Ask #14

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in News, Posts.

The only bad question is the one left unasked. That’s the premise behind many of our posts. Each covers a different investment-related question that many people have but are afraid to ask.

To begin this post, we’d like to ask you a question: Have you ever seen an episode of Star Trek?  If so, you know the writers often use something called “technobabble.”  You’ll hear terms like dilithium core, temporal convergence, tachyon fields, and more.  It’s obvious, of course, why the writers would do this.  As the show takes place in the future, technobabble is a quick and easy way to make the characters seem smarter and more technologically advanced than we are today.   

The media has its own form of technobabble.  If you’ve ever watched CNBC, for example, you’ve probably heard many instances of “financial jargon.”  Words that sound complicated and intimidating, and that you almost never hear in everyday conversation.  Many do have meanings, and some are very important – but they can often be bandied about by professionals in order to sound sophisticated. 

Sophistication is all well and good, but not when it comes at the expense of clarity.  So, over the next few posts in this series, we want to break down some common bits of financial jargon that you are likely to hear in the media, what they mean, and why they do — or do not — matter. 

Questions You Were Afraid to Ask #14:
What do stock ratings mean?   

Buy.  Sell.  Hold.  Overweight.  Outperform.  Strong, weak, reduce, accumulate.  These are just some of the ratings you’ll often see attached to specific investments, usually stocks.  Financial websites love to list them.  Talking heads on TV love to recite them.  But what are they?

A rating is an analyst’s recommendation on what to do with a particular stock.  Typically, an analyst will research a company by reviewing financial statements, talking with leadership, and surveying customers.  Some analysts will also study broader economic trends to try and estimate how the company will be affected by the overall economy.  Other analysts may rely heavily on algorithms and mathematical models.  Whatever their method, these analysts then prepare a report that discusses how they see the company’s stock performing in the near future. 

Inside that report is a rating.  Their advice, distilled down to a single word or phrase, on what their clients should do with the stock in question.  The three most basic ratings are: buy, sell, and hold. 

Buy and sell are fairly obvious.  They are recommendations to buy the stock — or buy more of it — or to sell whatever shares you already own.  “Hold” essentially means to sit tight.  If you already own shares in the stock, don’t buy any more, but don’t sell, either. 

So far, so simple.  But here’s where things can get a little tricky.  Since there is no standardized way to rate stocks, pretty much every financial firm will have its own system.  That’s why you’ll often see many variations and degrees of those three basic ratings.  For example, think of buy, sell, and hold as umbrella terms.  Beneath the buy umbrella, you may sometimes hear terms like moderate buy, overweight, outperform, market perform, add, or accumulate.  Under sell, you may see reduce, underweight, underperform, weak hold, moderate sell. 

“Moderate” essentially means to buy or sell more shares of the stock, but not too much.  Same for add/reduce.  Over/underweight and over/underperform means the analyst believes the stock will perform somewhat better or worse than the overall market.  Weak hold is basically a push – it’s probably fine to hold onto your shares, but you can sell if you want to. 

Sometimes, if an analyst uses all these variations, then a simple buy or sell can then take on a new meaning.  That’s why you’ll sometimes see the terms strong buy or strong sell.  This indicates the analyst believes you should either buy or sell as much of the stock as you possibly can. 

So, now you know what stock ratings mean.  But do they matter? 

Imagine you’re shopping online for a new coffee maker.  What’s the first thing you’d see?  Likely, it would be a list of coffee makers with some sort of numerical rating next to each based on all the customer reviews.  Now, would you buy the first machine that has a good rating?  Probably not.  What you would do is look at the first machine with a good rating, and then go from there. 

For regular investors, that’s essentially what stock ratings are good for.  They provide a handy place to start.  A quick reference.  A way to weed out the stocks you don’t want to look at immediately versus those you do.  But you shouldn’t ever make decisions based solely on those ratings.  Because, like the customer ratings online, they don’t tell the whole story. 

It’s important to remember that a stock rating is just the opinion of one analyst.  Others may have different opinions.  Also, because there’s no standardized rating system, one analyst’s “buy” might be another’s “hold.”  An “underperform” at one place might be a “strong sell” at another.  And while analysts can be very smart and experienced, rating is not an exact science and can be often used more as a marketing pitch than as a truly objective evaluation. 

Finally, stock ratings are not specific to you.  Consider the coffee maker analogy.  One machine might have a rating of 4.3 stars; a second might be 4.0.  But when you read the reviews closely, you might see the higher-rated machine is versatile but complicated.  The lower-rated machine can’t do as much, but it’s fast and easy – perfect for that quick cup before work.  If that’s what you want, the “lower-rated” machine might be better.  Stock ratings are similar.  They don’t address your goals, your risk tolerance, your timeline.  And that’s why they should never be used as a substitute for having your own customized investment plan. 

So, that’s the skinny on stock ratings.  Next month, we’ll look at another stock term: Big Caps vs Small Caps.  Have a great month!

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Q4 Market Outlook for 2024

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in News, Posts.

Our 2024 Q4 Market Outlook: looking back on the 3rd quarter, then looking ahead to what could impact the markets over the next few months.

Image of how the markets did and news impacting the market.

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Q3 Market Recap

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in News, Posts.

It’s always great to start a message with the words, “The markets finished the quarter at an all-time high.”  Fortunately, that’s the case this time around.  The S&P 500 rose 2% in September, and 5.5% for the entire quarter.  The Dow, meanwhile, gained 8.2% in Q3.  Both indices set new records along the way.1 

So, let’s do a quick recap of why the markets performed the way they did over the last three months.  Then, we’ll tell you what we think might be the most interesting storyline from an investor’s perspective.  We’ll finish with a few things to keep an eye on as we draw closer to the end of the year. 

July

The quarter began with the markets already rebounding from a bout of volatility in early Q2.  This was driven by good news regarding inflation, with consumer prices dropping to 3% in June.2  That led to renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve would finally cut interest rates sometime in the summer.  But as July started making way for August, the skies over Wall Street began to turn cloudy.  The optimism of a future rate cut shifted into concern that maybe, just maybe, the Fed had already waited too long.  

August

This concern was primarily driven by rumblings in the labor market.  Unemployment has been trending upward for some time now, and in July, the jobless rate rose to 4.3%.3  While that’s not a high number in a historical context, it was still higher than most economists expected. And it prompted investors to wonder whether future rate cuts would be enough to prevent unemployment from rising higher still, which could trigger a recession. 

Just as investors were chewing over this unpleasant bit of data, the markets were hit by another interest rate whammy – this time, from overseas.  While our rates have been at 40-year highs in recent times, Japan has kept their rates extremely low.  Because of this, many investors were using a tactic called the yen carry trade.  This involves borrowing Japanese currency at an absurdly cheap rate, then converting that cash into a stronger currency.  With that stronger currency, investors could then buy U.S. securities, essentially at a discount.  It’s been a popular tactic, but it unraveled in early August with the news that Japan was finally raisinginterest rates at the same time the U.S. was preparing to decrease theirs.  That meant the yen was stronger in value than before.  As a result, many investors were forced to quickly sell off the assets they bought before having to pay higher interest rates on the money they borrowed.  This triggered a short but massive selloff across the entire globe. 

All this was unpleasant, but thankfully, short-lived.  By the end of August, the markets had completely regained what they had lost.  Still, a sense of uneasiness remained, because September had arrived – historically, the worst month of the year for the markets. 

September

True to form, the markets began the month with another dip.  Besides worrying about unemployment, investors were also mulling over the future of artificial intelligence.  (More specifically, the companies that have invested heavily in it.)  AI-related hype has been one of the biggest drivers of the current bull market, but far more money has been poured into AI than has flown out of it.  Some analysts raised the question of whether the new technology is all it’s cracked up to be, and whether it will truly return enough value to shareholders to justify its costs. 

But then came the news everyone had been waiting for. The August jobs report was modestly positive, indicating that unemployment was basically unchanged.  (In other words, still higher than anyone would like, but not picking up momentum, either.)  And the latest inflation report was even better: Inflation had fallen to 2.5%.4  The lowest mark since early 2021…and very close to the Fed’s goal of 2%.  A rate cut was now all but certain.  And on September 18, it finally happened.  The first cut in over four years, to the tune of 0.50%.4  Based on this, the markets continued to climb, finishing the quarter at record highs. 

So, an action-packed quarter, with plenty of twists and turns.  But as much fun as it is to say, “record highs,” that may not even be the best news to come out of Q3. 

Warren Buffett once said that interest rates act like gravity on valuation — meaning they pull stock prices down, or at least prevent them from rising too high.  But despite higher rates, stocks have been in a bull market for the past two years.  How can this be? 

When we talk about “the stock market,” we tend to think of it as a single entity.  But that’s far from the truth.  As its name implies, the S&P 500 is made up of five hundred different companies, and the broader stock market contains thousands.  At any given time, some of those companies are rising in value while others are falling.  When more companies rise than fall, the markets do well, and vice versa.  But sometimes, you don’t need a lotof companies to rise in value. You just need a handful to rise so much, they drag the overall value of the index along with it.  That’s been the case for much of the past two years.  Most of the market’s rise has been driven by a handful of tech giants, thanks to the AI boom we mentioned.  But for the majority of companies on the stock market, growth has been much more modest.  Interest rates act like gravity, remember?

One of the most interesting storylines is that this trend reversed last quarter.  More than 60% of companies in the S&P 500 rose higher than the overall index in Q3.5  (For the previous quarters, it was only around 25%.)  And the Russell 2000 index, which contains lots of smaller companies, rose by 9.3% for the quarter.5  All this suggests that the bull market is widening in breadth, which is a positive indicator for the future.  (The broader a market incline, the longer that incline tends to last.) 

Now, with all that said, there are still some question marks on the horizon that we need to keep an eye on.  While geopolitics rarely has a sustained impact on the markets, conflict in the Middle East could inject turbulence into oil prices, which do affect the markets to a degree.  Volatility can always spike in the weeks before and after a presidential election.  And the biggest question mark is unemployment.  Can the Fed actually achieve a soft landing, avoiding a recession as they continue cutting rates?  These are the questions that only the future can answer. 

For these reasons, it’s important we remain prudent with our investment decisions in the short-term…while always keeping our focus on the long-term.  In the meantime, enjoy the upcoming holiday season!  And as always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  Our door is always open.   


SOURCES:
1 “S&P 500 ekes out record closing high,” Reuters, www.reuters.com/world/us/wall-st-eyes-lower-start-data-loaded-week-powells-comments-awaited-2024-09-30/
2 “Inflation falls 0.1% in June from prior month,” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2024/07/11/cpi-inflation-report-june-2024.html
3 “Job growth totals 114,000 in July,” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2024/08/02/job-growth-totals-114000-in-july-much-less-than-expected-as-unemployment-rate-rises-to-4point3percent.html
4 “Fed slashes interest rates by a half point,” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2024/09/18/fed-cuts-rates-september-2024-.html
5 “Broadening gains in US stock market underscore optimism on economy,” Reuters, www.reuters.com/markets/us/broadening-gains-us-stock-market-underscore-optimism-economy-2024-09-30/

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Q4 Financial Checklist

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in Posts.

As we enter the fourth and final quarter of the year, it’s time once again to talk about checklists. Because if there’s any time to use them, it’s now!  After all, …   

He’s makin’ a list
and checkin’ it twice
He’s gonna find out if you’re naughty or nice.
“Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” — J. Fred Coots & Haven Gillespie

Now, we apologize for putting Christmas music into your head when we’re still a couple of months away.  But we do it to make a point: Checklists are so important, even Santa Claus uses them!  And if they’re good enough for Kris Kringle, they’re good enough for us. 

As the year winds down, there are many things we can do to strengthen our finances and move closer to our long-term goals.  So, to help you close out 2024 with a flourish and build momentum to next year, we’ve created a short “Q4 Financial Checklist.”  It contains five tasks to accomplish before the end of the year. 

Now, don’t worry!  None of these items are difficult.  One or two may not even apply to you; others you may have done already.  But if you put them all together, we think you’ll find they will go a long way to making your finances — and your holidays — just a little merrier and brighter.

As always, please let us know if you need help or have questions about any of these.  In the meantime, we wish you a great fourth quarter!

Q4 Financial Checklist for 2024
Tip: Print this out and stick it on the fridge or somewhere else it will be seen.  That way, you can check off the items one by one as you complete them!
– – –  – – –  – – –  – – –  – – –
  •  Budget your holiday expenses
The upcoming holiday season is a great boost for morale as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder.  But they can also be a huge drain on our wallets. In fact, the average consumer spends $1,650 to celebrate the winter holidays!1 From presents to food to decorations, holiday expenses can pile up quickly, eat into savings, and even cause people to take on more debt. But all of that can be avoided with just a little planning. 
Take time to budget exactly how much you want to spend on each holiday by determining what your needs will be well in advance. Begin by looking at last year’s spending to figure out if there are ways to save or cut back.  Next, start determining how many people are coming to Thanksgiving dinner. And be sure to check that one box in the garage before buying yet another set of holiday lights. You get the idea. Then, decide exactly how you’ll pay for each holiday expense. Will you pull money from savings? Use a credit card? From there, you can set a specific spending limit for each expense, keeping costs down while also spending more on the things you truly care about around the holidays. 
  • Review your insurance needs
November is Open Enrollment season in the U.S.  That means it’s a good time to review your current insurance coverage and examine if you have any gaps in coverage that need to be filled or if there are less expensive alternatives out there.  For those nearing retirement, this is also an opportunity to look at additional types of coverage beyond standard health insurance, like Disability and Long-Term Care Insurance. 
  • Check for opportunities to harvest your tax losses
As we approach the end of the year, it’s wise to look back and see all the ups and downs we experienced in the markets this year — and the ups and downs you’ve probably experienced in your portfolio. As you know, when you sell an investment that has increased in value, you must pay taxes on your capital gains. But when you sell an investment that has decreased, you can declare a capital loss. A loss can often be used to offset the taxes you pay on your capital gains, thus reducing your overall tax bill. This is known as tax-loss harvesting, and when done accurately and consistently, it can increase your after-tax returns by 1%.2 Over time, this can make a big difference! So, as the year winds down, take time to review your outside investments for opportunities to harvest your tax losses. As always, let us know if you need any help.  
  • Consider your charitable contributions
These days, more and more people are starting to think of investing not just as a way to help themselves, but to help their communities.  That’s especially true around the holiday season.  But charity isn’t just about giving back.  It can bring tax benefits, too!  In fact, there are several charitable gifting strategies that investors can take advantage of.  But it’s important to start thinking about this sooner rather than later if you want to be savvy about it.  A few things for you to consider:
1) Have you maxed out your charitable donations for the year?
2) Are you planning on contributing cash, stock, or other assets? 
3) Can you take advantage of a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)? 
If you have any questions about this or need help game-planning your own charitable contributions, please let us know. We would be happy to help. 
  • Review this year’s goals and plan for next year’s
It’s crazy to think that we’re only one quarter away from a new calendar year! Because 2025 is just around the corner, now is the time to review how you’ve progressed on your goals this year so you can accurately plan for what needs to be done next year. What goals are you behind on at that need to be reprioritized? What new goals do you have? By doing this now, you can finish 2024 strong and start 2025 hot out of the gate.   
 

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A Long Expected Rate Cut

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in News, Posts.

In just about every scary movie, there’s always that one scene near the end where the hero thinks they’ve escaped, or that the monster is dead — only for there to be one more “jump scare” in store. 

This is the scenario currently facing the Federal Reserve. 

Over the last two years, the Fed has been trying to do the seemingly impossible: Cool down consumer prices without starting a recession. To do that, the Fed turned to the only tool available to them: Interest rate hikes. Rates began gradually rising in early 2022 and had been at about 5.33% since August of last year.1 That was the highest they’d been in 23 years.1 

Higher interest rates serve as a kind of flame retardant on the overall economy because they make it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow money. This, in turn, reduces how much money people spend. Since a consumer spending is a corporation’s income, lower spending forces companies to lower their prices to attract new business. When this happens across the board, inflation will cool to a more manageable level.

This approach works, but the problem is that it’s applying a blunt instrument to a delicate situation. Since 1955, virtually every period of major rate hikes has led to a downturn.1  If prices cool down too much, too fast, businesses stop hiring. Next, they start laying off workers to make up for the decrease in revenue. The economy contracts, and we have a recession. Some of these recessions were very short, but every downturn is painful in its own way. So, bringing down inflation without bringing down the economy? History suggests it can’t be done. 

But the data we’re seeing now suggests that this time, the Fed may have just done it. 

Since the rate hikes began, inflation has fallen from a high of 9.1% in 2022 to 2.5% this past August.2 That’s extremely close to the Fed’s stated goal of a 2% rate of inflation. Meanwhile, the economy has so far avoided a recession. Our nation’s GDP grew by approximately 1.4% in the first quarter of this year, and 3% in the second.3

But in a scary movie, the characters who gloat or celebrate too soon…they never make it out, do they? It’s the ones who keep their heads and don’t get carried away who make it to the credits. 

So, the Fed can’t celebrate yet. Just in case the monster isn’t really dead. 

You see, while inflation has been going down this year, something else has been going up: Unemployment. After falling to a near-historic low of 3.4% in April 2023, the jobless rate has been slowly but consistently climbing. (The most recent jobs report, in August, showed unemployment was at 4.2%.)4 Now, this isn’t a large number. In historical context, it’s quite low. But what matters is the trend, and the trend has undoubtedly been going up. 

Because of these twin factors – declining inflation, rising unemployment — we’ve known for a while that the Fed must begin cutting interest rates. The question was when, and by how much. Well, now we know the answer: September 18, and 0.50%.5 It’s the first cut in over four years, and it brings rates down to a range of 4.75-5%. 

Investors have been waiting expectantly for this for pretty much the entire year. It’s one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has done so well in 2024. So, the move itself wasn’t a surprise. What was a little surprising, though, was that the Fed cut rates by 0.50%. That may not sound impressive, but it’s larger than the 0.25% cut many analysts expected. And it illustrates the new challenge our country faces: How do you cut rates in a way that prevents runaway unemployment without letting inflation climb again?

In other words, how do we ensure the monster’s truly dead? How do we avoid another jump scare?

You see, if the Fed cuts rates by too much, too fast, it could prompt a surge in borrowing and spending. That could overheat the economy and cause prices to spike again, undoing all the progress we’ve made. On the other hand, if the Fed cuts rates by too little, too slowly, it may be too little, too late for the labor market. Unemployment could turn into a runaway train, drawing the economy behind it. The war on inflation would still be won…but at what cost? 

As investors, one of the issues we face is that there’s no reliable way to know exactly what will happen. Right now, the economy appears to contain more positive signs than negative, and this new rate cut is a very welcome development. However, it’s worth remembering that rises in unemployment often precede a recession. Furthermore, many past recessions began just after the Fed began cutting rates, not while they were hiking them. When the Fed announced the rate cut on September 18, they also suggested that further, smaller cuts are in store this year. While the markets have embraced the news, and may well continue to rise, we must be mentally prepared for bouts of volatility as investors parse every bit of data for signs of either rebounding inflation or runaway unemployment. 

Fortunately, we are set up to respond appropriately to any signs of volatility. Moving forward, as the Fed begins cutting interest rates at last, we’ll continue to analyze how both the overall market – and the various sectors within the market – are trending. As you know, we have put in place a series of rules that determine at what point in a trend we decide to buy, and when we decide to sell. This enables us to switch between offense and defense at any time. If our technical signals indicate it’s time to play offense and seize future opportunities or play defense to protect your gains, we can do so without waiting to see what the overall markets will do.

So, as we move into October, we want you to focus on what really matters.  The fall colors.  Pumpkin lattes and pumpkin carving.  Go watch a real scary movie if that’s your thing. 

Are you doing everything you can to help your story contain the words, “Happily ever after”?

Let us help you.  For our clients, we monitor the markets, track the data, and adapt as necessary so they need never worry about jump scares. 

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week!   

SOURCES
1 “Federal Funds Effective Rate,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS
2 “The Consumer Price Index rose 2.5 percent over the past year,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/the-consumer-price-index-rose-2-5-percent-over-the-past-year.htm
3 “Gross Domestic Product (Second Estimate), Second Quarter 2024,” U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, https://www.bea.gov/news/2024/gross-domestic-product-second-estimate-corporate-profits-preliminary-estimate-second
4 “The Employment Situation — August 2024,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
5 “Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement,” Federal Reserve Board of Governors, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20240918a.htm

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Labor Day – The Eight Hour Work Day

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in Articles, News, Posts.

Happy Labor Day!

Most of us associate Labor Day with BBQs, parades, and weekend camping trips. But the more we learn about the holiday, the more we realize that it’s really a celebration of things we take for granted yet couldn’t imagine living without. And it’s a commemoration of the men and women who risked their lives, liberty, and reputations to secure them for us.

For instance, take the eight-hour workday, the current standard in the United States.1

Everyone has different careers and work schedules. Some are incredibly demanding and long. Others are on swing shifts. But for many Americans, the day looks like this: get up, eat breakfast, and see children off to school. Go to work, break for lunch, work through the afternoon, and then head home in time for dinner. It’s a simple thing, this schedule. But it’s a schedule that enables us to keep our bodies fueled, hydrated, and rested. A schedule that allows for time to attend our loved ones’ school plays and soccer games. A schedule that affords more time for recreation, relaxation, and self-improvement.

But it wasn’t always this way.

The year was 1835. The location: Philadelphia. Throughout this enormous city – indeed all throughout the country – workers knew only one sort of workday.

They called it “sun to sun.”

The moment the sun crested over the horizon each day; tens of thousands of laborers were already at work. Shoveling coal. Laying bricks. Painting houses, driving carts, unloading boats, and a hundred other tasks. They would work, often under hazardous conditions and for little pay until the sun finally went down. During the summer, this could mean up to 15 hours per day, leaving them no opportunity to see their families or do much of anything. The winter workday, in contrast, was comparatively short – at around 9 hours per day – but it also meant an enormous drop in pay or routine unemployment. Neither situation was acceptable for someone trying to feed their family. To make matters worse, the toil of a sun-to-sun day led to a laundry list of physical ailments. Workers routinely suffered “swollen ankles, nervous headaches, lung disease, stomach problems,” and much, much more.

Then, one day, a letter arrived from Boston. The city that helped launch the American Revolution was requesting help from the city that had declared American Independence. Laborers there – primarily carpenters, but soon masons and stonecutters, too – were done with this unfair system. They were demanding their rights as workers, citizens, and human beings for something better.

We have been too long subjected to the odious, cruel, unjust and tyrannical system which compels the operative mechanic to exhaust his physical and mental powers. We have rights and duties to perform as American citizens and members of our society, which forbid us to dispose of more than ten hours for a day’s work.2

Essentially, Boston workers were calling for a citywide guarantee of a 10-hour workday regardless of the season. And they were asking laborers in other cities to call for the same thing.

The letter quickly gained traction in Philadelphia, circulating from worker to worker with astonishing speed. (These days, we’d call it “going viral.”) For them, the demands in the letter were not just about having more time off. They were about ensuring the means to become better citizens and more productive members of society. As the letter from Boston had proclaimed — and as the Philadelphia workers then repeated — “We have taken a firm and decided stand to obtain the acknowledgement of those rights to enable us to perform our duties to God, our country, and ourselves.”3 So, in May, three hundred coal workers decided to go on strike. Together, they marched on the coal wharves and announced that no coal would be unloaded until a 10-hour workday was established.

This was not an easy decision. For any worker to go on strike was to risk not just their current job, but their entire future. Livelihoods and reputations could be ruined forever if the strike was not successful – and up to that point in American history, few strikes had been. In many cases, strikes could lead to injuries and even death. Nevertheless, the coal workers were quickly joined by almost every other laborer and tradesman in the city. The words in the Boston letter became a topic discussion in every tavern and meeting house. Altogether, over twenty thousand workers began marching around the city, carrying banners that said, “From 6 to 6, ten hours work and two hours for meals.”

The movement was so organized, united, and swift that within three weeks, the old sun-to-sun system was out. The ten-hour day became standard throughout the city. In addition, many workers also gained an increase in their wages. But the movement didn’t stop there. The news quickly spread to every corner of the country, and by the end of the year, workers from New England to the Carolinas had conquered the old system. A system that “left no time for mental cultivation and kept people ignorant by keeping them always at work.”3 A system that was “destructive of social happiness and degrading to the name of freemen.”3 In its place was a new system. One that had “broken [people’s] shackles, loosened their chains, and made them free from the galling yoke of excessive labor.” 3

The rights won in 1835 laid the foundation for the rights we enjoy today. An eight-hour workday. The right to take vacations or medical leave. To care for our bodies properly. To see our families. To learn, live, and worship however we see fit. Rights we cannot live without…and which were secured for us by people who simply wanted a better future for themselves and their children.

And that, to us, is what this holiday is all about. We wish you a happy Labor Day!

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Q2 Market Recap

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in Posts.

One of our favorite metaphors for investing is that it’s like packing a suitcase.

Let’s say you’re preparing for a summer trip to the beach. What would you put in your suitcase?  A swimsuit, probably. Sandals. Sunscreen. Plenty of shorts and t-shirts. Sunglasses and a hat. Then, when you take a step back, you realize you still have space for a few more items. What do you choose?  More beach gear?  Makes sense – after all, it’s the middle of summer, and your destination is famous for being the perfect place to work on a tan.

Or would you pack a pair of pants and a long-sleeve shirt because you guess it might get cold at night?  Would you tuck in an umbrella and fold up a poncho…just in case it rains?

In our experience, some investors are like the tourist who packs for one kind of weather and one type of activity. To illustrate what we mean, let’s recap how the markets performed last quarter.

When 2024 began, inflation was near its lowest point in two years. As a result, many investors figured prices would continue to drop, and the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates sooner rather than later. (And possibly even several times throughout the year.)  In other words, they “banked” on warm weather and sunny skies, then packed their suitcase accordingly.

Well, there’s nothing more frustrating than when unexpected rain ruins fun in the sun. Instead of falling, inflation ticked up through Q1, rising from 3.1% in January to 3.5% in March.1

As a result, when the second quarter began, the mood on Wall Street had shifted substantially. Suddenly, there was no more talk of the Fed cutting rates early and often. Instead, investors began to wonder if the Fed would cut rates at all in 2024. Some economists even speculated that the Fed might raise rates again. So, investors re-opened their suitcases. Out went the swimwear; in went the coats and gloves. It’s no surprise, then, that the S&P 500 dropped 4.2% in April.2

What these investors didn’t realize was that the sun was already starting to peek out from behind the clouds.

Fast-forward to the beginning of July. Looking back, we now know that inflation dropped to 3.4% in April, 3.3% in May, and a surprising 3% in June.1

A big reason for this slide is due to gas prices, which fell by 3.6% in May and 3.8% in June.3 (Energy prices in general fell by 2% in both months.3)  This helped negate the fact that food and housing prices – two of the most stubborn and volatile drivers of inflation actually went up slightly in June.

As you can imagine, the talk has turned once again…to whether the Fed will cut rates sometime in the summer. This renewed optimism, combined with another factor that we’ll get to, helped lift the markets out of the doldrums. For the quarter, the S&P 500 gained 3.9%, while the Nasdaq rose 8.3%.4  

A 3% inflation rate means that consumer prices are up only 3% compared to this same time last year, not that prices have fallen lower.  Inflation is the rate at which prices are increasing.  A lower inflation rate means that prices are rising more slowly; deflation is when prices actually drop…and it’s usually the sign of an unhealthy economy.

So, what does this mean going forward?  Is it time to repack the suitcase?

The answer is no – because we believe we packed it correctly the first time.

Any savvy traveler knows that when you pack a suitcase, you don’t just factor in what you think will happen. You pack for what could happen. If your goal is to hit the beach, you pack a swimsuit…but since you know it could rain, you also pack a poncho. Your plan is to feel sand between your toes, but if the beach is too crowded, you’ll go for a hike instead…which is why you pack shoes as well as sandals.

The way inflation has gone (up and down) and the way the markets have responded (ditto) shows exactly why investing isn’t about predicting what will happen. It’s about planning for what may happen. You pack a suitcase in a way that ensures your vacation will be fun no matter what. We base our investment strategy in a way that helps you keep working toward your goals, regardless of what short-term market conditions are like.

The fact of the matter is we don’t know whether the Fed will lower interest rates in Q3. Of course, it’s certainly possible that they will. Three straight months of declining consumer prices is certainly a good sign. Even better is that the economy has continued to be solid. (GDP grew by 1.4% in Q1.5 As of this writing, many economists are predicting a 2% rise in Q2.6)  But it’s also possible that a rate cut is still many months away. Trying to guess what will happen in the short-term – and then making moves that could impact you in the long-term – is bad packing.

Then, too, inflation and interest rate expectations are not the only drivers of the markets. Tech stocks – specifically those companies most involved in the development or utilization of AI – helped the markets regain momentum in Q2. Any investor who decided to sit on the sidelines because of pessimism over inflation would have missed out on the optimism surrounding AI. Sure, it’s always a bummer to go to the beach and find it raining…but there are often plenty of other fun things to do on your vacation even when the sun isn’t out

When you think about it, the markets really are like going on a trip. There will always be reasons for enthusiasm and reasons for caution. Everyone who goes to Disneyland can look forward to amazing rides and horrendous crowds. The view from the Grand Canyon is spectacular; the weather can be abysmally hot. The flowers in England are spectacular; the rain can feel oppressive.

And for every factor that can pull the markets down, there will be factors that could push the markets up. Our job is to help you pack a suitcase – and implement an investment strategy with an eye on the long-term forecast – that keeps you prepared for all of it.

So, as we move further into a new quarter, that is just what our team will continue to do. We’ll be keeping an eye on many things this quarter. Inflation, the breadth of the market, the upcoming election – you get the idea. And whenever we feel there’s something on the horizon that could affect the items in your suitcase, we’ll let you know immediately.

In the meantime, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please let us know. And if you have any upcoming summer travel plans, well…be sure to send us pictures!

Have a great week!

1 “Inflation falls 0.1% in June from prior month,” CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/11/cpi-inflation-report-june-2024.html
2 “S&P 500 falls 4.2% in April,” S&P Global, https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/s-p-500-falls-4-2-in-april-as-market-momentum-loses-steam-81466397
3 “Consumer Price Index Summary, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
4 “Stops dip as investors digest inflation data,” Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-06-28/
5 “Gross Domestic Product,” U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product
6 “GDPNow,” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, accessed July 10, 2024. https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/documents/cqer/researchcq/gdpnow/RealGDPTrackingSlides.pdf

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Financial Planning Bucket List

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on . Posted in Posts.

How is your summer going? We hope you’ve been able to find ways to beat the heat while still having fun in the sun!

Summertime is when many people, retired or not, focus on checking items off their personal bucket list. Visiting that country you always wanted to visit. Hiking that trail that’s been calling your name for years. Mastering the art of gardening, competing in a local BBQ contest, getting to a 15 handicap in golf. The goals that bring you the most satisfaction. The milestones by which you measure personal progress. The activities that add true richness to your life.

Recently, though, several new clients have come to us with a similar frustration: They don’t feel like they have the resources — or the time — to actually do what’s on their bucket list. They don’t feel like they’re on track to reaching their goals.

This is a very common feeling for people of all ages and walks of life. Often, those who feel this way fall into one of three groups.

The first group is those who feel like they must wait for retirement to do almost anything on their bucket list. They are so busy hustling, so busy trying to work, save, and invest for the future, they often wonder if the future will ever come. They wonder if their most cherished dreams will have to be put off until an age when they are less physically able to enjoy them.

The second group is those who have very specific retirement goals – but retirement always seems to be moving further away even as they get older. They wonder when and whether they’ll actually be able to retire. They wonder if retirement is just an illusion.

The final group is those who are retired…but have found that, so far, retirement isn’t everything they thought it would be. Maybe their expenses in retirement are higher than they anticipated. Maybe they feel wary and unsure of spending any more money than they absolutely have to, because they’re afraid of outliving their savings. Either way, they are not spending their golden years traveling the world, cycling on that new electric bike they’ve always wanted, or even learning new skills.

As financial advisors, let us say it unequivocally: No matter what your goals are or what group you fall in, nobody should have to feel this way.

Fortunately, you don’t have to. There are always methods for ensuring you remain on track to your dreams. Savings and investment strategies for both short-term and long-term goals. Having a good financial plan, when you come right down to it, is about finding ways to achieve the items on your bucket list….and leaving no stone unturned in your efforts to do so. Before and after retirement.

You use, when it comes to your bucket list, there is something we fervently believe:

“If you can dream it, we can help you do it.” 

For instance:

Create a beautiful garden. Start a new career. Ski for 100 days a season. Volunteer in the inner-city neighborhood where you grew up. Finally, finally use all your frequent flyer miles. Create a world that consists of nothing but a hammock, a pitcher of lemonade, and a stack of John Grisham novels. Raise horses, goats, or chickens. Participate in guided tours of all the ancient wonders of the world. Open your own bed and breakfast. Trek to the Himalayas. Visit every national park. Learn to scuba dive. Visit every major-league ballpark. Relax. Go on a Safari in Africa. Move to a college town and take all the classes you skipped 40 years ago. Write movie reviews for the local weekly. Climb a mountain. Rent a barge for a canal tour in Europe. Invest in startup companies. Coach youth soccer, baseball, and basketball. Drive from Alaska to Patagonia. Run the Boston marathon. Play as many of Golf Digest®’s top-100 courses as possible. Play in a garage band. Play bridge for money. Just play! Go on at least three cruises a year. Act in community theater. Learn to play the piano. Read Russian novels. Run for local political office. Absolutely nothing. Give back to all of those who helped you. Do all the things you’ve been afraid of—skydiving, bungee jumping, and hang gliding. RV along Route 66 with your spouse and your dogs.

You get the idea. The point is that your bucket list shouldn’t just be an idle dream. It should be active pastime.

So, as we move into the second half of the year, ask yourself:

Am I doing any of the items on my personal bucket list this summer?
Do I feel like I’m on track to reaching my goals?

If the answer to either of these is “No,” or if you feel like you fall into any of the three groups we mentioned, here’s what we propose: Let’s chat. We can look at your goals, and what you’re currently doing to achieve them. We’d be happy to give a second opinion on how to make your bucket list part of your present instead of letting it languish in the distant future.

Financial planning is about more than just throwing money at the stock market. It’s about living the life you want to live. It’s about dreaming a dream…and then finding ways to actually do it.

Please let us know if we can ever provide more assistance in helping you achieve the items on your personal bucket list. In the meantime, we hope you have a great rest of your summer!