While we have enjoyed a robust and long running domestic equity bull market for quite some time now, many of us, investors and advisors alike, are beginning to grow uncertain with what we are seeing in view for the future. A second opinion is almost always a good idea, and usually at a minimum ‘can’t hurt.’

One way investors have traditionally protected themselves during periods of market volatility is to balance their portfolios by investing in fixed-income securities like bonds. While this strategy has proven effective in the past, it’s a much riskier path to take at our current moment for one critical reason: record-low interest rates.

In a year that left many of us lonely, depressed, and in mourning, we additionally experienced some of the most divided cultural and political moments in our nation’s history. As this season of giving, grace, and love approaches, may I gently encourage each of us to realize that we can be a living and breathing gift this year. We can be the gift of HumanKind.

We would like to invite you to a special live and interactive Virtual Town Hall we will be hosting on Tuesday, September 15, 12:30 p.m. The event will include our strategic partner, Michael McClary, Chief Investment Officer, Valmark Advisers, Inc., and an esteemed group of panelists.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our everyday lives in so many different ways. From working from home to wearing masks to celebrating birthday parties and baby showers on Zoom, we’ve adapted to the challenging hand we’ve been dealt.

There’s no getting around it: the coronavirus has disrupted the financial world as we previously knew it. With many businesses experiencing shutdowns or slowdowns and a record number of Americans filing for unemployment, the economy has come grinding to a halt.

We would like to invite you to a special live and interactive Town Hall webinar we will be co-hosting with one of our strategic partners, Richard Limekiller, CFA, CFP®, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, City National Rochdale, on Friday, April 3, 10:00 a.m.

As you might imagine, we’ve been having lots of conversations this week about the coronavirus-induced volatility presently ravaging the stock market. You know how when it rains, and your lovely picnic gets rained out, there’s always that person with a positive outlook who says, “That’s ok, the grass really needed the rain”? Think of us as that person right now with respect to the stock market, your investment accounts, and your financial plan.

The start of a New Year is a time for setting goals. Sometimes it’s a modest goal like finally cleaning out the basement. Sometimes it’s a more ambitious goal like launching a new business. Whether your goal for 2020 falls more on the modest or ambitious side, the question is: What steps will you take to bring your goal to life?

Whether we want to or not, we all end up giving money in the name of philanthropy each year. Some of us do this intentionally by contributing to a favorite charity. Others have our hands forced into helping others without even completely realizing it. In the financial world, we call this voluntary versus involuntary philanthropy.

If your business has grown substantially in value and complexity over the years, you have much more to steward, protect, and take care of. It would only seem logical, to ask yourself if you also need to step up the capacity and capabilities you are tapping into through your professional advisory team.

You’ve probably thought about, or even sat down with a financial advisor to plan for, what would happen in the event your life ends sooner than expected. But have you ever thought about what would happen to you and your family if you live much longer than anticipated?

Most individuals who establish a significant amount of wealth or start their own business put a lot of time and effort into building that asset. What they don’t always do is put that same amount of time and effort into protecting that asset.

There is nothing more important than your health and the health of your loved ones. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always play out that way for all of us. Many of us know someone who has received a major medical diagnosis. While some of that is beyond our control, the good news is we have the ability to influence and impact a lot of our livelihood.