Pursuing Growth, Preservation & Lower Fees

People always have in the back of their mind what if there is another stock market drop like the Great Depression of 1929-1932,  The Tech Bubble and 9/11 of 2000-2002 or The Great Recession of 2008-2009.  You may be afraid to invest even now or panic by selling out when the market is falling dramatically.  However, maybe you are frustrated with the rate of interest your earning in savings, cd's etc... and afraid it is not enough to keep up with the cost of living increase and don't know what to do. Well to pursue the potential rewards of long term growth rates above the interest rates of checking, savings and CD's,  history has clearly shown being an investor in companies (stocks) gives you that opportunity.  We strive to prepare you to for the next downside scare by showing you ways to pursue growth & preservation with lower fees.

We start by helping you identify when you will need certain assets throughout your life. Once we identify when and how much of your assets will be needed, we then can determine what suitable assets might be used towards pursuing growth, preservation and strive to lower your fees in the following buckets below: 

1) Lifetime & Other Income Sources ie... social security, pensions, annuities, rental or small business income etc...

2) Liquid Assets you might need within the next 7 years

3) Assets you might need to use in  8-17 years

4) Assets you might need to use in 18-24 years

5) Assets you won't probably need to use for 25 years and beyond

We believe investing in stocks or investments tied to stock indexes takes 4 key beliefs :

1) INNOVATION

There are many scientists around the globe along with many more innovators in garages that are trying to come up with ways to make our lives better

Medical advances has taken Life Expectancy in 1 AD around 25 years of age to today some life expectancies are over 80.  The next great discovery could have us all living happy and healthy easily into our 100's.

From the printing press, railroads, telegraph, electricity, radio, telephone, light bulb, cars, planes, vaccines, man on the moon to computers and cell phones,  humans will always be innovative, have a desire to survive and succeed.

Don’t be surprised if the next great invention happens tomorrow and our way of life changes again.

Investing in new technologies and industries carries significant risks and the increased potential for volatility and loss.

2) STAPLE PRODUCTS & SERVICES

People need and want food, water, shelter, clothing, transportation, communication, entertainment and other natural resources.  This can be a constant driver in many company earnings over time.

3) INFLATION HEDGES

Prices of goods and services have climbed for decades. The cost of one stamp has more than tripled from 14 cents in 1978 to 47 cents today. According to "Stocks For The Long Run" by Jeremy Siegel, Stocks (as represented by the S & P 500 index) have outpaced inflation consistently over 17 year rolling periods between 1802 - 2015. The historical average of inflation has been over 3%.  If you are investing all your assets in checking, savings, cd's and treasury bonds, especially now, your cost of living could be going up more than your are earning. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index generally representative of the US stock market, without regard to company size. Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.  Hedging techniques may be subject to significant volatility and accelerate the velocity of potential losses.

4) Don't Market Time 

The extremely hard thing to do is predict what economic cycle is coming and and where the stock market is going to go.  However, there has never been a 17 year period where the S&P 500 stock index has been negative. According to "Stocks for The Long Run" by Jeremy Siegel.

The world economy and stock markets could in theory go through any of these next 4 scenarios*:

1. New ideas and inventions have the potential to improve the quality of life. The economy and company earnings are increasing rapidly. Investors are feeling confident causing world stock markets to potentially increase dramatically in the next 1 to 5 years.
2. The economy stagnates over the next 2-5 years, markets go up and down slightly and finally increases dramatically.
3. A depression very similar to 1930’s or a recession similar to 2008-2009 occurs and the market drops substantially, but eventually recovers 5-10 years from now and we are at least at current levels & somewhat higher in 10-15 years
4. A natural disaster, terrorist attack or civil uprisings in U.S and across the globe happen, markets fall drastically from current levels, society reverts back to a mostly agrarian/barter society. Self Reliant, innovators are the survivors. Modern Markets recover in 20 years.

*The examples above are hypothetical examples and is not representative of any specific investment.  Your results may vary.

The truth is even well educated economists, advisors and money managers don't know what’s coming next. Even if they happen to have predicted a previous cycle doesn't mean they can do it again.

 

A 15 year study from June 30, 2003 through  June 30, 2018 completed by Standard & Poor’s shows that simply just owning the S&P 500 Stock Index has outperformed about 83% of all active money managers. Even the 17% of active money managers that did outperform can’t guarantee they will outperform the stock indexes going forward.  Nor can they promise to give you back any of your losses if we run into another 5 year span from 2003 to March of 2009 where the S&P 500 dropped over 30% *** All the while they are collecting fees from you.

***According to a report called "Patience Rewarded" from www.avemariafunds.com which was sourced from Mellon Analytical Solutions, July 2015