Are concerned about the current market volatility and how it might affect your retirement or financial plan?  At GFP, we are committed to helping you preserve your assets and protect your lifestyle during these volatile times. This newsletter and/or a simple phone call to us will help you gain a valuable perspective on how we are managing your assets to support your long-term goals and lifestyle choices. As your personal fiduciary, we educate, advise, and offer thoughtful analysis of this turbulent environment, and hope the information we share with you helps you better understand the relationship between your financial plan and your personalized investment portfolio.  In this month’s The Guardian Standard Newsletter, we discuss the current market environment, the similarities to years past, and what you can do to gain peace of mind. Enjoy!

Market Déjà Vu?  - What’s Your Plan of Action?  

Have you ever experienced the sensation of thinking you are experiencing something familiar that may have happened before: A Déjà Vu Moment?
Sven Heinrich, author of investment newsletter The Northman Trader –wrote the following:

“Since last year real GDP growth has been slowing. The chair of the Federal Reserve has been signaling that, while growth is slowing, there is no recession risk and the Fed is forecasting continued positive growth. Warning signs in the economy, including inverted yield curves, have been ignored and markets continued to make new highs in July.  In August a correction took place and subsequently a rally in markets ensued into early September. On September 18th the Fed is cutting rates.”

You might think this statement seems somewhat obvious about our current investment environment……BUT …. What if I told you this statement by Heinrich could also apply to the market action in 2007.  The yield curve inverted, growth in the economy was markedly slower in 2007 vs. 2006, and the S&P 500 made a new high in July (same backdrop as now) and then the Federal Reserve cut rates on September 18th (same as now), literally the same day.

We are not saying the current investment environment will have a similar outcome.  However, we take our role as your fiduciary very seriously and feel it would be irresponsible to ignore the commonalities of these two different periods.  Rest assured we have a plan and a course of action for dealing with this volatile environment. We are paying close attention to how your portfolio is performing, and we are regularly asking ourselves if the level of portfolio risk we are assuming on your behalf is appropriate.

A key part of understanding your unique goals and investment needs is our commitment to True Financial Planning. Every person introduced to our firm, regardless of whether they become a client, is offered a financial plan at no cost. We know some might think this is not a good business decision due to the time it takes to develop a plan, but our response would be that all decisions are not simply about “business”. Some decisions are about taking care of people and looking out for their best interests. Our firm is founded on this core belief.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to provide perspective and expertise.  The current economic expansion is in its 123rd month, the longest expansion on record since 1944. We have also had a remarkable run in the US stock market (11 years). Most importantly, we have a plan to navigate this volatile period.

If you know of anyone who could benefit from a timely assessment of their financial situation, feel free to have them contact us. Could this be one of the moments when looking forward, having a clear set of goals and objectives, and understanding the lessons of the past provide clarity? Seems like we have been through this before…… A Déjà Vu Moment!

If you would like to schedule a time to discuss your needs, please CLICK HERE and pick a time on our calendar. 

How Do We Help Clients Manage Market Volatility?

In this short video, Pat Guinet, CIMA® discusses the recent market volatility and how GFP manages risk for clients with their DRAAMS investment approach.