What a great Summer! Not too hot, plenty of sunshine!
It has just been over a month since Jared joined us and he is off and running. One by one we are meeting with clients, and he is learning the ropes and tying a few knots for us. If you join us in our conference room you can watch him in action with our new tech set up.
Our intern Ben is headed back to school to continue his studies in Financial Services. We wish him and Ellie all the best and hopefully he will check in with us when he is here visiting family.
What’s been going on in the stock market?
1. The S&P 500 represented by SPY is up just over 13% year to date, though certainly had its’ ups and downs.
2. As I write this, we await Kevin Warsh comments in Jackson Hole Economy meeting to provide some guidance on the Fed Funds rate. Based on earlier comments, he probably won’t ‘illuminate’ much as he has been cutting back on guidance.
3. Unemployment seems rather steady hanging around 4%, but we will see some adjustment as people head back to school and perhaps some Christmas hiring coming up.
4. The geopolitical situation has been rocky as negotiations continue in the Middle East. Of course, that is not the only hot spot around the world as Ukraine and Venezuela take attention.
All in all we have a cautious eye toward the midterm elections and moving into a Presidential cycle. Not ready to head for fixed income, but prepared.
We had the chance to meet with a local banker with Poppy Bank here in Napa. We both value relationships over return rates because stuff happens in life and it is great to have a friend with money and knowledge. Poppy Bank has a great program to get young children involved in saving called the Poppy Blooms Youth Savings account. If you have young children that you want to teach to save, we recommend checking the opportunity out and they throw in a $25 opening bonus to help with the effort.
As we head into Fall and the Harvest is well under way here in Napa Valley, we know that a great harvest only happens after lots of planning and hard work. If there is a way we can help monitor if you are on the right track or provide strategies to avoid the potholes of life, give us a call. You can visit our website and book appointments. Lots of exciting things are coming up! Enjoy the last bit of Summer!