Our mission is to help you Preserve Your Assets and Protect Your Lifestyle. In this month's newsletter, we discuss how the markets and a rise in interest rates may impact you. We also discuss our upcoming webinar, Managing Stress for Success, and how the proposed Biden Tax proposal may affect you. Enjoy!

Market and Portfolio Update

We appear to be seeing positive effects from the stimulus spending by our federal government on our economy. The expectation has been for the record spending in excess of 6 trillion dollars to stabilize the economy and lead to a recovery from the COVID-related shutdown, which began in March of 2020. We are always looking for signs of an economic turnaround.  In the last 8 months, the yield to maturity of the US 10 Year Treasury increased from .50% on August 4th, 2020 to 1.66% as of April 12th, 2021. The rise in rates implies inflation might be around the corner, and the economy could be on its way to a recovery.  

• What does this increase mean to your portfolio?
• How are we positioning your assets in response?

For stock investments, we believe the rise in rates could signal some softening in the stock market as investors move more money into bonds simply because bonds are paying a higher rate and are considered less risky investments relative to stocks. However, rates are a challenge to bond investments as well. As rates move up, bond prices adjust downward.

We have made adjustments to your bond investments to better weather what could be a continuation to rising interest rates and inflation. One of the bond mutual funds we added to your portfolio is the Cliffwater Private Debt Fund (CCLFX.)The fund is considered an interval fund and “fits in well” with our view of the challenges we face in the bond markets today. We found a white paper online from Primark Capital that discusses the nuances of an interval fund. We hope the information gives you better insight into the nuances of an Interval Fund. Please click here to read the white paper.

This Is Life- Managing Stress For Success, Wednesday, April 28th at 10:30AM

Thank you to everyone who attended our Energize For Success webinar. The positive feedback and stories we have received on the material we covered confirmed we are listening to you and doing more than simply being your wealth and investment advisors. COVID has taught us how important it is not only to deal with your “numbers,”,but also your emotional and physical well-being. In case you missed the webinar or would like the workbook. You can view them below.

View the Energize for Purpose webinar here. 

Download the workbook- You can download it here. 

Our next webinar on stress and getting it under control is going to be amazing. The material provided by Lindsay Troxell of Knowledge Labs has some executable, simple ideas that I have been using for sleep. I’m sleeping deeper and waking up more rested than I have in years.
 
The webinar material was developed in partnership with Dr. Heidi Hanna, a New York Times bestselling author of several books, including “The Sharp Solution,” “Stressaholic” and “Recharge.” Heidi is the “Chief Energy Officer” of Synergy Brain Fitness, the Founding Partner of the Academy for Brain Health and Performance and a Fellow and Advisory Board Member for the American Institute of Stress. Heidi is a performance coach, keynote speaker and nutritionist specializing in applying the science of personal energy management, health and wellness to improving business and personal performance.

Discover the stress mastery formula to manage stress with sustainable results:

• Understand - Stress is often misunderstood and lacks a clear definition. Understand the key attributes of what stress is, how it shows up and where it can be beneficial.
• Assess - Evaluate your current stress load and identify areas where you can make immediate changes.
• Appreciate - Home in on your stress formula and find out where in the cycle you can constructively disrupt your reactions.
• Adjust - Recalculate your reactions to stressors with habits to help you prepare, respond and achieve more effective outcomes.

Click here to register for the webinar. 

The Biden Tax Proposal: What Does It Mean To You?

We thought the attached white paper from The Equitable was extremely insightful.
 
Here are few key takeaways:

• Increase top ordinary income tax bracket from 37% to 39.6% on income above $400,000.
• The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) was set to sunset at the end of 2025, returning the 39.6% tax rate in 2026. Biden’s proposal accelerates this return.
• Replace deductions for contributions to IRAs, 401(k)s, and similar retirement accounts with a flat 26% credit.
• Impose a 12.4% old-age, survivors, disability insurance (Social Security or OASDI) payroll tax on income earned above $400,000, evenly split between employers and employees.

For a more in-depth explanation, please click here. 

We are here to help and offer objective advice. If you would like to discuss any of these topics or any questions relating to financial planning and/or the markets, please click here and pick a time on our calendar.