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 "what happened in the third quarter", "what is an inverted yield curve", and provide you a year-end tax checklist. Enjoy!

What Happened in the Third Quarter?

Financial markets were choppy in the third quarter, buffeted by some familiar themes: on-again/off-again U.S.- China trade war headlines, weak global growth, recession fears, and central bank monetary policy. For the full quarter, both major asset classes produced solid gains: larger-cap U.S. stocks (Vanguard 500 Index) were up 1.7% and core bonds gained 2.4% (Vanguard Total Bond Market Index). Please click here to view the full commentary. 

What Is an Inverted Yield Curve and What Does it Mean to You?

“Yield curve inversion” has been in the news lately. You may be wondering exactly what this is, what it portends, and why it’s getting so much press. There are rare times when long-maturity bonds have a lower interest rate than short-term interest rates. In simplified terms, when short-term rates are higher than long-term rates, the market is saying: “Good times are here … but bad times are coming.” Central banks typically raise interest rates to curb inflation as the economy strengthens but lower interest rates to stimulate business activity when the economy is struggling. To read the full article, please click here. 

What Year-End Tax Planning Ideas Should You Consider? 

For some, the end of year season has you thinking about taxes. We have attached a simple checklist that includes some common tax topics and strategies to consider. The list should only be a starting place. It is intended to get you thinking about your tax planning options. As always, please discuss these ideas with your tax consultant to see which impact you. Please click here to view the checklist.

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