A very good friend of mine recently shared Dewitt Jones’ TEDx talk, Celebrate What’s Right With This World, with me. She shared that she listens to it a couple times a week because it helps her with her work and to be more compassionate with people in general. In his talk, Dewitt, one of America’s top professional photographers, reminds us to look at the world from different perspectives. Rather than feeling discouraged by the state of the world today, he shows us that there is more than one answer; that every day we are surrounded by opportunities and marvels just waiting for us to notice and celebrate them. I chuckled when I heard him say that he may be considered having ‘rose colored glasses’ and applauded his way of celebrating humanity. I hope that you find the speech as inspiring as my friend and I have.
Every once in a while, here at White Raven Financial, someone share a dream of theirs with us that some may say seem far-fetched. Rather than dismiss the dream as unreachable, we ask more questions to fill in the back ground. We lay the ground work for a plan and make a timeline to what we now refer to as a goal instead of a dream because, you see, we now have a plan. We then put together different options on how the goal could be accomplished. The options are reviewed in detail to see if they are obtainable and within a person’s risk tolerance. We hope that we fulfil just a small amount of Dewitt’s goal of viewing the world and people in different ways.
On Wednesday, August 22, the U.S. Stock market hit a milestone for the current bull market by making it the longest bull run in American history. A bull run is characterized by having avoided declining by 20% or more on a sustained basis. JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer, James Dimon, speaking at a gala in August, said that he had a positive outlook. Due to the economy, Dimon thought that the current bull market could go for 2 or 3 more years. Russell Investments provided a more cautious view in their 2018 Global Market Outlook – Q3 stating that U.S. growth leadership and the U.S. dollar bounce have probably run their course. Their article continued with concerns on the trade war and possible inverted yield curve which could lead to a recession. Justin Kuepper, in his August 31st Investopedia article Stocks Near Record Highs, but Risks Continue to Mount tagged the recent boost in stock indices to the tentative NAFTA deal with Mexico and resumed talks with Canada. Kuepper also noted that risks continue to mount both in the U.S. and around the world citing the continued tariffs tensions as one of the main pressures.
Blackrock’s Global Chief Investment Strategist Richard Turnill’s global weekly commentary points to long term opportunities with strong fundamentals. Turnill explained his perspective of how higher interest rates in the U.S. as well as the strengthening U.S. dollar have led to a bit of tightening for worldwide financial conditions. The team of Sonders, Sorensen and Kleintop at Schwab in their August 31st Market Commentary wrote that they felt China’s decision to support its currency was good, but there were still risks to the country that could affect the global economy. No matter which forecast you read or prescribe to, the Schwab team’s summary at the end of their article aligns with our own position: the merits of the tried-and-true approach of asset class diversification cannot be understated.
August, the eighth month of the year, brought in fragrant grasses and a continued rise in the markets’ major indices. The blue-chip barometer (the DowTR)* gained 2.56% for the month. The S&P 500 (SPYTR)* added 3.26% for the month. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMPTR)* scored an August gain of 5.85%. On Tuesday, August 28, 2018, the Dow Jones Indices released the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller report showing that the national core home price index showing signs that growth is easing in the housing market. The 20-city composite May Home Price Index reported a 6.3% year-over-year gain; down from the 6.5% posted the previous month. Before seasonal adjustments, month-over-month data had the month of June posting a .05% gain over the prior month of May for the 20-city composite index.
Regards and Thank you,
The Team at White Raven Financial
*Returns for the DOW, S&P500 and the NASDAQ is the total return (price only) provided by Morning star Inc. as of 2018August31.
*The Standard and Poor’s 500 is an unmanaged, capitalization weighted benchmark that tracks broad-based changes in the U.S. stock market. This index of 500 common stocks is comprised of 400 industrial, 20 transportation, 40 utility, and 40 financial companies representing major U.S. industry sectors. The index is calculated on a total return basis with dividends reinvested and is not available for direct investment.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average covers 30 blue chip U.S. companies selected by the editors of the Wall Street Journal. The Dow represents about 25% of the NYSE market capitalization and less than 2% of NYSE issues.
*The NASDAQ is a market-value weighted index that measures all NASDAQ domestic and foreign common stocks.
*Indexes are unmanaged and do not reflect service fees, commissions, or taxes. You cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Diversification and asset allocation do not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment loss.
Advisory services are offered through White Raven Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor in the state of Washington.
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The information contained in this material have been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed.
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