My mother is not pregnant. Convincing my brother Jake that she was served as a great April Fool’s Day prank in 2008. As of April Fool’s Day 2019, the S&P 500 is up 13.1%. January 1, had I told you that it was going to have the best first quarter of the year since 1998, you would have thought I was an April Fool. Heck, I would have thought I was a complete fool. The good news is the markets have seemed to find stable ground with the calming of the trade war with China and signals from the Fed that rates will likely not be rising at the same rate as 2018. Those of you who invested during the drop have found even better returns as you were buying on sale.
On the Personal Side:
One of my favorite parts of my profession is helping people reach their dreams. That being said, a long time dream of mine has been to do a family tour of National Parks out West. We have decided to do this as part of Evan and I’s 40th birthdays. After all, it is way more practical than a sports car. After two years of research, planning, saving and organizing, this dream is becoming a reality this June when we venture out West with the family, rent an RV and cover over 3000 miles while hitting 11 of our National Parks. The best part is you can come along virtually by following me on social media, so be sure to connect on the links below.
This past quarter Evan had her debut in our church band. I couldn’t be more proud of the work she has done to build the confidence to do that. Speaking of confidence, Amelia and Lila performed together in their school talent show with gymnastics and dance. It is awesome to see them perform and build confidence.
On the business side:
Tax time is upon us and many accountants are working full throttle. If there is anything that we can do to provide documentation please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help and will do everything in our power to take some of the pressure off of your CPA.
Brooke is walking the office a little taller as she ran away with the office Bracket Challenge this year, retaining her crown from last year. As I write this, she has 3 of four teams in the final four. Vegas odds makers have not come calling yet so we plan on having her here to continue to be a great friend and coworker and to provide exceptional service to all of you.
Hollie got off to a great start and has done a great job learning how we do things here. She and Brooke have really gelled and make this place a lot of fun.
As I head West, I will still be very much in touch with the office and able to handle anything that arises should you need. As always, be sure to contact the office first and we can arrange calls address questions and assist you to the best of our ability.
Travel:
As I embark on my own adventure this summer, I have been more than inspired by many of the photos from clients traveling to places near and far. Please let us know if you would care to take a hat and a fun picture of your next adventure. We still have hats if you would like to have one please email Hollie and she will mail one to you.
Social Media:
If you would like to follow me online as I do my best Robin Williams impression from the movie RV with my family, the best way to do it is on social media. Let’s connect on LinkedIn or Twitter at @mattloganinc ,or follow me on Facebook. I will be posting regularly on our blog as well so be sure to check it out from time to time.
Introductions:
Thank you for continuing to introduce me to your friends and family members.
Online Access:
As I mentioned, we have consolidated our online account access through E-money. If you would like to set up an account and do not work with us currently, please email us to set up an account. If you have already set up your account and would like to access your accounts, click here. More often, we are helping facilitate financial communication among generations. If you are concerned about your parents and their financial situation this could be a good solution for you.
The Bus:
Just looking at the social calendar for the bus over the past quarter exhausts me. Weddings, concerts, basketball games and wine tours were all on the schedule. The two highlights were going with the office to TopGolf in Charlotte in February. I also had the honor of driving the men from the church homeless shelter to dinner and a movie in March.
Featured Blog Post:
The process of preparing for retirement can be overwhelming. This quarter, our featured blog post addresses that in 5 Phases of Pre- Retirement. Check it out for a broad view of the process of preparing for retirement. I hope it can provide some clarity as you prepare for retirement.
Second Quarter Outlook:
Growth should continue through this quarter although at a slower rate and inclusive of a bit more volatility. Major risks remain coming from Washington. This is in the form of political risk, or the risk that policy changes could effect the economy. Another risk is our continued relationships with countries we trade with or geopolitical risk. We are starting to keep a little more attention on housing that we expect to slow but not halt. This is due to slighlty higher interest rates and changes in the tax code working through the system in terms of deducting mortgage interest and new limits to that. Stock prices were beginning to rise to above averages and corporate profit growth is something we are eying for the second quarter as well. For a more in depth analysis, please click here for the Second Quarter 2019 Economic Outlook.
Disclosure: The views stated in this piece are not necessarily the opinion of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC and should not be construed directly or indirectly as an offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned herein. Due to volatility within the markets mentioned, opinions are subject to change without notice. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable; however, their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Investors cannot invest directly in indexes. The performance of any index is not indicative of the performance of any investment and does not take into account the effects of inflation and the fees and expenses associated with investing.
The S&P 500 is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
