Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist Maybe it is because it is an election year, but we still have China on our minds. Despite the fact that China continues its decline on the global market…
Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research Early 2024 has seen all-time highs in the equity markets seem as frequent as Taylor Swift sightings at Kansas City Chiefs’ football games. Multiple…
Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist Better than expected. It has been a bit of a mantra for the year so far – better economic growth, better trend of inflation, a better outlook for jobs…
By Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” Lyndon B. Johnson In this election year we probably also have politics, and stump…
Download Recap PDF MONTHLY OBSERVATIONS Mixed Bag of Returns to Start 2024 On the positive side, U.S. economic data continued to point to strength in the underlying growth trajectory. That said, markets expectations for rate…
Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research Tim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist We are a far cry from 2022’s mid-term elections when investors were hit with four-decade high inflation levels,…
By Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Investment Strategist It has been a week filled with newsflow and our weekly update is coming to you a little later than usual. As we turn the corner into February,…
By Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Investment Strategist Words matter. That part is clear. When the Federal reserve started to sprinkle the word “transitory” into its assessment of inflation from 2022 onwards they sent a clear signal.…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Global Market Strategist As the Midwest shivers through its first real cold spell of 2024 we see the realization that a another thing has gone the way of the landline…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer After a bruising 2022, 2023 was the “comeback kid” of a year. But in the fourth quarter, it seemed to defy gravity itself. All year, the rumblings of a…
Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research Tim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist Download the PDF MONTHLY OBSERVATIONS Strange, Long Year Ends on High Note The doldrums of August-October were a…
“The problem isn’t getting rich, it’s staying sane.” -Charlie Munger[1] The current environment is rife with uncertainty. Following two seismic events, the COVID-19 pandemic and the first ground war in Europe since World War II,…
Tim Side, CFA® – Investment Strategist “From thirty years as a practicing historian, I have come to the conclusion that there is but one, singular, lesson of history. It is this — there are no permanent winners…
Tim Side, CFA® – Investment Strategist “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” -Niels Bohr[1] The current environment is rife with uncertainty. Following two seismic events, the COVID-19 pandemic and the first ground war…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer We are into December and have already given “thanks” for the harvest. But this is the busiest time of year for that other kind of harvesting – of tax…
By Rick Bettger, MBA – Investment Research Analyst You might have to go all the way back to the 1980s to see a headline like the one that ran in the Wall Street Journal on…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer Here in Chicago Thanksgiving was sunny but brisk. Now it is just very brisk. It is a reminder that winter – albeit delayed – comes around after all. The…
By Mike Vredenburgh CFP®, AIF®, ChFC® – Senior Advisor This is the second and final part of my blog series (Part One HERE) focusing on charitable giving. Specifically, completing charitable gifts using tax-efficient strategies such…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer As the holidays approach, there is a miracle in the air. But not the usual festive kind. Consumers were already starting to expect lower inflation – and Tuesday’s CPI…
by Kevin Ward CFP® – Advisor I recently wrote a blog post about Buy-Sell Agreements and why they are an important planning tool for business owners. Another contingency plan scenario that requires additional planning is…
Investment Team Click here to download the PDF Monthly Observations No Calendar Effect This Time October was a challenging month for investors as both stocks and bonds fell lower. While markets initially looked through the…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer Many of our clients have read this recent article in the Wall Street Journal and have asked us to respond. It cites the banner performance of the traditional 60/40…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer It’s cooling down outside now, but earnings season is heating up. As expected the outlooks are looking warm and cozy, at least so far, with a wide range of…
by Kevin Ward CFP® – Advisor Back in July I wrote a blog about how and why business owners should diversify their personal net worth and overall wealth. So, how do you ensure that your…