Mid Year Update
July 13, 2023
6
min. read
A lot has happened in the first 6 months of 2023. Here are our thoughts…
What may come as a surprise to many given the relentless focus on the negative, the S&P 500 finished up over 15% through the first half of 2023. It's now 3% higher than when the Fed first started raising rates more than 15 months ago.
The S&P 500 is up nearly 30% from the October lows of last year and now within single digits of an all-time high. If only someone had rung the bell at the bottom and told us it was time to buy. Oh wait, we did in October with our Time To Get Bullish.
We're not saying "We told you so", but...
Inflation is now plummeting. Companies are adjusting and the market is ripping.
In short, the end of the world has been delayed… again.
Turns out, no, it wasn't "different this time."
There has been no shortage of doom and gloom over the past year. In the last six months alone we’ve seen massive bank failures, the debt ceiling panic, and spy balloons. There will always be a new crisis, recession fears or prediction of political doom on the horizon. The media will continue to focus on the negative.
Make no mistake, like every previous crisis we've had before...
ALL market declines are TEMPORARY.
The great news is we have the antidote on how to handle every one that's thrown our way. Our extensive collection of more than 50 blogs written over the past 10 years is on our site and available anytime. For example, here are a few:
What about a recession? Been there done that.
What about the upcoming election? Covered it here.
What about the next market decline? Here's exactly what to do.
What about a global pandemic? Yep we overcame that one too.
The key is to understand there will always be something to worry about. Meanwhile, the greatest companies in the world will continue to adjust, improve, and advance. The market (as defined by the 500 greatest most profitable companies in the world) will continue to increase earnings and dividends at a rate much faster than inflation.
And, life goes on.
If we have two suggestions to take from all of this, it is:
Plan with Gg ---> Live Your Best Life. Repeat.
In following our advice and meeting with us hopefully you're living life to the fullest and growing your wealth in the process.
You have peace of mind, purpose, and financial clarity.
It's much better than the alternative of going it alone without a plan, living with fear and uncertainty daily about the next shoe to drop. For a stark difference of the two, check out our Tale of Two Lives.
The key to successful lifetime investing comes down to three critical components:
Patience, Discipline, and Faith in the Future.
Of course, none of these are possible without a clear financial life plan.
That’s why we exist.
As always, we continue to do everything we can to get better. The first half of 2023 started with a bang as we rolled out a host of new services for our clients.
For those who do not meet with us annually, either in person or virtually, we rolled out our Gg Summary Annual Review. This is delivered annually and provides a breakdown of your accounts, a Gg score in crucial financial planning areas, as well as an overview of the principles with which we provide financial life guidance.
We identified a massive opportunity to help you on the cash management front. With interest rates spiking yet banks still paying virtually zero on cash, we rolled out the Gg CMA to massive demand. We’ve opened more than 20 of these accounts totaling over $4.3 million in just the last two months and helped our clients go from earning virtually zero at their banks to more than 5% on their cash. And it’s totally free.
It’s been a long time coming. After a multi-year hiatus, we relaunched our Gg social media across a wide variety platforms. We share about life at Gg "behind the scenes," keep you updated what we're reading, what's important, and much, much more - all with some laughs (and a few memes) along the way. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter!
One of the fastest growing services at the Gleason Group is our custom educational offering we call Gg University. Our Advisory Team will create custom content to help you learn more about a specific topic. Social Security, Medicare, retirement, taxes or just Investing 101, we cover it all. Have a topic you or a loved one would like to learn more about? Let us know and we will work with you to create a custom presentation for you or a family member.
We continue to refine our Gg NextGen family services. We are excited to announce we created a custom Financial Life Planning meeting for children ages 15 and up who are interested in saving and investing, learning more about what we do, and want help setting clear life goals. This service goes from high school through the college years and even helps them get started after graduation with their first job. For more info on this reach out anytime.
For our ultra-high-net-worth clients (those with more than $10 million managed by Gg) we’ve rolled out our exclusive Gg Family Office Services. These services include accounting, bookkeeping, bill payment, custom reporting as well as additional lifestyle management and strategic advisory services to help save time and optimize your life.
The best part of all of this is we’re just getting started. We're having an absolute blast working with you and are grateful each day and every day to be able to do what we love. Thank you for placing your trust in our team.
Enjoy your summer,
