23 Jun 2017

Posted at 14:17h in The Friday Brief by

With summertime upon us, complete with tropical storm Cindy soaking the South, and nearly half of 2017 in the books, this might be a good time to review the progress and condition of the capital markets. While forecasting the direction of the markets is not...

02 Jun 2017

Posted at 13:48h in The Friday Brief by
This weekend my wife and I will be keeping three of our grandchildren and I can't wait. The twins are 6 and the youngest, 3. We've been thinking all week about the fun things we will do together. This morning, while pondering today's Brief, I was reminded of one of the great joys of being with children; which is their boundless capacity for imagination. It is nothing short of amazing how freely and effortlessly they enter into a world that we adults have sadly  'grown' out of along the way. But if we are willing, our children and grandchildren can happily lead us, hand-in-crayon, marker, dirt, or paint-covered hand, back into the lost world of our imaginations.

19 May 2017

Posted at 14:09h in The Friday Brief by
We plan for the expected, but the unexpected so easily and so often wrecks our plans. It's why most folks don't plan. They view it as a futile exercise in an increasingly complex and chaotic world. Increasing uncertainty doesn't render planning any less useful than seat belts and airbags are in a crash. Not knowing what to expect in the future screams for the preparedness of planning.

21 Apr 2017

Posted at 10:00h in The Friday Brief by
Just yesterday, following a conversation with a client, I experienced an all too familiar tug, not unlike the one an alcoholic might feel at a cocktail party, when the smell of alcohol is rich in the air and that drink is but an order away. During our conversation I learned that Amazon AMZN was now up 21% for the year so far. The broad stock market is up 5.7% by comparison