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Dear Clients and Friends, What a difference a few days can make. Less than one week ago, the prevailing thought about markets was to brace for election- related uncertainty. There were legitimate concerns that the results may not be known for days or even weeks. StraightLine was not immune to these feelings. Both in public comments and one-on-one conversations, we encouraged people to consider this possibility and prepare for a bumpy ride. While it is obviously far too early to declare a definitive trend, the market returns this week clearly showed early signs of certainty-driven relief, and at least the possibility of economic optimism. So, is this good? Only time will tell. As we all know, discussing politics in today’s world is difficult, and can be downright dangerous in the wrong setting. We are certainly aware that the outcome of the election has caused many people to have intense feelings in many different directions. In just the last few days, we have spoken with people who are incredibly happy and many who are incredibly upset – and both before and after the election, many people have wanted to know where we stand as a firm on certain issues. I would like to repeat something that many of you have heard me say many times: StraightLine does not take political positions when it comes to managing your accounts or helping you plan for your future. We know that to some people in today’s world, this can be interpreted as a lack of conviction that borders on sacrilege. As investment managers and financial planners, we respectfully disagree. In fact, we believe that allowing strong political opinions to unduly influence our decision making would be a great disservice to you. We believe that the job of a financial advisor is not to act upon feelings of an idea being “right” or “wrong”. It is – to the best of our ability – to make decisions based on what we believe is most likely to happen. This is a core philosophy at StraightLine that we believe allows us to serve you in the best possible way through varying political cycles. Throughout the election process, we have maintained our long-standing belief that reacting on emotion and/or trying to time the markets is not a recipe for success. On Tuesday, October 29th we sent a pre-election note to everyone working with us describing why we were not making any major changes to our investment allocations ahead of the elections. It reiterated our thoughts about keeping a long-term perspective, about the importance of following economic trends rather than short-term events, about how we felt that our investment selection process has created portfolios that were well positioned for potential uncertainty, and about the importance of aligning your portfolio with your long-term goals and risk tolerance. If you have not read this letter, I encourage you to check your email from that day or to contact us to receive the message again. Every word of this piece is just as relevant now as it was before election day – and we believe will remain so long into the future. Separately, I would like to take a moment to give you a glimpse “behind the curtain” of the production of this newsletter. As you can no doubt imagine, the content of this document is created and compiled by many people over several weeks before its publication. Normally, this fact is not visible when reading the content of this document. Sometimes however, when significant events are happening quickly, certain passages can quickly seem dated. You will see this in a few brief portions of the market update section of this newsletter related to the elections. So why not change it ahead of its distribution? We made the decision to keep the language written just before the election because we felt it was important to show you how we were thinking about possible outcomes – and how our thinking could evolve with the shifts in sentiment that will inevitably occur. This flexibility has been and will always be essential to how we operate. Thank you for taking the time to read this note and the rest of the included content. And as always, thank you for your continued trust in StraightLine. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Fi360, a Broadridge Retirement and Workplace, Inc. owned company, licenses the designation marks Accredited Investment Fiduciary® and AIF® in the United States. Attainment of the AIF® Designation demonstrates initial and ongoing understanding of the Prudent Practices® and methodology. Designation requirements include training, exam, experience, ethics and standards components -- more information is available here. Important Reminder At StraightLine, your financial well-being is our priority. If there have been any updates or changes in your financial situation since you last met with your Financial Advisor, it is important that we meet with you as soon as possible. We ask that you please contact our office at 248-269-8366 or email us [email protected] to schedule a meeting, so we can review those changes together. StraightTalk Blog
Don't miss our latest blog: Tax Planning vs. Tax Preparation: How Year-End Planning Can Make a Difference. Subscribe today! StraightLine in the CommunityMike Bisaro was a panelist at the recent Michigan RIA Summit, discussing the Intergration of Technology in Practice Management for Advisors. Mike was also present at the New York Stock Exchange in October.
StraightLine In the NewsStraightLine's Chief Growth Officer shared insights for an article published on TheStreet on the importance of working with a financial advisor during times of volatility. Read the full article here.
StraightLine Celebrations
StraightLine Market Updates Save the Date! Join us on Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 2pm ET on ZOOM for an interactive, one hour discussion of market events and updates on investment issues most important to you. Brought to you by StraightLine. Add this link and information to your calendar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86219607386?pwd=OrGafl8aGJOZrMdZaZ63Erz25PSEZ6.1 Meeting ID: 862 1960 7386 Passcode: 718987
Third Quarter 2024 Update Stock markets love an environment like this one. We have had mostly good news, with just enough worry to keep investors honest. While not perfect, markets were able to generate gains across the board during the quarter. In a sense, the third quarter mirrored the year as a whole and to some extent, reflects what we believe may be in store in the coming quarters. That is to say that we expect more of the same, steadily good markets with the odd hiccup here and there. During the quarter the Fed started an expected easing cycle, China unloaded a sizable stimulus package to boost their struggling markets, and we received some upward revisions to recent economic data. As always, there is an element of nuance to what is happening in the world, but our views have not changed substantially. We maintain a constructive view towards equities while believing in the relative value of short-term, high-quality fixed-income assets. Read the rest of the Update here. Comments are closed.
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