We began utilizing our new research partnership in March. If you haven’t seen our previous update about our collaboration with the Sherman Group, LLC, please check the middle section of this article.
Mixed Results in March, But April Could Be Sunny
We encourage you to look at your statements to see your own personal performance. Generally speaking, lower-risk portfolios made the most money because of a surge in bond values, while higher-risk portfolios had some challenges that we had to overcome.
Silicon Valley Bank failed and was taken over by the FDIC, and then Signature Bank, the 3rd most significant bank failure in history, occurred shortly thereafter. This spooked the markets and caused the Russell 2000, which is an index of 2000 smaller stocks, to drop more than 4.9% for the month, while the S&P 500 and Dow both dropped fast but recovered by month end.
Our new research handled the volatility relatively well, but we’re doing our best not to focus on the short-term results because the research has the potential to work well in the long run. We encourage you to come by the office to go over the new research with us in person or over a Zoom call. As long as there are no more bank failures, it is possible that the market could rally quickly in April, which is historically a good month because of tax filers contributing to IRA’s, among other factors. Our research aims to take advantage of that potential scenario at this time.
New Research Partnership
We are happy to announce that we have formed a research partnership with the Sherman Group, LLC. The ownership of Summit Financial Consulting, LLC, and our team is not changing in any way. Still, we have decided to partner moving forward with a firm backed by a robust research process and a $1.5 Billion dollar money manager.
This relationship and research feed are very expensive, but we are not changing our fee structure at this time. We will still be managing and observing the portfolios on a daily basis. In the past, we used 10 different research feeds. To avoid having “too many cooks in the kitchen,” we’re focusing on the top 1-2 research providers moving forward because we believe that has the potential to improve our performance for our clients. Please give us a call to schedule a meeting to go over the strategy in more detail and also to see how the holdings could potentially perform.
Approach to Navigating Market Volatility
Our ultimate goal is to make money, so we’re using what we believe to be all the appropriate tools in our toolbox to potentially accomplish that goal. Our goal is to profit from the environment and watch inflation, bank failures, the Ukraine war, the Federal Reserve, corporate earnings, and the markets like a hawk. This is why we manage our active portfolios daily.
Discuss Your Financial Planning Needs
We’d love to have a review meeting with you to discuss investments, retirement income planning, college planning for kids or grandkids, tax preparation, health insurance, including Medicare supplemental and prescription drug plans, and a variety of other financial planning topics. Please get in touch with our office at (586) 226-2100 to schedule a meeting today!
If you’ve had any changes to your income, job status, marital status, 401K options, address, risk tolerance, or any other financial changes, please get in touch with us right away. We hope you and your family are doing well!
Sincerely,
with contributions from Robert Wink, James Wink, Zachary Bachner, and James Baldwin
Notes & Disclaimer: Stock market indices, like the S&P 500 Index, are unmanaged groups of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general or subsets of the market, and their performance is not reflective of the performance of any specific investment. Investments cannot be made directly into an index. Historical returns data are calculated using data provided by sources deemed to be reliable. Still, no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding their accuracy, completeness, or correctness. This information is provided “AS IS” without any warranty of any kind. All historical returns data should be considered hypothetical. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
This communication is only intended for recipients who reside in states where our agents are licensed to sell these products. Investment advisory services are offered through Summit Financial Consulting, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Summit Financial Consulting Investment Advisor Representatives do not render tax, legal, or accounting advice. Insurance products and services are offered through Summit Financial Consulting, LLC. Note: Please update Summit Financial Consulting, LLC, if your investment objectives have changed or if the personal or financial information previously provided has changed. The investment advisory disclosure document that describes Summit Financial Consulting investment advisory services account is provided to you annually. Please consult Summit Financial Consulting for a copy of this document should you need an additional copy. All guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Past performance cannot predict future performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The Sherman Group, LLC is not associated with Summit Financial Consulting, LLC in any way, other than a research sharing partnership. Back testing is more heavily scrutinized than any other type of investment analysis because it can be updated to take advantage of past data. The algorithms and trading signals that we receive from the Sherman Group, LLC were created using back testing with the goal of creating a sustainable research process. We have reviewed data from the entire 20 year period which was mostly back tested, and have also personally reviewed the live data for the past 5 years and feel comfortable with it, but we encourage you to meet with us and ask questions so you are fully informed on what we plan to do with your investment assets at TD Ameritrade and eventually Charles Schwab. It is important to look at fees, taxable repercussions, and trading frequency when looking at a rate of return number. There is no perfect system or research feed, and Sherman Group, LLC has had both longer term and short-term periods where they lost money. Investing involves risk, and these portfolios are no exception.