Disclaimer: These are the views of Summit Financial Consulting and should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
Update
If you would like us to prepare your taxes this year let us know! We are offering discounted rates to all of our financial planning clients. We also now offer quotes on Auto Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Umbrella Policies, RV/Boat/Snowmobile Insurance, Workman’s comp, and business liability policies. Give us a call or shoot us an email today because we might be able to save you some money!
Phone: (586) 226-2100
Email: info@summitfc.net
MARKET COMMENTARY
January brought cold temperatures, but the stock market heated up a bit. Within our TD Ameritrade in-house managed portfolios, we purchased stocks in late December after most of the market turmoil had already occurred. We sold some of those positions in January and early February for a profit while we wait to see if the recent rebound is sustainable.
We receive an indicator every day from one of our independent research firms that tells us whether the market is overvalued or undervalued. It ranges from 0 all the way up to 36. 0 is the best buying opportunity and 36 is the best selling opportunity. We bought in December when the indicator was at 0. In the past couple weeks, we’ve been selling some holdings because the indicator is now at 36, the most overbought the indicator can get.
As we’ve mentioned before, it is estimated that nowadays up to 90% of the daily trading in the financial markets is handled by computers with little to no human involvement. Because of this, in addition to our fundamental research, we have been paying close attention to Technical research and analysis (which is the study of charts and mathematics) which we believe computer based trading follows more closely.
After the big drop in 2018 and the rebound so far this year, the market has created a pattern that we’re following very closely. How the month of February ends could very well predict how the market moves for the rest of the year, and it’s at an important level that we consider a crossroad today as we send out this letter. When you take into consideration that the China trade dispute, North Korean nuclear situation, withdrawals from the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, not to mention plenty of government political disagreements are all up in the air, it’s a certainly a period of time where reviewing the portfolio daily is a good idea.
If we believe the market is due to continue rallying, we’ll most likely buy more stocks. If we believe the market is destined to hit the lows of December again, we’ll most likely use our exit strategy.
We will let you know if there is a situation which calls for immediate attention. If you have any questions about taxes, your investment portfolio, our 401(k) recommendation service, or anything else in general, please give our office a call at (586) 226-2100. Please feel free to forward this commentary to a friend, family member, or co-worker. If they would like to be added to our complimentary commentary, please send us an e-mail at info@summitfc.net at your earliest convenience. If you have had any changes to your income, your job, your family, your health insurance, your risk tolerance, or your overall financial situation, please give us a call so we can discuss it.
Thank you for your confidence and referrals!
Bob, Ken, and Jim
Summit Financial Consulting
Interesting Points
Fifty-six percent of workers are laid off or pushed out of jobs at least once before they leave the workforce for good. Source: -ProPublica, December 28, 2018
There were 3.85 million-American babies born in 2017, the lowest number since 1987. Source: -BBC News, May 17, 2018
U.S. coal use fell 691 million tons in 2018, the lowest level since 1979. Coal plants are shutting faster than expected because of the falling costs of wind and solar power. Source: -US Energy Information Administration, Dec 4, 2018
The day after the Super Bowl is the #1 sick day every year and a third of all American workers believe it should be considered a national holiday. Source: –Fox 28 Spokane, February 1, 2019
Medicare’s prescription program, Part D, paid $32.5 billion for the top 50 prescribed drugs in 2016. If it had the option of negotiating directly with pharma companies (it’s now blocked by law from doing so) and got the same prices as the Veterans Administration, it would have paid $14.5 billion less. Source: -The Week, January 25, 2019
New regulations in Saudi Arabia have ended the “secret divorce,” whereby men can end their marriages without their wives knowledge. Today, husbands are required to alert their wives by text message if they decide to divorce them. Source: -Newsweek, February 2, 2019
Ninety-six percent of the world’s population now live within reach of a cell phone network. Source: -DailyMail, December 7, 2018
Costco is selling a $90 tub of mac-and-cheese that weighs 27 pounds and lasts 20 years. Source: CNBC, January 11, 2019
Disclosures regarding our performance reporting: Because some clients are in the 10% tax bracket and others are in the 37% Federal tax bracket, we have decided to report performance before taxes. If you have a non-qualified account, please feel free to contact us to determine your individualized rate of return after tax. All of Summit’s performance is after our 1.25% advisory fee that is deducted monthly. Your fees may be higher or lower depending upon the amount of assets invested with our firm. Feel free to contact us to receive online access so you can see your personalized rate of return. The Aggregate bond index we use is ticker: AGG. All dividends and distributions are reinvested and included in the performance. The S&P 500 index quoted above does not include dividends within the performance. If a holding within our portfolio does pay a dividend or other income, it is reinvested, so our performance does include dividends. This report has been prepared from data believed reliable, but no representation is made as to accuracy or completeness. Total return and principal value will vary depending upon the deduction of advisory fees, brokerage commissions, reinvestment of dividends and other earnings or fund charges. This information is provided to you in combined form, solely for your convenience and ease of review and is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. In order to verify that all account values and transactions are accurate, we encourage you to compare the information provided in our statement with the statement you receive directly from your custodian. All written content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to provide any tax or legal advice or provide the basis for any financial decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Summit Financial Consulting LLC
43409 Schoenherr Road, Sterling Heights, MI 48313
Phone: 586-226-2100 Fax: 586-226-3584 E-mail: info@summitfc.net
Securities offered through Gradient Securities, LLC (Arden Hills, MN (866)991-1539) Member FINRA/SIPC
Summit Financial Consulting LLC is independent and is not an affiliate of Gradient Securities, LLC. Investment advisory
services offered through Summit Financial Consulting LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor in the State of Michigan.
