“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” – Napoleon Hill
Monthly Archives: September 2020
“Your Financial Choices”
Tune in Wednesday, 6 PM for “Your Financial Choices” show on WDIY 88.1FM: Retiree Cash-Flow Management
Laurie can take your questions live on the air at 610-758-8810, or address those submitted via yourfinancialchoices.com. Recordings of past shows are available to listen or download at both yourfinancialchoices.com and wdiy.org.
VNFA NEWS
Community Bike Works SPIN-a-Thon starts this weekend – Sunday, September 20.
Bike mentoring keeps spinning through COVID-19, and so do we. Join TeamVNFA to celebrate 25 years of Earn a Bike with 25 days of competition! Learn more about and share the impact of Community Bike Works’ programs for young people in our area. And, of course, Consider supporting our team’s fundraising effort: http://fnd.us/81ht9a?ref=sh_29Vn7b.
Stay tuned for VNFA sponsored ‘flat tire’ photos and treasure map visits. LET’S RIDE!!!
The Markets This Week
by William Henderson, Vice President / Head of Investments
The U.S. equity market finished the week on September 11, 2020 lower across all three markets: Dow Jones Industrial Average (1.7%), S&P 500 Index (2.5%) and the tech-heavy NASDAQ (4.1%). The unknowns we have mentioned in previous weeks continue to haunt the markets: continued COVID-19 pandemic and the search for a vaccine, the U.S. Presidential Election, the lingering but recovering U.S. Recession and finally political and social unrest bordering on mass protests. As if that’s not enough, we can toss in wildfires on the West Coast and hurricanes on Gulf Coast. Given all that is being thrown at the economy, the recovery continues its slow slog towards normalcy. We may have four unknowns, but we have one known and it is a really big one. It is Jay Powell and the unstoppable power of the FED. Mr. Powell has promised to give the markets and the economy historic low rates into 2022. Practically “free” money, trillions in economic stimulus, an obeisant view of inflation and we have a FED that is all about forcing an economic recovery. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin continues to work on an additional stimulus package but Republicans and Democrats cannot come to an agreement.
We continue to see evidence that pockets of the economy are doing very well. Amazon.com announced on September 14, 2020, that they will be hiring 100,000 full- and part-time employees across the U.S. and Canada. Anyone that has a doorstep or front porch in the U.S. is probably used to seeing the cardboard smile boxes sitting there with recently ordered goods from Amazon.com. Other stories to watch: Oracle’s winning bid for the U.S. Operations of the video-sharing app TikTok; the massive, potentially record-setting $30 billion IPO of the Chinese fintech titan Ant Group, co-founded by Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma; and the ongoing global race for a COVID-19 vaccine.
It continues to be a battle between the unknowns and the knowns. We have major issues occurring in 2020 that continue to worry the consumer (Main Street) but the FED is doing all it can to push a recovery, and the markets (Wall Street) seem to like that story a little bit more. Our advice: Stay diversified and keep a long-term view of markets and the economy.
Did You Know…?
Our team strives to customize each client’s experience, including preferred methods of contact and delivery. Even while we are working remotely, we offer a variety of options for clients to securely exchange important documents. Our primary focus is clients first, and we will continue to enhance our processes with your best interests in mind.
- Mail – paper – mailed back and forth via USPS or Federal Express.
- Fax 610-868-9900 – print and fax back
- eVault Client Portal – print, execute and upload scanned completed documents back to portal.
- VNFA DocuSign* – electronically complete forms and sign, using e-mail notifications.
*including Charles Schwab documents available through DocuSign – process managed by VNFA. - Office – pickup or dropoff, by appointment only.
The Numbers & “Heat Map”
THE NUMBERS
30-year mortgage rate is as of 8/28/20.
Sources: Index Returns: Morningstar Workstation. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three, five and ten year returns are annualized. Interest Rates: Federal Reserve, Mortgage Bankers Association.
MARKET HEAT MAP
The health of the economy is a key driver of long-term returns in the stock market. Below, we assess the key economic conditions that we believe are of particular importance to investors.
|
US ECONOMY |
||
|
CONSUMER HEALTH |
NEGATIVE |
GDP declined at an annualized rate of 32.9% in Q2, the fourth-largest fall in the last 100 years. In mirror opposition, Q3 GDP is expected to represent the greatest quarter-over-quarter increase in history, coming in somewhere between 25-35% on an annualized basis. |
|
CORPORATE EARNINGS |
VERY NEGATIVE |
With over 90% of companies in the books, S&P 500 earnings have fallen by around 33% in Q2, the sharpest year-over-year decline since 2008. However, some companies in certain sectors have reported strong results, such as in Retail and Cloud Computing. |
|
EMPLOYMENT |
VERY NEGATIVE |
About 1.4 million U.S. jobs were added in August, in-line with market expectations. The American economy has now added back roughly half of the 22 million jobs lost since March. The unemployment rate remains well above historical averages, at 8.4%. |
|
INFLATION |
POSITIVE |
Core inflation has come in at 1.7% over the last twelve months. The Fed plans to allow inflation to temporarily overshoot its 2% target such that the long-term average is 2%. Inflation has been tame since the Great Financial Crisis, less than 2%. |
|
FISCAL POLICY |
VERY POSITIVE |
Weekly unemployment benefits are now being disseminated on a state-by-state basis, through applications to a Federal slush fund, and total $300 per week, versus the previous rate of $600 under the now-expired Federal plan. |
|
MONETARY POLICY |
VERY POSITIVE |
The Federal Reserve has supported asset markets with unprecedented speed and magnitude in response to COVID-19. In our view, Fed President, Jay Powell, reaffirmed the central bank’s accommodative stance in his virtual address “at Jackson Hole”. |
|
GLOBAL CONSIDERATIONS |
||
|
GEOPOLITICAL RISKS |
VERY NEGATIVE |
The relationship between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, was already weakened by the trade war but has deteriorated further as a result of COVID-19. |
|
ECONOMIC RISKS |
VERY NEGATIVE |
The impacts from COVID-19 were as swift and pronounced as any shock in modern times. Robust monetary and fiscal stimulus stabilized the system, however, economic activity remains well-below that in 2019, and uncertainty remains high. |
The “Heat Map” is a subjective analysis based upon metrics that VNFA’s investment committee believes are important to financial markets and the economy. The “Heat Map” is designed for informational purposes only and is not intended for use as a basis for investment decisions.
Quote of the Week
“I have learned to use the word ‘impossible’ with the greatest caution.” – Wernher von Braun
“Your Financial Choices”
Tune in Wednesday, 6 PM for “Your Financial Choices” show on WDIY 88.1FM: Making the most your charitable giving.
Laurie can take your questions live on the air at 610-758-8810, or address those submitted via yourfinancialchoices.com.
Recordings of past shows are available to listen or download at both yourfinancialchoices.com and wdiy.org.
The Numbers & “Heat Map”
THE NUMBERS
30-year mortgage rate is as of 8/28/20.
Sources: Index Returns: Morningstar Workstation. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three, five and ten year returns are annualized. Interest Rates: Federal Reserve, Mortgage Bankers Association.
MARKET HEAT MAP
The health of the economy is a key driver of long-term returns in the stock market. Below, we assess the key economic conditions that we believe are of particular importance to investors.
|
US ECONOMY |
||
|
CONSUMER HEALTH |
NEGATIVE |
GDP declined at an annualized rate of 32.9% in Q2, the fourth-largest fall in the last 100 years. Although the figure is staggering, it was in-line with economists’ expectations. Retail sales increased 1.2% in July, a healthy mid-pandemic result, but sharply below June’s 7.5% rise. |
|
CORPORATE EARNINGS |
VERY NEGATIVE |
S&P 500 earnings fell by around 33% in Q2, the sharpest year-over-year decline since 2008. However, some companies in certain sectors have reported strong results, such as in Retail and Cloud Computing. |
|
EMPLOYMENT |
VERY NEGATIVE |
About 1.4 million U.S. jobs were added in August, in-line with market expectations. The American economy has now added back roughly half of the 22 million jobs lost since March. The unemployment rate remains well above historical averages, at 8.4%. |
|
INFLATION |
POSITIVE |
Core inflation increased 0.6% in July; the largest one-month jump since 1991. However, on an annualized basis, CPI is running at a moderate 1.6%, below the Fed’s 2% target. More sustained indications of inflation will be necessary before the central bank curbs its stimulative policies. |
|
FISCAL POLICY |
VERY POSITIVE |
Weekly unemployment benefits are now being disseminated on a state-by-state basis, through applications to a Federal slush fund, and total $300 per week, versus the previous rate of $600 under the now-expired Federal plan. |
|
MONETARY POLICY |
VERY POSITIVE |
The Federal Reserve has supported asset markets with unprecedented speed and magnitude in response to COVID-19. In our view, Fed President, Jay Powell, reaffirmed the central bank’s accomodative stance in his virtual address “at Jackson Hole”. |
|
GLOBAL CONSIDERATIONS |
||
|
GEOPOLITICAL RISKS |
VERY NEGATIVE |
The relationship between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, was already weakened by the trade war but has deteriorated further as a result of COVID-19. |
|
ECONOMIC RISKS |
VERY NEGATIVE |
The impacts from COVID-19 were as swift and pronounced as any shock in modern times. Robust monetary and fiscal stimulus stabilized the system, however, economic activity remains well-below that in 2019, and uncertainty remains high. |
The “Heat Map” is a subjective analysis based upon metrics that VNFA’s investment committee believes are important to financial markets and the economy. The “Heat Map” is designed for informational purposes only and is not intended for use as a basis for investment decisions.
Did You Know…?
Q3 Estimated Tax Payment Reminder
Third quarter estimated tax payments are due September 15, 2020. These estimates may include federal, state and/or local vouchers depending on your situation.
If quarterly estimates were recommended when we prepared your 2019 return, they would be included with your tax return. If you requested a paper client copy of your return, the instructions, vouchers and envelopes were included with your tax folder. If you requested an electronic client copy, the instructions and vouchers were included in both the client copy and action needed copy posted to your client portal.
Please follow the applicable instructions previously provided to mail your payment and voucher by September 15, 2020.
There may be situations where the estimates were generated, but an overpayment was applied in full or in part. If your income or withholdings have significantly changed since last year, please contact your tax preparer to review. If you change or do not make the estimates, please let your tax preparer know at tax filing time.