The Eagle’s Eye February 2023 Client Letter
“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” This ancient advice from Proverbs illustrates the importance of financial fitness. What is financial fitness? Well, we are all familiar with the term physical fitness. If pressed for a definition, we might define it in terms of our […]
The Eagle’s Eye January 2023 Client Letter
I trust everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Whether you reached your personal goals last year or faced challenges, a new year brings new opportunities and a fresh start. Let’s jump right into this month’s topic. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, popularly known as the SECURE Act, was signed […]
The Eagle’s Eye December 2022 Client Letter
Crypto crash Stocks have been battered by the Federal Reserve’s quest to rein in the highest rate of inflation in 40 years. So far, however, investors have expressed little concern over the crisis that has rocked cryptocurrencies. It’s a far cry from the reaction to Lehman’s demise in 2008, which sparked the financial crisis and […]
The Eagle’s Eye November 2022 Client Letter
Long-term care includes a whole host of services that you may require to meet various personal needs. And eventually, around 60% of us will need assistance with things many take for granted, according to the Administration for Community Living, a division of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Whether it is because you […]
The Eagle’s Eye October 2022 Client Letter
IBM defines cybersecurity as “the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks.” You may not be in the business of defending critical infrastructure from online threats. But fraud, identity theft, and online scams that target your finances pose significant challenges for everyone in today’s digital world. Armed with knowledge, vigilance, and […]
The Eagle’s Eye September 2022 Client Letter
Pivoting away from a pivot In July and into August, investors were warming to the possibility of a dovish reversal in Fed rate hikes early next year—a pivot, according to a closely watched gauge that measures rate expectations from the CME Group. Remarks from Fed Chief Jerome Powell’s press conference in late July fueled such […]
The Eagle’s Eye August Client Letter: A College Education Minus the Debt
Fully funding a college education without debt is no simple task. It’s no secret that the cost of a four-year degree has soared. But do you realize how much it has risen? According to Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college tuition and fees at four-year public schools has risen 179% over the last […]
The Eagle’s Eye July Client Letter: A Rocky First Half
The Wall Street Journal summed up the first six months of the year with a simple but telling headline: S&P 500 Posts Worst First Half of Year Since 1970. (The Wall Street Journal) Morningstar said the Dow’s performance was the worst since 1962. Table 1: Key Index Returns MTD % YTD % Dow […]
The Eagle’s Eye June Client Letter
We were treated to one of the greatest bull markets in modern history during the last decade. It’s not that we didn’t experience sell-offs. We did. During 2011 and 2018, the S&P 500 Index came very close to entering a bear market (Yahoo Finance), which is typically defined as a 20% or greater pullback in […]
The Eagle’s Eye May Client Letter: The Fed Gears Up for Shock and Awe
Since the beginning of the year, the markets have been rattled by persistently high inflation and the question of how the Federal Reserve might respond. In March, it began with a simple 25 bp (bp = basis points, 1 bp = 0.01%) rate hike in the fed funds rate to 0.25%-0.50%. Unlike the rate-hike cycle […]
