With half of the year already in the rear-view mirror, we are taking stock of where we have been and looking forward to the second half. Reviewing some of the headlines so far this year, it sometimes seems that they come straight from a sci-fi story. Artificial intelligence has gone mainstream, we have had novel forms of drone warfare, orcas are purposefully sinking ships, the world watched a tourist submarine tragedy unfold, and now two billionaires are taunting each other towards a “cage match” fight. Even after having recently experienced a toilet paper shortage due to a pandemic, these headlines are wild.

Financial markets have been stormy the last week or so as a result of a banking crisis, and you may have seen some dramatic headlines. Several banks in the US had “runs on the bank,” which means too many depositors tried to withdraw funds and the banks were not able to meet redemptions. This is obviously not good, and could likely end with bankruptcy for those banks. However, this situation is not unprecedented, and the government stepped in to alleviate panic and allow the customers of those banks to access their money. Basically, the safeguards and protections in place worked as designed, and in some ways, the government did even more than it needed to in order to maintain order and stability. Just yesterday another bank that seemed to be in trouble was rescued by an infusion from its peers, organized in part by the Federal government.

Happy holidays! The year has really flown by, I personally can’t believe it is already December. We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday, and wish you very warm wishes for the rest of the holiday season.

The American poet Robert Frost said “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.” Those wise words have come to my mind many times over the years, but as I have been thinking of the quote lately it seems to sum up the challenges in the financial markets this year: they go on!

It has been a while since we have sent out a communication on market conditions and the economy outside of our quarterly newsletters. With all of the noise in the markets today, both on the stock and bond side, we figured this was a timely communication. Headlines are filled with news of the Ukraine-Russia war, inflation, interest rates, stock market fluctuations, and yes, even the bond market is making the news these days.

2020 was quite a year, full of challenges and strife. But there were some silver linings as well. People found themselves with more time on their hands, and they used that time to work on projects, on housework, on learning new things, and on themselves. People reached out more to friends and family far away, via video, phone, and messages. Many people grew closer to their neighbors, while staying six feet apart. Entire communities came together to express solidarity and to help and support each other in a myriad of ways.

We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy in these continuously trying times. Here in Oregon and around the world economies are starting to open back up, which is encouraging, but also an uncertain experiment. It is likely that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19 will continue to impact our lives and the economy for the foreseeable future, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Here at Advanced Wealth Management we will continue to work remotely for some time, and we are very grateful to be able to help you all with your financial goals so efficiently even when not meeting in person. We are very much looking forward to seeing you all again soon!