Hello Friends

2020 will certainly go down as a historical year – and we still haven’t gotten to the election yet! We hope you are well and staying healthy.

Speaking of elections, we thought it would be interesting to go into the archives and pull the election piece we wrote four years ago. At that point, eight years of a Democratic Administration were ending and the election looked like a lock for the Democratic candidate. What’s interesting about this four year old article is that it needs NO updating – except for the date of the election which is November 3 for the 2020 election and not November 8 (which was election day in 2016).

Here are two of the more notable quotes from the article. “Presidents from both parties have raised or reduced taxes, supported or opposed free trade, increased or reduced regulatory burdens etc.” “History tells us that there is no magic formula to the Presidency and stock market movement.” Frankly, we believe that the after shock of the Covid pandemic will consume much of the next Presidential term and dictate the direction of many policy choices.

Despite all of the headlines these days, the markets have shown a remarkable level of resiliency. However, resiliency does not equate to all clear and we expect volatility to increase significantly in the months ahead as the election draws nearer and the economic impact of the continued rise in Covid cases starts to show. As always, remain consistent and know that your allocation is designed to be a bit of an all weather allocation as we never know when crazy stuff is going to happen.

Unfortunately, given the current state of Covid cases, we can’t in good conscience bring together a large group of people for our usual fall meeting formats.  And for that we are deeply disappointed. But we wanted to at least do something that felt normal so we are doing a Shred Day at the office.

Many of you have told us that you have spent this quarantine time organizing things at home and have documents that need to be disposed of properly. Here’s your chance!  We also have the option to bring your old digital devices and computer equipment for proper disposal as well. You can stay in your car and we will unload your car and bring you a box lunch.

Our series of portfolio manager conference calls continues. These calls represent an opportunity for you to hear directly from senior investment personnel about the decisions and changes that are being made on a daily basis to your investments. These calls require no internet or computer equipment – simply dial the phone number and enter the meeting number to connect. Please join us for the following upcoming calls at 5:00 PM sharp and email us any of your questions ahead of time.

If you have not visited with us yet in 2020 please contact the office to arrange a conversation. We are available by phone, video or in person in our outdoor meeting space with the CDC recommended universal masking protocol.

Look forward to seeing you on Shred Day.

Fondly,

Joel Garris