Wealth matters with David Jazo

Our August Client Letter for your review. As always, please feel free to reach out directly to discuss further or with any questions you may have.

Client Letter | August 6, 2024 Stocks must have gotten the memo that August tends to be weak historically. July, the eighth positive month in the past nine, was quickly forgotten as the beginning of August greeted us with a selloff. The primary catalyst was August 2’s weaker-than-expected employment report, which ignited concer...

Our July client letter with a great summary of what occurred in the 1st half of the year and what we may expect with the remainder of 2024. As always, please feel free to reach out directly with any questions or to discuss further.

Client Letter | July 3, 2024 Stocks finished the first half of the year the same way they started — with solid gains. Strong rallies from big tech names, combined with somewhat softer economic and inflation data, helped propel the S&P 500 to its seventh monthly gain in the past eight months and set dozens of new record highs ...

April Showers, May Flowers, and our June Client letter. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or to discuss further.

Client Letter | June 5, 2024 April showers brought May flowers as markets placed greater importance on economic growth and corporate profits than the “higher for longer” interest rate messages from the Federal Reserve (Fed). In fact, the S&P 500 ended May above where it ended March. So, as you prepare for summer vacations, ...

Please excuse the slight delay in posting this month's Client Letter. As always, please feel free to call me with any questions or to discuss further.

Client Letter | April 3, 2024 The first quarter is in the books, and it was an excellent one for stocks. The S&P 500 index rode a resilient U.S. economy, easing inflation, rising corporate profits, and anticipation of summertime rate cuts from the Federal Reserve (Fed) to solid gains in March, the fifth straight winning month, a...

Our March Client Letter

Client Letter | March 7, 2024 As spring approaches, the weather is starting to warm up. For the stock market, the temperature has been rising for a while now. In fact, since December 2023, the S&P 500 has not experienced a pullback of even 2%. Strong starts to years tend to signal more gains ahead, so this calm market may not pr...

December's client letter for your review. As always, please feel free to reach out to me to discuss or with any questions you may have.

Client Letter | December 6, 2023 Solid gains for both stocks and bonds gave investors a November to remember. As financial markets continue to defy skeptics, I’m reminded of a quote from Warren Buffett’s long-time partner and one of the greatest investors of our time, Charlie Munger, who passed away last week. “The world is f...

November's client letter. As always, happy to discuss further and answer any questions.

Client Letter | November 1, 2023 The penultimate month of the year is often a time to reflect and offer thanks. And while economic and geopolitical uncertainty can overshadow the positives, there are things to be thankful for. Here is just some of what we’re thankful for, now that we’re in the second to last month of the year.

Attached is our October client letter which provides some commentary on what was by most accounts a rough September and 3rd Quarter. As always, please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Client Letter | October 4, 2023 The S&P 500 lost 3.3% in the third quarter after sliding nearly 5% in September. Putting this into perspective, nothing really qualifies as out of the ordinary. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has historically declined in September 55% of the time, posting an average decline of 3.8%. September has certainly...

Retiring is not always easy especially when you throw in inflation levels that have not been seen in over 40 years.

Many workers wonder when (and if) they'll retire Inflation, market fluctuations, and uncertainties about Social Security raise concerns

September has historically not been great on the equity markets. An assessment of what this latest pullback could mean.

Assessing the Damage of the Latest Pullback Friday, September 22, 2023

September's client letter

Client Letter | September 6, 2023 Financial markets lived up to their reputation during the month of August, which has a record for being difficult. On the first day of August, markets had to contend with a downgrade of U.S. long-term debt by the rating agency, Fitch. They attributed the adjustment to the “expected fiscal deterior...

This is how a credit crunch begins. This article does a good job of explaining the predicament the Fed created with their policies and how those are being felt in the economy and the fallout in the banking sector.

Half of America's banks are already insolvent - this is how a credit crunch begins The twin crashes in US commercial real estate and the US bond market have collided with $9 trillion uninsured deposits in the American banking system. Such deposits can vanish in an afternoon in the cyber age. The second and third biggest bank failures in US history have followed in quick succession...

Despite many negative headlines, the markets had a great 1st Quarter. More commentary on it in our latest client letter.

Client Letter | April 5, 2023 The financial markets’ resilient performance during March was striking, despite pockets of uncertainty surrounding the strength of the economy—and not to mention concerns over the durability of the banking system. The ability of the market to navigate nearly two weeks of headline-related risk te...

Some commentary on recent SVB headlines.

LATEST EQUITY ASSET ALLOCATION VIEWS | Weekly Market Commentary | March 13, 2023 Last week did not play out how we anticipated. Coming into the week, it was all about Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony and the February jobs report. Instead, we got a shockingly fast collapse of a financial institution with over $200 billion in assets, which turn...

Our March Client Letter. As always, please reach out directly to discuss or with any questions you may have on it.

Client Letter | March 1, 2023 Financial markets have experienced quite a bit of change this year in just two short months. We started the year hopeful that stocks would benefit from a better economic and monetary policy environment by the spring, but recent developments suggest that may be further out than we initially thought.....

February's client letter...

Client Letter | February 1, 2023 Whether you’re one to set ambitious New Year’s resolutions or simply use the beginning of the year to reset on a few habits, there’s almost always some value in reflecting on the past year before looking ahead. The same is true for the markets. When we look back on 2022, it’s easy to identif...

Our latest client letter. Please feel free to reach out directly with any questions or to discuss.

Client Letter | January 4, 2023 The beginning of a calendar year is often the time when the previous year’s reflections transition to a new year’s hopes. Given the market’s continued instability during 2022 and a resulting tough period for stock and bond prices, everyone is hoping for a fresh start. And history gives us caus...

December's client letter is here. As always, please feel free to reach out to discuss further.

Client Letter | December 6, 2022 Through all the challenges, newfound opportunities, and every high and low we’ve experienced during the last couple of years, it’s no surprise why we might be striving for more balance. Whether it’s about the markets and global economy or what’s happening in our local communities, the news w...

The November client letter is here.

Client Letter | November 2, 2022 October is now behind us and it has delivered on its track record as a historically favorable month for stocks, offering some respite for investors as major equity indices rose for the month. The downside pressure on equities had gotten a bit overdone after investor pessimism during September reache...

Some year-end Tax Tips than can really help. New standard deductions and rates may help many more people get a 0% capital gains rate.

2022 Year-End Tax Tips Here are some year-end tax tips to consider.

Thinking about a private family foundation? Some things to consider.

Private Family Foundations A private family foundation is a legal entity created, funded, and operated by a single family for the prima...

Cyber threats are scary and even more so for many small businesses. A few points to be aware of on the topic.

How to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Threats Risk management is a key component in any successful business plan. In today's world — where data breaches are...

Employee benefits for special circumstances can get a little tricky.

Employee Benefits for Special Circumstances Make your employee benefits package stand out by offering programs that cover a variety of special circumstances.

Benefits packages come in all shapes and sizes for small businesses. A little more on their design...

Designing a Benefit Package for Your Small Business A competitive benefit package is a good way to recruit new employees and reward current ones.

Recession talks may be easing a little with recent economic figures and the Fed may look to take a pause.

CASE FOR RECESSION WEAKENS | Weekly Market Commentary | August 8, 2022 The market pundits remain intensely focused on the question of whether the U.S. economy is in or about to enter recession, so we thought a piece on what a recession might mean for the stock market would be of interest. While Friday’s strong jobs report provides more evidence that the U.S. economy ...

With the 1st half of 22 being the worst ever period for bonds and 3rd worst for stocks, July's bounce was very welcomed relief.

Client Letter | August 3, 2022 Last week was epic for market-watchers. A Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike, a much-anticipated gross domestic product (GDP) report, and the busiest week of earnings season got most of the headlines. There was even a surprise out of Washington D.C., with a Schumer-Manchin agreement on a climate-health...

What might change the inflation picture?

THREE FACTORS THAT COULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF INFLATION | Weekly Market Commentary | July 25, 2022 For the past year, supply-related problems contributed more to inflation than demand-related imbalances, but that may be changing soon. There are at least three factors that could change the course of inflation. First, the improvement in shipping and general supply bottlenecks could ease inflation.....

Some basics to consider on Estate Planning...

4 Key Estate Planning Documents Everyone Should Consider There are 4 key estate planning documents most everyone should have, regardless of age, health, or wealth.

Client Letter | July 6, 2022 As the calendar has turned to July, investors would certainly like to forget the first six months of 2022. However, the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday does bring with it reason for celebration. Not only is it the 246th birthday of the United States of America, but July has historically been...

Take the time to think about these three things when shopping for your next vehicle.

Consider These 3 Things Before Driving Off the Lot There are a few things to consider when buying or leasing your next vehicle.