March 17, 2025 – CFS ViewPoint: Know What You Own
Is this time different? This may be the most frequently asked question when we go through periods of market volatility. To answer this question, there are a few items that need to be addressed. First, can we withstand the short-term market noise that creates market corrections? Next, does the economic foundation still exist for companies to succeed? Lastly, do we know what we own? While no one enjoys market corrections, we can get to a point where we find some level of reasonability when addressing each of these points.
Being patient is much easier said than done. We have just gone through another election. With elections come new plans, terms, and unknowns. We had them four years ago, and we will face them again four years from now. Any change will bring on some level of uncertainty, and with this uncertainty will come market volatility. Please note that volatility can go up or down (although quite often it carries a negative connotation). As this is written, the markets have experienced a pullback from record highs. These market swings bring emotions and more often than not, emotions do not help when making solid financial planning decisions. Therefore, we would like to take a step back to review what we own and why we own it on a consistent basis.
The second part of the plan includes investing your money in a manner that’s best suited for you. For some this may mean a diversified mix of high-quality stocks, ETF’s or mutual funds. Others may prefer the security that savings accounts, CD’s and bonds provide. Knowing what you own should instill confidence that you are invested in a manner that supports your goals. In many cases you may not know, but we do as your financial advisor! Either way, what we see daily in the media does not take that into account – nor do they consider how we adjust along the way.
We continue to believe that our domestic economy remains the best investment in the world. That does not mean that it is perfect by any stretch of imagination. We are entering year three of an inflationary environment we have not felt in decades. Tariffs have been in the news recently, and there will be more to digest on this topic as we receive more definitive information. This is no different than what we experienced in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Each of these years had a significant downturn before rebounding to new market highs.
So why do we believe that our portfolio’s will be reasonable as we move forward? First and foremost, the capital expenditure that is taking place in both technology as well as the manufacturing sector. Most recently we have seen Apple, Siemens, and Taiwan Semiconductor make incredible investments right here in the United States. For the first time in some time, diversification has helped tremendously. While we favor investing in the United States, international investing year to date has outperformed the United States and this has helped in the short term. Our fixed income portfolio’s are now returning more interest than we grew accustom to as we went through a near zero interest rate environment for 15 years! When you put all this together, we believe that a diversified portfolio of quality holdings will benefit our clients over time.
We strongly encourage you to give our office a call if you have any questions, concerns or would simply like to catch up! We can be reached at 860.623.0104. Thank you for the opportunity to manage your financial future.
Warmest Regards,
Brian, Arnie, Dan and JT
http://www.cassidyfinancialservices.com
As usual this commentary is based solely the opinions of Brian Cassidy, Arnie Magid and Daniel Kelly. Nothing in the above written material is endorsed by, or written by, or provided by Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., or by any other outside party or firm.
Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cassidy Financial Services, LLC. and Cambridge are not affiliated.
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Cassidy Financial Services, LLC is a full service financial services and insurance firm. We offer investments and investment advisory services through registered representatives and financial advisors of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. Our goal is to help our clients attain financial freedom with confidence and certainty. We accomplish this task by assisting our customers in critical financial areas. The accumulation of assets, the protection of those assets and the effective distribution of attained wealth are just a few examples where our knowledge can support achieving your goals. In order to meet the unique requirements of each client, personal attention and consistent communication are imperative.
Accumulating assets through your company’s retirement plan or on an after tax basis is essential in order to meet your retirement goals. It is critical to take into account the risk tolerance YOU have for investing. Understanding how you might react to the increase or decrease in your assets will assist us in creating the right portfolio for you. With this knowledge, we can implement the appropriate asset allocation strategy specifically to meet your needs. Asset allocation allows us to diversify your assets among multiple asset classes so we will be able to take advantage of current market conditions.