News

Don’t wait to talk to your aging parents about their financial wellbeing. This is one of the best pieces of advice I can offer, as both a financial adviser and adult child who’s “been there.” In the world of financial planning, it’s called “30/60”: If you are in your 30s, or your parents are in their 60s, you should have this conversation. That’s because the time to have “the talk” is well before any health-related emergency happens. If your parents don’t already have a durable power of attorney, health care proxy, or other crucial legal documents in place, you could face a complex legal process to ensure their wishes are granted in the event of something like an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Let’s not mince words: It was a painful quarter to be an investor. The stock market finished the second quarter of the year with its worst first-half performance in over 50 years. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were officially trading in bear market territory, down 21% and 30% year-to-date.1 The bond market, cryptocurrencies, real estate, and most commodities either had negative quarterly performance or showed signs of deceleration. Unless an investor was concentrated in the energy sector or foreign exchange trading, it was a very difficult start to the year.

In our latest quarterly investment outlook video, Wally Obermeyer, President and Co-Founder, shares his thoughts on the economic and market trends we are keeping a close eye on heading into the second half of 2022. We don’t know what these next quarters will bring, but we know that we will get through this and emerge on the other side. We are proceeding with caution and positioning client portfolios for the possibility of a slower economic environment while looking to maintain appropriate exposure to companies with solid growth prospects. The economy and markets are resilient, and investors can only benefit from bull markets if they stay disciplined and level-headed in bear markets.

Last month, Forbes and SHOOK Research released the 2022 ranking of Best-in-State Wealth Advisors. Our firm was honored to be represented on the list by Wally Obermeyer, Ali Phillips, and Dana Nightingale, CFA, CFP©. In addition to being recognized as the highest-ranked independent advisory in Colorado, we were the only such firm in the state to have three advisors ranked in the top 50 on the list.

We begin this quarter’s commentary by acknowledging the tragedy in Ukraine. The death toll and physical infrastructure losses remain mostly shrouded in the fog of war, but they are devastating. The spirit of the Ukrainian people in the face of such darkness has been inspiring. We are encouraged by the swift and united response to the invasion by world leaders in the form of the most punitive sanctions ever to be placed on one country.

In our latest quarterly investment outlook video, Wally Obermeyer, President and Co-Founder, shares his thoughts on the economic and market trends we are keeping a close eye on heading into the rest of 2022. We are watching the Fed, geopolitical developments, and the economy closely, and adjusting client portfolios to balance short-term risk with long-term opportunity.