Greetings!
Stacey, Cameron and I just returned from a marvelous investment conference with our Broker Dealer, Geneos. Yes, I did say Marvelous and Investment in the same sentence. If you've been watching the market recently, you may wonder how I could do that - more on that topic in a minute.
After our conference, we learned what it takes to be one of the country's best broker dealers. Geneos won the Broker Dealer of the Year award, last year and is ranked #9 for assets under management per advisor. That's not a bad thing, for a firm with 300 or so advisors, a handful of whom work for you at A&I Financial Services!
We are more energized than ever before to strive to deliver you the best possible service, attention and thoughtful care. We'll be using some of our new-found knowledge from the Geneos conference to help improve the experience for everyone on the A&I Financial Services team, especially our clients!
Regarding the stock market, we've undergone a fairly long and slow decline in the 2nd Quarter of 2011. The nature of this market in particular, however, makes it a difficult time to sell. Suddenly, stocks tend to take off, logging big gains in short spurts.
Ryan Olson, CFA, from Schwab, puts it this way: Imagine a cross-country car race that starts in downtown Manhattan during rush hour. One racer sees bicycle messengers speeding by in the stop-and-go traffic. Becoming impatient, he jumps out of his car, trading it for a bicycle. Once out of Manhattan, as other racers still in their cars pass him, he quickly realizes his short-term decision was unwise in light of his long-term goal of winning the race.
The length of the race we're winning is measured in decades, not weeks, and patience is the fortitude that will carry us the distance of our lives. Call us! Let's talk further about your situation.
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| A Money Manager's Point of View |
The mood shifted sharply in May from one of optimism about a self-sustaining recovery to one in which the myriad concerns about which we've been writing for some time weighed increasingly heavily on stocks and other risk assets around the globe.
These concerns include Eurozone debt problems, the significant fiscal problems of our own government, weakness in both the housing and labor markets, and signs that the economy is again slowing.
A final-day rally trimmed May losses a bit, but markets have continued their slide into June. Large-cap U.S. stocks lost 1.2% in May, while small-cap stocks lost closer to 2%. Mid-cap stocks held up best, losing only about 0.4%. Domestic fixed-income delivered good returns, with the broad high-quality bond index up 1.3%. (1)
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| Join us for Breakfast on 6/23 | |
Summer is finally here! Please join us for breakfast on Thursday, June 23rd to learn about rose gardening from our returning guest speaker, Luan Akin. Ms. Akin, formerly a helicopter reporter for CBS4, is a master gardener and Garden Ambassador for Tagawa Gardens.
Rose Gardening
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
9:00am - 10:00am Location: Our office, 9780 Mt. Pyramid Court, Suite 130 Englewood, CO 80112 Breakfast will be provided. RSVP by e-mail to Jane@assetsandincome.comor call 303-690-5070
Friends and colleagues are welcome to attend! |
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Economic Briefs |
NEW BEIGE BOOK SHOWS GROWTH MODERATING
At last week's International Monetary Conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke conceded that the pace of the recovery had become "frustratingly slow." While the Fed's latest Beige Book showed solid economic growth in eight of 12 Fed districts (with growth accelerating in the Dallas region), growth had moderated in the Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and New York districts. Broadly, the Fed snapshot revealed some slowdown in manufacturing but steady service sector expansion.(2)
2-YEAR NOTES NOTCH 9-WEEK WIN STREAK
This hasn't happened since February 2008. The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell to 0.40% and the yield on the 10-year note slipped to 2.97% Friday, even with the sunset for QE2 on the horizon. Friday, the Fed said it would end that bond-buying program by purchasing $50 billion in Treasuries by the end of the month.(3)
MORTGAGE RATES EASE FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT WEEK
Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey estimates the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.49%, compared to an average of 4.72% across 2010. Rates on the 15-year FRM averaged just 3.68% in the June 9 survey.(4)
GOLD, SILVER & OIL PRICES DECLINE
Gold prices slipped 0.5% last week, ending three weeks of advances; the good news is that gold is up roughly 5% over the last five weeks. Silver prices dropped 3.2% Friday to $36.32 per ounce on the COMEX. Oil lost 0.9% last week, aided by Saudi Arabia's move to ramp up production for customers in Asia; prices settled Friday at $99.29 per barrel on the NYMEX. (5,6)
LITTLE ENTHUSIASM FOR STOCKS
The Dow closed under 12,000 Friday; its losing streak now stands at six weeks. We have four weeks until the next earnings season. (7)
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| Market Summary |
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% Change |
Y-T-D |
1Yr Chg |
5-Year Avg | |
DJIA |
+3.23 |
+17.49 |
+1.95 | |
NASDAQ |
-0.34 |
+19.16 |
+4.76 | |
S&P 500 |
+1.06 |
+16.94 |
+0.30 |
(Source: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov - 6/10/11). Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and connot be invested into directly. |
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Create a beautiful week!
Karl Frank, MBA, MSF
Certified Financial Planner (R)
A & I Financial Services LLC
303.690.5070
Citations: (1) -http://www.advisorintelligence.com
(2) - marketwatch.com/story/growth-slowing-in-four-of-12-districts-beige-book-2011-06-08?dist=countdown [6/8/11]
(3) - bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-10/treasury-yields-near-2011-low-on-prospect-fed-to-keep-interest-rates-low.html [6/10/11]
(4) - online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230425930457637
5700263962290.html [6/10/11]
(5) - reuters.com/article/2011/06/10/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE7592IU20110610 [6/10/11]
(6) - cnbc.com/id/43347432/ [6/10/11]
(7) - cnbc.com/id/43358833 [6/10/11]
This material has been prepared and is distributed solely for information purposes only. It is not a solicitation or an offer buy any securities or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. There is no assurance that a particular trading strategy will achieve investment success.
Securities offered through Geneos Wealth Management, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through A & I Financial Services LLC, registered investment advisor. |
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| Words for Thought |
"If you're too big for a small job, you're too small for a big one."
Queen Rania of Jordan
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| Watch Karl Frank's interview on MoneyLine9 9NEWS on May 9, 2011 | |
Click Here
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| Watch Karl Frank on Channel 9 News & Read his article "Where to Invest in Times of Turmoil" | |
Click Here
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| Read about us in the Denver Post | |
Karl Frank & Cameron Morgan were featured in the Denver Post. They talked about how to have a happy holiday while sticking to a budget.
Click here to read the article. |
| Riddle of the Week |
What do a shark, a zipper and a comb all have in common?
Last week's riddle:
New furniture will be delivered to your office on the day before five days from the day after tomorrow. If today is August 18, when will the furniture arrive?
Last week's answer:
August 24. |
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