July 29,2023

By Andrea Young on August 5, 2023

Where’s Our Head

Enjoy this discussion our CEO and Co-Founder, Mike Tucci, had with Mark Stiles for the Leadership in Action Podcast.

As an entrepreneur, you work hard to ensure financial stability for yourself and family, but are you giving enough attention to the money after it hits your bank account?

Mike sits down with host Mark Stiles to share his experiences as a CPA, the involvement of his company as a SAP for EO Boston, and the ways entrepreneurs need to be managing their finances.

Takeaways:

~ For many people, the emotional aspect of their wealth is as important as the financial aspect. While it is reassuring for clients to know that their money is safe during hard times, it is important to check in with them on a personal level.

~ While many entrepreneurs have detailed knowledge of their KPIs, marketing plans, and strategies, their investment plans lack attention. To reduce ambiguity, entrepreneurs need to assess the value of their business and tie it into their investment plan.

~ Creating an investment plan for an entrepreneur needs to also be tailored to their business. The stability of the industry is a crucial factor. More varied businesses need a more stable plan, while more stable industries can take more risk.

~ When looking to assess the value of your business, it’s important to have a trusted partner. When assessing value, Lexington Wealth takes a holistic approach; reviewing growth patterns, checking expenses, and factoring in your business’s industry.

~ Going to market is an exciting time for any entrepreneur, but you need to be aware of the commitment. Going to market is a months-long process that takes a good chunk of your focus, potentially causing your numbers to slip, hurting your evaluation.

~ An often overlooked aspect of financial planning for entrepreneurs is estate planning. Many consulting firms can help with estate and pre-estate planning, highlighting the importance of finding a firm that specializes in working with entrepreneurs.

You can also stream the podcast on:

Apple Podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI

Stitcher – https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action

Market Commentary

July 21, 2023

Weighing the Pros and Cons

There’s quite a battle brewing between the bulls and the bears. The bulls believe that the stock rally, fueled by falling inflation and the likelihood of an economic soft landing, can continue as the market
strength broadens beyond the “Magnificent Seven.” The bears believe that the odds of such an easy victory over inflation, and therefore a soft landing, remain low, and the markets are likely to give back
some of the gains that have been heavily concentrated in just a few mega-cap stocks. So today I thought I’d run through the pros and the cons and see if we can come to any conclusions about the market’s
direction in the second half of the year.

The “Pros”
• Inflation is indeed falling, and the drop from a high of 9.1% to the most recent reading of 3% has come surprisingly quickly
• After a long period of negative growth, inflation-adjusted wages are growing again and this will provide the consumer with resources to spend
• The increase in interest rates has finally allowed savers to earn a reasonable return without undue risk, which could also support consumer spending
• Despite the spike in interest rates, there has been a spike in homebuilding due to a dramatic supply shortage
• It appears as though housing prices have bottomed, thanks mostly to a lack of supply that has been driven by an unwillingness on the part of many homeowners to give up their low mortgage rates; increases in home equity, along with big gains in the stock market, could also support consumer spending
• The development of Artificial Intelligence has the potential to dramatically improve labor productivity over time, thereby boosting the economy’s productive capacity and corporate earnings
• In the aggregate, consumers still have an estimated $500 billion to $1 trillion in savings accumulated during COVID
• The vast majority of stocks in the S&P 500 are not up nearly as much as the overall index this year, which could provide further upside as the rally broadens
• There is a lot of money on the sidelines which is represented by a huge surge to $5.5 trillion in outstanding money market funds (which is up by about $1 trillion in the past year)

Click to read the full Market Commentary

Advisor Spotlight

What’s your role at LWM?
I am currently an Associate Wealth Advisor here at LWM.  Along with my role servicing clients, I am also on the trading and portfolio management team.

How important is overall financial planning with your clients?
I believe the financial plan is the foundation of which we build from. The plan sets the goals and gives us insights to the amount of risk needed to reach these goals. Planning also gives our client the biggest insights and status on their financial future. 

What is your daily mantra – personally and professionally?
I like to think I live by the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

If you were to listen in on your clients’ conversations with their friends and family, what would they say about you?
With everyone I encounter, I would hope they would say that I was a good person and did right by them.

How do you incorporate the head and heart with your clients? 
In many of my meetings, I bring up the LWM head and heart motto and state that I’m a heart guy.  This opens the conversation allowing me to ask about them as people, and what they want their retirement to look and feel like.  

What is the biggest lesson you have learned in your career?
That people are people. We all have our issues, insecurity, strengths, goals, etc. In this career, we ask questions that our clients may not have thought about yet, so we must give them time to work through their thoughts and feelings.

What is the most fun you have in your business?
The most fun I have is when we are able to show our clients that they are thinking too small about their wants or wishes.  I remember doubling a client’s travel budget during a meeting, and the joy I saw in their eyes was so rewarding.

Do you have any hobbies?
I am currently into Bourbon collecting. 

To learn more about Carlos Ferreira, click the link below.

Where’s Our Heart

Well-th & Well-Being

Interested in seeing the impact that even a short period of less technology and more solitude can have on your mind and body? Here’s a five-day challenge of more mindfulness and less plugging in that may be just what you need.

To read the full blog post, click below. 

Our Latest Empower Women Podcast

Check out our July Empower Women Series Podcast interview, Investing 101,  with Susie Panduku of Lexington Wealth Management. Susie discussed the basics of investing and what you should consider before you begin. She also shared her insights on strategy, equities, fixed income, your comfort level with risk and more

You can also read our event takeaways by clicking HERE!