Good Things Are Happening
It’s hard to believe that the Year 2020 is now half over! After a global pandemic, a stock market crash, a global recession, and civil unrest, we’re sure that many of you are already thinking that this year can’t end soon enough. We agree that 2020 is likely to go down in infamy. However, at DecisionPoint, we always see the glass at least half full and we believe the future is bright and hope is on the horizon!
Please take a minute to review each of the sections below and be sure to watch the TED Talk. Call us at 480-553-6249 if anything sparks a question or a concern about financial planning, or your Dupont 457(b) account.
Market Summary - Stocks Just Recorded the Best Quarter Since 1998!
After the Pandemic sparked one of the steepest and deepest market selloffs in history during the 1st quarter, many financial experts expected there to be some kind of a bounce in the 2nd quarter. However, virtually no one anticipated how fast the markets would rebound. Since hitting lows on March 23rd, the S&P 500 Index has jumped 39.35% and many other Global indices have experienced similar gains. No one knows how the next 6 months of the year will play out, but we continue to urge our clients to maintain faith in human ingenuity and the power of capitalism.
While the last 4 months have felt scary in the markets, everything that we have experienced is normal. Markets will always fluctuate in the short-term, but the future expected return for stocks is ALWAYS positive. The greatest principle that we hope to impress upon each of you is the importance of staying in your seats (i.e., fully invested in your 457(b) account) during extreme market fluctuations. We understand that feelings of fear and greed can create overpowering emotions at times, but staying disciplined and not reacting to those emotions will almost always lead to higher investment returns. All of you who hold some portion of your 457(b) in equities, and who have been contributing into your accounts, have greatly benefited from the market crash. Your deferrals over the last 4 months have been buying stocks at deeply discounted prices.
*IMPORTANT - As a reminder, you have hired us to provide you with investment advice and financial planning services. If you ever feel the need to change your investment allocation, for any reason, at any time, please call us first so we can talk through the decision with you. Our job is to prevent you from making investment mistakes inside your retirement accounts that can cost you $10’s of thousands in critical financial resources later in life.
COVID-19 Vaccine Update - Good Things are Happening!
There is little doubt that in order to return to normal life around the world, an effective vaccine against COVID-19 will be necessary. As of today, there are approximately 120 vaccine candidates under development and early results from Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials have been very promising. Last Friday, Oxford University, in partnership with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and with over $1 billion in funding from the U.S. Government, started the World’s first Phase 3 vaccine trial in South Africa using 30,000 people.
If you are interested in learning more about the current state of vaccine development and who the leading candidates are, we highly recommend the following two articles for a quick read:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Financial Planning Advice - Please Teach Financial Literacy to your Children!
Lastly, we want to share some financial planning advice with you. As CFP® Professionals, we are often asked by our clients to sit down with their high school and college age children to teach them financial literacy. If you have children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, we strongly encourage you to take 15 minutes out of your busy lives and watch the TED Talk by internationally recognized financial literacy expert Adam Carroll:
As financial planning evangelists, we testify to the importance of teaching your children financial literacy early in life so that they don’t face a life of financial hardship in the future!
As always, please reach out if we can be of assistance!
- Your DecisionPoint Financial Planning Team -