I have a crystal ball in my office. It doesn’t help me foretell the future, but it does speak to me in some very powerful ways – some humorous, some more philosophical, and some that are both.
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If our investment assets and bank accounts are the tip of the iceberg, the mere 10% that sticks up above the surface and easily catches your attention, what lies beneath?
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Last month we touched on the notion that there are other meaningful dimensions to wealth besides the current market value of all that you own. But how do we define those dimensions?
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HOW DO YOU DEFINE “WEALTH”? - It’s a question I’ve spent 33 years asking people – in one-on-one meetings, in small groups, and in larger seminars. I’ve asked clients, colleagues, friends and business associates. I’m curious to hear people’s answers, because how they define “wealth”, individually and collectively, is one of the keys to helping them plan and invest effectively.
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Now, more than ever, we live in a world that is constantly evolving, the intersection of technology and healthcare has become a beacon of hope, promising a future where our well-being is not only preserved but enhanced. In this edition of our newsletter, I delve into the positive strides being made in futuristic inventions that are reshaping the landscape of healthcare. From groundbreaking technologies to revolutionary medical advancements, the future is brighter than ever for the possibility of people living longer and healthier lives.
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We live in an unpredictable world, and other than death and taxes, nothing is certain. Everything is subject to change, often at a moment’s notice. The huge conundrum, and indeed the greatest temperamental challenge that all long-term investors have always had to confront is that the future we all invest in and for is unknowable.
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As 2023 comes to a close, you and your family reflect on where you’ve been and where you’d like to go.
As the year wraps up, it’s natural to think about your goals — professionally, personally, and financially. It’s something that you and your household will want to assess and talk about openly and honestly.
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We are living, and investing, through a time of significant and accelerating change. It’s impacting every single aspect of our lives. Everywhere around us we can see and feel the signs of fatigue and heightened emotion that go with it.
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As we pass the midpoint of the year, it seems that more than a few outspoken market prognosticators have been caught by surprise that stock markets across the board have rallied substantially. The brutal recession that many had vociferously forecast as the inevitable result of rising interest rates has failed to materialize…
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As I sit down to write this on the final day of June 2023, I’ve just deleted an email that arrived in my inbox this morning with the subject line: “Master AI or Be Destroyed by it.”
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We hope you have a safe, happy, and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, and a great summer to come!
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Wikipedia defines stewardship as “an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources.” It notes that the word derives originally from stig (meaning house or hall) and weard (meaning ward, guard, guardian, or keeper) and states that “stewardship is now generally recognized as the acceptance or assignment of responsibility to shepherd and safeguard the valuables of others.”
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This is a long a complicated act and there are still some issues to be worked out by either Congress or the IRS as some of the provisions have some clear errors in them that contradict already existing law without clarification. These have to do with Required Minimum Distributions, SEP and SIMPLE IRA plan changes, and Roth Catch-up contributions in retirement plans. However, history does suggest that in time this will all get settled into a clearer law that hopefully we can all understand.
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It is easy to buy investments. What’s hard is owning the right portfolio over the long term.
For an illustration, as I write this on February 28, 2023, I’ve just looked back at a missive I wrote on this day exactly three years ago, in the very beginning stages of the COVID crisis that continues to send aftershocks of disruption and anxiety through our world.
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Happy New Year! All of us here hope 2023 brings you health, happiness, prosperity, and enough personal challenge and growth to make life interesting and fulfilling.
And thank you. I feel truly fortunate to serve such great clients and friends. You are, to a person, people I like, trust, and respect.
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All of us at Lucien, Stirling & Gray wish you and your families a very
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We hope 2023 brings you health, happiness and prosperity.
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With all the inflation we have seen this year, is there any silver lining to be found? Like most things in life, it depends on how you choose to look at it. So, let’s take a look at some of the changes taking place in 2023, and examine both the benefits and the costs that have come about in response to inflation.
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I believe that truly investing in anything for the long term, just like the decision to become a parent and raise a family, or to build and manage a business through many decades of uncertainty and challenge, or to stalwartly own a portfolio comprised of the great companies of the US and the world, is an open-ended act of faith.
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One of the benefits of having written these quarterly missives for more than 20 years is the ability to look back with the benefit of hindsight and grade my own work. Another is the opportunity to revisit thoughts I developed years ago, and to update and reinforce them in a whole new context.
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The first half of 2022 was a disheartening experience for all of us. As the personal Quarterly Review that accompanies this report attests, your investment portfolio experienced painful declines, as did the accounts of every single one of our clients. Each of us here has shared a similar experience as investors ourselves,…
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