A Fond Farewell to 2016….

2016 ended up being a big year of ups and downs. After starting the year off with the worst start in stock market history, our investments finished with solid overall gains. It’s worth noting that we did not endure the sting that fixed income investors suffered the last quarter of the year. Between Britain deciding to leave the European Union, the persistently low price of oil and Trump getting elected, we say a fond farewell to 2016 and look forward (cautiously) to 2017.

The market looked to be very concerned going into the U.S. presidential election. Watching the stock futures on election night, it looked like the market was going to open dramatically lower on Wednesday morning. But, the election produced clear winners across the Senate, House and Oval Office. This clarity allowed the market to move beyond the election and look forward to what new policies may be implemented. This led to the nice market rebound that we experienced over the past month and a half.

Looking forward, we are taking a cautious stance as we move into 2017. The market has had a solid run since the election, but in the past week or two has cooled off. A lot of assumptions have been made as to what will happen when President-elect Trump takes office. If he fails to deliver or if he gets delayed by the Democrats in Congress, the market could react negatively.

The good news is that the U.S. economy seems to be picking up steam. Corporate earnings are up, unemployment continues to stay low, U.S. GDP is growing at a faster rate, and wages are increasing which should entice consumers to spend more. So while we are being cautious in the short-term, we are also optimistic that the seven year bull run will continue in 2017.

Starting today, we are offering a new tool to help you to better manage your financial well being. We have signed up with eMoney to offer their web-based financial portal to you. This is a free service for all clients. Used correctly, it helps us integrate a more robust financial planning partnership, providing you with a complete picture of your financial health. We are rolling this service out to all clients over time. Please contact us if you would like to get started with the service sooner rather than later.

Very truly yours,

Mike Cantlon

Thomas Guyett

Robert Gephart