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Dear Readers:
With a new year comes a new style for our newsletter - in a link-based format instead of a downloadable PDF. We hope it makes it easier for you to read! If not, feel free to complain about it to Moana the next time you stop by the office.
Market Report
The holiday season was a chance to catch our breath, since fortunately there was no market crash à la December 2018. While it's fun to do some good old fashioned tax-loss harvesting, it's also nice to have a market that's steadily trucking along. Many of you have asked us about our predictions for how the market will perform next year. So here is our forecast for 2020:
The market will go up. Unless it goes down. Possibly, it will stay the same.
We are 100% confident in this prediction; Moana even consulted the Mayan calendar jigsaw puzzle she got as a Christmas present. Rest assured, in 2020 the market will do something. And when it does, you should read these articles:
In 2020, Focus on What You Can Control
Most of the things that the “experts” are warning you to prepare for are things beyond your control. Even while markets and politics go crazy, all you need to do is stick to the plan.
What Happens When You Fail at Market Timing
The impact of missing just a few of the market’s best days can be profound. But investment risk can be scary when the markets crash. So how should you invest?
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Figure 1: The person above has no idea what the market will do next.
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The most important lesson: Stay the course. We plan with your future goals in mind. If those haven't changed, neither should your investment plan. It's easy to get sucked into an overly optimistic or pessimistic mindset based on the recent results of the market. But a good investment plan shouldn't change just because the market wobbles. Heed this timeless advice for when markets get shaky: "Don't just do something - stand there!"
And if the markets take a dive and everyone around you is saying it's the end of the world, you can tell them that a good financial plan takes market cycles into consideration. This has all happened before, it will happen again, and in the long run, you'll be fine if you stick to your plan. The world isn't ending after all. Just ask the Mayans.
New Laws for Taxes and Retirement Planning
One thing that did change for 2020 already was the SECURE Act. If you want a good overview of the main changes, read this:
The SECURE Act Has Passed. What Does it Mean for Your Retirement?
Happy New Year!
Lastly, with a new year comes new year's resolutions, if you're that kind of person. And I am so that kind of person! Here are a few articles on goal setting that you may enjoy:
What Good Habits Do You Need to Retire Better?
When we ask our clients to describe their ideal retirement, two of the most common responses are “healthy” and “secure.” In fact, there’s a definite psychological connection between how we plan for our money and how we plan for our health.
What's Better - Resolutions, or Goals?
If your New Year’s resolutions rarely last until Valentine’s Day, this might be the year to stop “resolving” and start setting goals.
My Three Words for 2020
If you hate New Year's Resolutions, this might be a fun thing to try instead. The idea is simple. Pick three words that will guide your actions and decisions over the course of the year.
Did you make any New Year's resolutions? We'd love to hear what they are, especially if they're related to your financial goals.
NBFA Personal Updates for January
Chris is the new president of the national Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP)! His main goal for ACP this year is modernization - getting all of the ACP tools and training in a web-based format for planners to use. Chris likes to refer to ACP as the "good cult" of financial planners who are obsessed with doing right by their clients through fiduciary, big-picture planning. So if ACP is a cult, now Chris is a cult leader! Congratulations on your presidency, Chris!
A winter update: Chris loves rain. Specifically, he loves reading rainfall charts and predicting how much rain we are going to get, and talking about how much rain we have already gotten. When it is raining, we know that within the first hour of the workday, we will hear Chris yell from his office:
Chris: "HEY ANABEL AND MOANA!"
Us: "Yes, Chris?"
Chris: "How much rain do you think we've gotten so far this week?"
Anabel: "I have no idea."
Chris: "Guess!"
Moana: "One inch."
Chris: "Anabel, what's your guess?"
Anabel: "...One point two inches."
Chris: "ONE POINT FOUR FIVE!!! That's incredible! That's the most rain we've ever gotten in the first week of December in over a decade! Isn't that amazing?!?!"
When it is raining, Chris also wears his yellow rain gear, which he says makes him look like he's "riding a bike around in a banana suit." So far we have not been able to get photographic evidence of said banana suit, but stay tuned.
Anabel is in her last semester to get her Master's degree, but she still has time to go to the gym. So far this year, her resolution has been to go three times a week to spin class and she's going strong! When she's not studying, horseback riding, or "riding on the bike to nowhere", she enjoys reading (usually nonfiction (but not rainfall tables)).
One of Moana's new year goals is to read a book a week. So far the most interesting book she's read has been Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction. She is hopeful that it will help her get a leg up in the office rain forecast pool for this season.
She also went with her husband and daughter to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where the most adorable otter in the world came over to say hello:
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We hope your new year is filled with laughter, love, and less rain than we had in December :) Happy New Year!
Much love,
Moana & the Natural Bridges Financial Advisors Team
831-421-0700
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