Polaris Perspective

A year ago, business and economic leaders were looking beyond COVID to what they were perceiving as better times — when the pandemic would be a thing of the past, the economy would rebound, and ‘normal,’ as in the life we experienced before March of 2020, would return. Most of that, especially the parts about COVID being over and returning to normal, didn’t happen. And that explains why, a year later, amidst another strong surge in COVID cases, there is optimism about the year ahead, but also some significant hedging of bets.We just can’t predict what will happen with this pandemic or with many of its side effects, everything from an unprecedented workforce shortage to inflation and supply chain woes, but Jeff Powell & Jeremy Witbeck discuss insights and tips for making sure you take action, if needed, to start this new year feeling confident about your financial health.

The end of the year always seems to sneak up on us. After Thanksgiving, the buzz of the holiday season keeps us busy through the New Year, and tax season probably isn’t even a distant thought yet. But there are a number of reasons to make year-end financial and estate planning a priority because when the year turns over there’s no going back. It’s safe to say we’re all ready to bid 2021 goodbye – but before you let the holidays take over completely, set aside some time to get your finances in order. Jeff Powell & Jeremy Witbeck provide valuable insights and tips for making sure you take action, if needed, before the end of the year and head into next year feeling confident about your financial health.

The emergence of a new COVID-19 variant is raising fresh uncertainty for the U.S. economy, even as President Biden vows that the country will not see more lockdowns. After wading through a summer surge in cases driven by the delta variant, the U.S. is now bracing for the arrival of omicron, a strain identified by the World Health Organization last week as a “variant of concern.” The U.S. economy held up much stronger against the emergence of the delta variant this summer than many analysts expected, despite an initial drop in consumer activity and travel. Revised figures from the Labor Department showed job growth holding strong even as schools faced early shutdowns and millions of workers remained unable to rejoin the workforce. Consumer spending and incomes also rose despite high inflation, lining the U.S. up for a stellar fourth quarter after a summer slowdown. While the Biden administration is not expected to push for any nationwide lockdowns, persistently higher cases and hospitalizations could still suppress the economy even if local governments don’t impose new restrictions. Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss the new variant “Omicron” and the potential concerns it poses in terms of throwing the U.S. Economic recovery off track.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in more than half a century. This is the latest sign of the labor market bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic. Last week’s jobless claims totaled 199,000 when adjusted for seasonal swings, the lowest level since November 15, 1969.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss the dramatic drop in last week’s claims and whether or not it indicates just how good things are in the labor market and the overall economy right now.

The last two years have come with many changes. The state of the world has caused many of us to make shifts in our lives, both personally and professionally. For better or for worse, some of these shifts may be short-lived and some may last much longer. And in thinking of our finances, worry might come to mind as more uncertainty seems to loom around the corner. This is why investment management is so crucial at this time – for investors at any stage in their journey. Investment management refers to the process of handling various securities and financial assets. It involves devising long-term and short-term plans to acquire and dispose of portfolio holdings – with the aim of making clients’ money grow in order to help them achieve financial aspirations and goals. Investors have two main investment strategies that can be used to generate a return on their investment accounts: active portfolio management and passive portfolio management. Jeff Powell and Matthew Erickson break down those concepts and debate the merits of “active” versus “passive” investing.

Consumer Price Index Soars: What the jump in the CPI means for you. Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Wednesday as a surge in U.S. consumer prices last month deepened fears that high inflation is here to stay amid supply chain snarls. Inflation across a broad range of products that consumers buy every day was even worse than expected in October, hitting its highest point in more than 30 years, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss what this means for consumers, investors, the economy, and the markets.

he U.S. Department of Labor’s employment report is the first piece of major economic data released each month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the employment or jobs report, on the first Friday of every month. It estimates the number of people employed and unemployed in the economy and the number of hours they worked (plus myriad related figures). The release of the employment data usually is followed by frenzied trading that can last from a few minutes to an entire day, depending on what the data shows and what the market was expecting. The report is so important that it can set the trend for overall trading in the entire arena of the financial markets for several weeks after its release.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck look at why there is so much emphasis put on Employment Report and how it influences Wall Street and the Economy.

The White House and Democrats are reworking key aspects of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion domestic policy plan, trimming the social services and climate change programs and rethinking new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to pay for a scaled-back package.While the plan is still in negotiations and changes to the legislation are likely, many of the proposed changes to the Internal Revenue Code not only would directly impact gift and estate tax planning but also owners of family businesses and their goals of transferring those businesses to beneficiaries. Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss the proposal and the possible wide-ranging impacts it could have on investors and business owners alike.

Have you ever noticed how much the different seasons can affect life? Oddly enough, the seasons affect more than just the weather. They can affect things like the stock market as well. Seasonality refers to the tendency of markets to perform better or worse during certain periods of the year. It’s perhaps most famously illustrated by the stock-market adage, “sell in May and go away,,” which refers to the historical tendency for the stock market to perform better from November through April than from May through October.As we start to wrap up one of the more interesting investment years, Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck provide their perspective on time-tested guidance.

Many market commentators routinely throw around concepts such as ‘Fear and Greed’ and how instrumental they are in the behavior of individuals and markets as a whole. While both fear and greed play a role in individual and mass behaviors, they are part of a much larger set of attitudes and emotions that affects our investing decisions.In this weekly episode, Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck provide concepts and understanding around behavioral finance and how people act, all of which can make you a better investor and potentially life-changing financial decisions.

Not all investment real estate asset classes are created equal. The COVID-19 pandemic has been kinder to some real estate asset classes than others and are emerging from the pandemic in much better shape and pose much lower inherent risk.Jeff Powell, CIO & Managing Partner at Polaris Wealth, Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth and Chip Entwistle, Co-Founder at ACC Space discuss how investors can take advantage of opportunities with the potential to build wealth and generate income from investment real estate, particularly tax-advantaged investments.

For many business owners, maintaining positive cash flow and a stable balance sheet can be an ongoing battle that consumes virtually all of their time. Even retirement often seems like a distant speck on the horizon, let alone plans to hand over the business. Establishing a sound business succession plan requires a series of logistical and financial decisions about who will take over your business upon retirement, death, or disability.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck of Polaris Wealth and Eric Johnson, C.E.O. of Dynamic Strategies Limited, discuss broad range of topics that business owners need to consider in order to facilitate an orderly transitionof management and ownership.

When the stock market stumbled earlier this week, you may have been spooked, and understandably so. The market dip, which was partly attributed to investors’ concerns about the high debt levels of one of China’s largest real estate developers, was hard to stomach given the resilient bull market we’ve seen over the past year.Jeff Powell and Matthew Erickson, Polaris Wealth’s Senior Portfolio Manager, discuss the current state of the markets and some of their concerns for the remainder of the year.

The stock market is in a weird place – it has fallen in most of the trading sessions this month. Equities have wavered and investors grapple with mixed economic data and the impact of the Delta variant’s spread front. Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss the wobbly week on Wall Street.

Over the weekend, enhanced unemployment benefits expired, including $300 weekly bonus checks, as well as coverage for freelancers and the long-term unemployed. This means more than 11 million people will get a smaller check, with roughly 7.5 million people losing their jobless benefits entirely.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss what this all could mean, especially with the uptick in new delta-variant COVID-19 cases that could result in new quarantine restrictions and, consequently, more layoffs.

The U.S. economy continues to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, and when the financial system is ready, the Fed will eventually start to raise interest rates and, before the end of the year, will gradually withdraw and wind down some of its easy-money policies. This process, in the financial world, is known as “tapering”.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, provide a deeper insight of “tapering” and the potential impact that’s bound to have on consumers’ wallets, busineeses, investors and markets for years to come.

A little more than a year and a half ago, the world was blissfully, dangerously ignorant of the existence of a coronavirus that would soon turn life on earth on its head. In the 16+ months since the SARS-CoV-2 virus burst into the global consciousness, we’ve learned much about this new health threat.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, provide their perspective on the virus and the impact it has had to date as well as discuss what the possible next steps are in terms of the U.S.’s evolving response.

Whenever there’s a discussion about active or passive investing, it can pretty quickly turn into a debate because investors and wealth managers tend to strongly favor one strategy over the other.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, & Matthew Erickson, Senior Portfolio Manager, provide their thoughts on their roles and responsibilities as investment managers and their approach of portfolio management for Polaris Wealth Clients.

How do financial markets react to political events such as elections or regulatory decisions? And what are the political repercussions of financial market events? Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss the relationship between politics and the financial markets.

Wall Street’s favorite gauge of stock-market volatility rocketed to its highest level since mid-June on Wednesday as rising COVID-19 cases and renewed lockdown efforts spurred fears of a prolonged economic slowdown. While record-high coronavirus case counts have fueled concerns about the pace of economic recovery, the prospect of timely fiscal support is all but exhausted. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss the recent volatility in the financial markets.

Curious, hopeful, nervous…. The U.S. presidential election map took shape — amid concerns over drawn-out counts in some states. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss election results today and the potential impact on financial markets.

Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, assess the post-election landscape for financial markets and discuss the recent development of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine .

The year of 2020 will be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic, protests against racial injustice, debates over returning to school or the office, and political posturing. It will also be remembered for the confounding behavior of financial markets. They rallied, even though the world and the economy still feel chaotic and broken. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, explain why they are more optimistic, particularlly for next year.

Wall Street got the new month started on the right foot on Tuesday, as majxor market benchmarks continued their upward surge and retained much of their momentum from November. Market participants have proposed a number of explanations for the strong performance in stocks lately. Yet largely going unnoticed is a dramatic shift in the way that investors think about the stock market. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss how the change in view certainly explains the gains, but it also raises some concerns for the near-term future.

A majority of American investors are optimistic about U.S. stocks, but they are still sitting on piles of cash. In fact, the U.S. Investors are sitting on the largest pile of cash ever. The amount of cash in bank accounts is now at a record $16 trillion, more than twice as much as 2009 levels. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss what that could means for stocks and what they should be doing with all that cash.

The end of the year is a good time to check on your financial accounts. The last day of December is sometimes a significant deadline so it can make sense to do some year-end housekeeping, including evaluating tax strategies and making plans for the coming year. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, address key year-end tax moves you want to make in the last few weeks of 2020 in order to help reduce next year’s tax obligations.

It can be hard to feel optimistic when there are still so many challenges ahead. In early 2020 the entire world underwent a transformation – not only because of the pandemic but also due to heightened concerns over racial justice and climate change. Most of our normal routines changed immediately. As 2020 comes to a close, Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, review some of the year’s milestones and what they are looking forward to in 2021.

December is winding down, and that means it’s time to think about resolutions for the upcoming year. After a year like 2020, financial resolutions are probably top of mind. The beginning of the year is the prime time to focus on what’s going on with your money. With the right plan in place, you can stick to your financial resolutions and end the coming year in a better place than you started it.To help you get started, Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, review some resolutions to set, along with expert tips on how to keep them.

If it feels like your dollar doesn’t go quite as far as it used to, you aren’t imagining it. The reason is inflation, which describes the gradual rise in prices and slow decline in purchasing power of your dollars over time.It’s been decades since the U.S. faced double-digit inflation rates, and years of small, steady increases may have left consumers unprepared for the extended inflationary environment that continues to be ahead as inflation rates rise in the U.S. And we are left to question, if this a temporary phenomenon or a long-lasting one. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, expand their discussion on inflation and the impact it has on the markets, large and small businesses, investors and consumers.

Control of the Senate is at stake. The candidates have shattered spending records.The Georgia Senate race holds far-reaching implications. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss market and policy impact of Georgia Election results.

In 2020, stocks fell and went up drastically as COVID altered the very fabric of our lives. Tens of millions were infected as over a million died around the world. Millions of jobs were lost. A feeling of insurmountable fear and darkness grew.Despite the volatility of 2020 and now with several more vaccines on the horizon, Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss why they feel more positive than before.

Fixed income investing can offer a number of benefits, such as providing a predictable source of income, helping to preserve capital and offering attractive diversification benefits to your portfolio.However, fixed income investments are not all created equal and the bond market it is a tough nut to crack.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss how bonds react differently to changes in interest rates, the economic outlook and other market factors

You don’t have to know everything to start investing. In fact, if you wait until you know everything before you get started, you’ll probably never start investing at all! But there are some basic terms you might want to have in your investing arsenal.These terms will be helpful to understand, so you don’t end up missing something you should know, or veering away from your financial goals. Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss in detail key industry terms and several investment sayings and catchphrases .

You don’t have to know everything to start investing. In fact, if you wait until you know everything before you get started, you’ll probably never start investing at all! But there are some basic terms you might want to have in your investing arsenal.These terms will be helpful to understand, so you don’t end up missing something you should know, or veering away from your financial goals.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, continue their discussion on technical and funny industry investment terms and catchphrases .

There has been a lot of interest in the stock market over the past week after investors from the Reddit message board managed to give shares in GameStop a huge boost and send prices of a few struggling companies (GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry…) soaring.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss story so far, with an explanation of stocks, short-selling and what has been happening with GameStop.

In financial markets, as with everything else, no one can predict the future. Nevertheless, the beginning of the year marks the time when investing analysts and researchers make their predictions for the year ahead in the stock market.The continuing strength of the stock market even as the coronavirus pandemic batters the U.S. economy has baffled many observers.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, discuss factors that explain the continued market recovery and why to expect another good year for investors.

Bond yields have jumped over the past couple weeks, jolting investors. The rise has triggered worries that faster economic growth could generate inflation and pose a threat at a time when the S&P 500 is at valuation levels not seen since the dotcom bubble.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris whether the level of rates is becoming a threat to investors and equity valuations.

Billion derivative contracts are being traded yearly and most companies and investors use derivatives to lower risk. – So, what are Derivatives and should you invest in them?Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris discuss how financial derivatives work, are used and whether you should consider using adding financial derivarives to your financial portfolio.

You are likely to encounter terms that you do not understand. These terms will be helpful to understand, so you don’t end up missing something you should know, or veering away from your financial goals. And it never hurts to know the basics.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, expand their discussion on investment terms you might want to have in your investing arsenal.

President Joe Biden has signed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill into law, saying he is taking aggressive action to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations and move the country closer to normality by July 4.The package provides $400 billion for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit and increased funding for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.Although subject to a great deal of uncertainty, Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck analyze how the fiscal package could affect the overall economy.

The major averages are struggling after yesterday’s decline and the markets are continuing its volatile run in March as the rally to record highs took a pause with investors reassessing the growth picture.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss the choppy trade in stock markets this week and trends they are seeing in U.S. economy.

President Joe Biden unveiled a more than $2 trillion infrastructure package on Wednesday as his administration shifts its focus to bolstering the post-pandemic economy.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss Biden’s proposal that would invest in infrastructure, education, work force development and fighting climate change, with the aim of making the economy more productive.

As society starts to turn the page on the pandemic, local, national global economies, markets and investors are beginning to imagine how “normal” might look like. So far, 2021 isn’t looking too different from where we ended 2020. But we see the second quarter bringing greater economic re-awakening, underpinning our constructive outlook for U.S. stocks.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss recent activity in the capital markets and offer viewpoints on the U.S. economy, international markets and asset classes, as well as a special topics of interest to investors.

For nearly 20 years, April has been recognized as Financial Literacy Month. The goal is to highlight the importance of improving money management skills and establishing and maintaining positive, healthy financial habits.Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck kickoff this month with some key lessons on how to protect your wealth.

Creating a financially secure life can feel like a daunting task that requires the skills of an expert mapmaker and GPS programmer. You need to figure out where you are today and where you want to get to. As if that’s not stressful enough, you’re then in charge of finding the best route to get from here to there without veering off into costly detours. Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck continue their discussion on Financial Literacy this month and focus on the evolution of savings and the different strategies people can use.

The Senate on Tuesday approved a roughly $1 trillion proposal to improve the nation’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections, advancing a historic burst in federal spending after years of failed attempts on Capitol Hill to invest anew in the country’s aging infrastructure.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, expand their discussion on infrastructure and discuss what the bill is looking to accomplish and the possible impact of the bill once it is passed by Congress.

You are likely to encounter terms that you do not understand. These terms will be helpful to understand, so you don’t end up missing something you should know, or veering away from your financial goals. And it never hurts to know the basics.Jeff Powell, CIO, Managing Partner & Founder of Polaris Wealth & Jeremy Witbeck, Partner at Polaris Wealth, expand their discussion on investment terms you might want to have in your investing arsenal.

How does an investor extract a livable income stream from a retirement portfolio in such a low-yield environment?In this session of the Polaris Wealth Podcast, Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss why it might be a good time to consider adding alternative investments to your investment portfolio.

Life insurance is a key financial planning tool that can often be overlooked. As you build your wealth, it’s important to protect your assets against any unforeseen events. While not as direct a way of saving as investing, insurance planning can save you significant amounts of money over the long-term.In this session of the Polaris Wealth Podcast, Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss how insurance can essentially make it easier to navigate financial obstacles that could thwart your financial goals.

With the U.S. economic recovery now well under way, one of the more heated debates between economists and policymakers and a discussion that may seem irrelevant and confusing to the general public is whether the price surges that have coincided with accelerating activity will be permanently higher or will those eventually pass. Some experts are sounding the alarm over rising inflation in the United States, despite assurances from the Federal Reserve. While the topic is dry, Jeff Powell and Jeremy Witbeck discuss how its resolution is of critical importance. Depending on the answer, mortgage costs could rise, stock prices could become more volatile, and the U.S. economy’s recent torrid growth could slow significantly.