January Newsletter
January 3rd, 2018
Captain's Log


  

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I think I made it until about 10pm on New Year's Eve before I fell asleep in the man room watching TV. What else is new! I can't believe another year has flown by already. Where does the time go?

We were able to take some time off over the holidays to relax, which was nice. I personally spent a good bit of time over the holidays educating and updating myself on market trends and insurance product updates for the New Year. Our institutional wealth management team believes that with the passage of the new tax bill, the markets should continue on an upward trend for another 12-18 months. Companies are profitable, GDP is rising, consumer sentiment is the highest it's been in 17 years, unemployment is low, wages are rising, consumer spending is growing, and business owners are as confident as they've ever been. Wow, does that sound great or what!

Well, here's the flip side to that coin. The current bull market is now approaching 9 years, which is double what a normal bull market lasts. Many believe that stocks are becoming overpriced and PE ratios are starting to get too high. Our national debt continues to rise, and at some point that will become a major problem. North Korea is a global threat, and if not handled properly could turn into a nuclear war. We don't think that will happen, but needless to say if it did things could get quite ugly. Not to mention all the political strife we have in our own country, as well as around the world. I could go on, but I think that's enough to make the point. At some point, there will be a major correction. What's your "downside protection plan"?

In my opinion, here's the bottom line for 2018 - we believe there will be more market volatility, but markets will still trend up (secular bull market) for a while.  Our team has hedged against this by moving more to money managers with an active management approach. Why? Because it's a proven fact that "active managers" do better than "passive managers" during times of high market volatility. This is especially important the older you are since you don't have as much time to make up for losses in your portfolio. In other words, don't get greedy and expose yourself to a bunch of risk if you don't need to! Sometimes it makes sense to count your blessings and take some money off the table for future use. Focus on keeping your safe/risk ratio in line with your age and income needs. If you're unsure on how to do this, we can sit down to help you figure it out. We have some very advanced methods to help you sort it all out, and I'd encourage folks that are not already clients to take advantage of this free service and build your own Chart Your Course Retirement Plan.

Stay warm and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And, as always, remember -  The purpose of the money dictates where you put it. 

Until Next Month,
Jim's signature
  James D. Stillman

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Healthcare Planning 
in Retirement

By James D. Stillman
                                January 2018


In our introductory article with Currents in October, we outlined the five key areas of retirement planning. This month I'll discuss the third key area using our Chart Your Course Retirement Planning System - Healthcare Planning.

Healthcare costs are the number one reason for bankruptcy in America. The average couple will spend approximately $250k on healthcare costs in retirement. This includes both Medicare and Long-Term Care spending. Couples over the age of 65 have a 70% chance that at least one of them will need long term care. The average stay in a nursing home is about 2 years for males and 3 years for females. The average cost of a nursing home in North Carolina is $75,000 per year or more. So, obviously it makes sense to have a plan in place to cover these potential costs during retirement, if at all possible. 


The Wealth Report:
December 14th 2017

A Plan for Wealth Allocation

Overview

Behavioral finance is a relatively new field that explores how human behavior and thought patterns influence our financial decisions and therefore, on a larger scale, our economy and financial markets. It's basically this: Human nature meets economic principles. What we have found through the study of behavioral finance is that people do not always behave rationally when addressing different market environments.

For example, we may sell stocks when share prices drop in order to limit our losses, when it may make more sense to buy when prices are low. We are motivated to stock up on consumer products when there is a shortage even though we may have to pay much higher prices. In short, what we think and feel drives actions that may work to our disadvantage. 



JDS Client Corner

We will feature pictures and stories from our valued clients 
as well as our family in this section each month.

If you'd like to be featured in next month's Client Corner, 
please email your story to kelly@jdswealthmanagement.com

All content is intended for informational purposes only. Any guarantees are for insured products only and are dependent on the claims paying abilities of the insurer.  All investments carry some risk and you should be advised by your personal financial advisor before implementing any strategies discussed, as they are not suitable for everyone. James D. Stillman is an Investment Advisor Representative of JDS Wealth Management Corporation and AE Wealth Management. 

JDS Wealth Management Corporation's outgoing and incoming e-mails are electronically archived and subject to review and/or disclosure to someone other than the recipient. We cannot accept requests for securities transactions or other similar instructions through e-mail. We cannot ensure the security of information e-mailed over the Internet, so you should be careful when transmitting confidential information such as account numbers and security holdings. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer."