The Lowry Letter®

Week of 4/1/2020

Welcome to the 2 ^nd Quarter of what has been an unforgettable 2020.

At this time, our direct experience with COVID-19 itself has been limited, for which we are grateful. To our knowledge, no one in our personal acquaintance has been diagnosed and we hope that current measures help that trend continue.

To address the continued need for social distancing we are not scheduling in-person meetings. We are available for video conferencing (as well as traditional phone calls). The easiest way to schedule a phone or video conference is directly by using this link: https://calendly.com/joelowryjr/phone-video-conference- 1

In the event you cannot find a day or time that works for you, such as outside of normal business hours, please let us know and we will find a mutually convenient time. Calendly is a new tool for us and we are still working out some kinks.

Onto this week’s business:

We Learned: that scammers are already trying to use the COVID-19 stimulus checks in order to steal financial information. Please remember (and remind others) that the IRS will not call or email you asking for your personal financial or identifying information.

We think: information security continues to be critical. In the past we have held a “shredding day” for clients to bring documents for destruction. When conditions allow, sometime after tax season, we will have a second locked box in our office for any of you who would like to drop off confidential papers and give your at-home shredders a break.

We read: about a bacteria that feeds on polyurethane, a toxic plastic. If applicable on a larger scale it could help reduce the growing plastic waste problem.

We've been: adapting to the new homeschooling plan. We learned about a study that found that starting school at 10am improves academic performance and cuts illness in half. Without the early start time of “normal” school we have fallen into a more relaxed schedule pretty easily. We’ll see if this holds true for us. Of course, it will be pretty hard for the kids to miss school due to illness.

We recommend: the newest version of Little Women. The whole family enjoyed it, from grandparents to grandkids (watching in different homes of course).

Q: What can we expect in the markets in April?

A: Brad McMillan has a helpful video on what happened in March and what this might mean for the future. In a nutshell, markets reacted quickly to what soon appeared to be an inevitable recession. In the face of that, the government also acted quickly, much faster than in any other economic crisis. This has provided some stability and continued confidence in credit and financial markets.

For April? The news will continue to be bad even as quarantine measures take hold and slow the rate of infection. It will initially be hard to see that containment measures are working. The CARES Act checks will start to go out, easing some of the economic stress for many Americans. We will also see the initial impact of the pandemic on corporate earnings and will continue to experience growing unemployment. As Brad says, “even as the news gets worse, the underlying reality is likely to keep improving.” Uncertainty is not new to long-term investors.

Advisory Services offered through Lowry Financial Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. Securities and additional advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services offered through Lowry Financial Advisors, Inc, are separate and unrelated to Commonwealth. Lowry Financial Advisors, Inc. is located at 12921 SW 1st Rd, Suite 215, Tioga, FL 32669. 352-333-7990

Lowry Financial Advisors is the only advisory firm that helps its clients reach their goals through The Achieving Simplicity® Experience™, providing clarity and confidence in their personal and financial lives.