The Lowry Letter®

Week of 2/3/2021

We enjoyed a very informative presentation on Social Security last week, courtesy of Blackrock. Social Security can be hard to understand and is critically important. We are glad to discuss ideal strategies for your specific situation, especially if you missed the talk.

The 2 weeks have been interesting for the market and it reminded us of this quote, attributed to Napoleon: “A genius is the man who can do the average thing when everyone else around him is losing his mind.” This certainly holds true in investing. Success doesn’t come from participating in a brief speculative craze, but focusing on consistent, positive habits over time.

We learned: about Thomas “Blind Tom” Higgins, an African-American musician and composer who was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1800’s. He was blind, possibly autistic, and his life was both tragic and inspiring.

We like: this prayer, shared with us by one of our great clients:

“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord.” -Sir Francis Drake.

From the small amount we know about Francis Drake, it seems he lived this ideal.

We watched: WandaVision, a new Marvel show on the Disney+ streaming service. For fans of the Avengers movies, it’s a nice way to pass the time. The 4^th episode was especially good.

We've been: to a number of museums, but have never been able to see a painting as closely as this ultra-high quality image of The Girl with a Pearl Earring. There is something special about seeing great art in person, but being able to examine the painting in this way is pretty neat.

We recommend: The Sicilian Butcher if you ever find yourself near one of their locations in the Phoenix area. The meatball-centric menu has a lot of variety to choose from.

Q: How is the health of the economy?

A: It continues to improve, though after-effects of the recession remain. Brad McMillan has a nice rundown here. Some key items:

Consumer confidence rose after reaching a recent low recently.
The Fed is not expected to adjust interest rates until 2022 or even 2023
4^th quarter GDP is estimated at 4%, continuing the recovery from the recession.
Jobless claims remains high, showing continued economic pain.
New home sales continue to increase, but personal spending fell.