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We offer our insights into navigating markets, making sound financial decisions, and building a plan for long term wealth creation.
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Sir Isaac Newton, after losing money on a speculative investment in the South Sea Company, purportedly claimed, 'I can calculate the movement of stars, but not the madness of men.' After a dizzying few weeks of headlines—from a diplomatic meltdown in the Oval Office to escalating tariff threats and retaliatory actions—it seems that the 'madness of men' remains exceedingly difficult to calculate!
2025 has simply been boring and status quo, right? There’s not much going on in the world or in the headlines. Not! We want to make sure you are awake as you start to read this.
Happy New Year! Now that the presidential election is over, some are asking about our view of the potential economic impact of President-elect Trump’s plans. Our previously released outlook, entitled “Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust” that covered our core view of expected economic growth and inflationary pressures for 2025, remains and acts as our “core” view of 2025’s economic prospects.
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”
— World-renowned management consultant and author Peter Drucker
Season’s Greetings! We hope this finds you well and that you are making merry plans to be with friends and family this holiday season.
On August 9th, our office buzzed with energy as we hosted our very first JSO Academy event—Vacation Business School!
Our long-time client and mentor, Dr. Henry Oh (no relation to us), was in our office for a meeting last week and shared some wisdom that we wanted to pass along.
With this month’s commentary, I return to the economy. Growth is continuing, but the growth rate is slowing. The jobs market is cooling, as the unemployment rate is now 3.9% versus 3.4% reached a year ago,1 and some measures of consumption activity are weakening.
“Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true. But many other things are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly—and repetition has been accepted as a substitute for evidence.”
—Well-known economist and author Thomas Sowell
We hope this finds you well and that you are enjoying the summer. We are reaching out to say THANK YOU for your patience and cooperation during our transition. It's been four months since we made the switch, and we are so grateful that 98% of our accounts have successfully transferred over.
After an especially hot summer here in the Northeast, the fall season has arrived and with it a welcome drop in temperature. We can picture many of you busily sending your children off to school or cleaning out your summer garden. In our office also, our summer interns recently delivered their final presentation and returned back to their schools.
We hope this finds you and your families well! As the summer kicks off, we wanted to reach out with a mid-year greeting and share some thoughts on the current environment and the markets.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index (VIX), often referred to as the “Fear Index”, has risen to its highest peak since the earlier days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, confirming the prevalence of a sentiment that we all likely have been feeling. Investors are afraid.
When it comes to saving for retirement, you have most likely been presented with the option to contribute pre-tax or Roth. Whether it’s your 401k at work or choosing between a Traditional or Roth IRA, most retirement accounts offer both methods of saving. So, what’s the difference? And more importantly, which method should you choose?
We often get questions like the following from our clients:
“Do you think the market is going to keep going up?”
“We’re due for a correction soon, don’t you think?”
“The market has hit an all-time high. Should I hold off on investing my cash?”
Saving for retirement may not be among your priorities when you are in your 20s, but the decisions you make now can significantly impact the shape of your financial future and hold the key to having the life you want.
We hope that you have enjoyed your summer!
It is our pleasure to announce that in the past year, we have welcomed two new additions, Judy Lim and Esther Min, to our team here at JSO Partners.
It is our pleasure to announce that we have reduced our advisory fees from 1.00% to 0.85% for all managed accounts.¹ With this reduction, we are proud to say that our advisory fee is below the industry average, according to the AdvisorHQ’s 2021 survey.²
We are living through a historic episode in world history. COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus, has presented a serious threat to the health and well-being of our global community.
As you may know, Congress recently passed the largest stimulus package in American history, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Since the bill in its entirety is more than 800 pages long, we wanted to summarize five areas that may impact you and actions you will need to take.
Since February 21, the S&P 500 has corrected over 12%. This pullback is the quickest correction on record. The market peaked on February 19 and experienced significant selling pressure last week. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is down 8%, while the JSO Equity Model Portfolio declined 4%.
We begin the new year and new decade with much to be thankful for. 2019 was a terrific year for the stock market and an important year for our firm. We expanded the team and feel even better prepared to help our clients navigate the investment landscape and manage their wealth.
Welcome to our first quarterly investor briefing. In these briefings, we will provide an update on what we are seeing in the markets and keep you abreast of the performance of the JSO Equity Model. For more details, we encourage you to contact us directly.
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Please do not hesitate to contact us at team@jsopartners.com or 215-283-3131 if you would like more information about us.