George Hosfield, CFA, discusses Ferguson Wellman's quarterly strategy titled, "Inflation's Flame Flickers," which addresses the narrow market leadership, the impact of higher interest rates on inflation and how assets are priced at this stage of the economic cycle.
George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the firm's quarterly strategy titled "Stalemate," which highlights the Fed's ongoing battle to tame inflation along with our views on the health of the banking industry and capital market expectations for the balance of the year.
Director and Chief Investment Officer George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the Fed raising interest rates, peaking inflation and our view on equities and volatility across all asset classes in our Investment Strategy titled, “Balancing Act.”
Taxes … just the word alone increases blood pressure and elicits a fight-or-flight response. As such, most people outsource their tax preparation. Whether you manage your taxes or outsource the task, there is still a good amount of work we are all responsible for.
We have long observed that what matters most for investors is not the outcome of elections but rather what happens to the economy and earnings. That said, historical performance indicates that mid-term elections are clearing events - regardless of the partisan outcome. In each such event since World War II, stock prices have risen in the 12 months that followed. Although a handful of election results are still yet to be decided, the U.S. Congress appears to be headed for a split…
In recent months, investors have understandably been obsessing over the Fed and inflation. This week was action-packed for the markets, with the Fed meeting and October employment report taking place. Writing about the Fed has come to feel like Groundhog Day…
Have you ever looked at something you've had for a long time and thought to yourself “Do I still need this?” or "I paid a lot for this … do I keep it?" This happens frequently when evaluating life insurance purchased in prior years.
Economic statistics are inherently backward looking while interest rate actions by the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) generally have a six to 12-month lag effect. The Fed is raising interest rates to slow the economy, which in turn should bring down inflation. This has typically been the relationship and the order of events, and we believe that will be the case this time around.
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management was recently named by Financial Planning magazine to their “RIA Leaders 2022: Top 150 Fee-Only RIA Firms” ranking. The firm was listed at 23 of 150 companies.
Our colleague, Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, recently wrote a piece for the Spokane Journal of Business. In it, she discusses how financial strategies can optimize charitable giving.
U.S. stocks ended higher this week as investors digested news of solid corporate earnings against a more hawkish-than-expected Fed and better-than-expected labor data. Throughout the year, rising rates and macroeconomic headwinds overwhelmingly pressured asset prices and valuations, even for companies that have demonstrated earnings resilience.
The U.S. government has endorsed a “strong dollar” policy for much of the last thirty years. Besides sounding much better than the alternative, this messaging has reminded markets that the U.S. dollar remains the world’s reserve currency, despite frequent projections of its demise or threats to its dominance.
Charissa Anderson, CFP®, CDFA®, appeared on KOIN News Wallet Wednesday on October 12, 2022, and discussed the pluses and minuses of receiving financial advice from TikTok.
Last Friday, the market closed out the day, week, month and quarter all with negative returns. Fears of higher inflation, more tightening by the Federal Reserve and potentially lower corporate earnings weighed on investors’ minds. The S&P 500 broke below the June low last week, extending the bear market that began in January. At 269 days as of quarter end, this is the most protracted correction since the March 2009 low. Surprisingly, the market decided to pull a 180 early this week, returning almost 6% on Monday and Tuesday. So, what was the deal?
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management was recently named by CNBC and Financial Advisor to their “Top 100 Financial Advisors” ranking. The firm was listed at 17 of 100 companies.
George Hosfield, CFA, shares our fourth quarter 2022 Investment Strategy video, in which he discusses the Fed raising interest rates in an effort to combat inflation and what that means for investors.
Read our fourth quarter 2022 Wealth Management Insights publication in which Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA® and Chris Bixby, CFP®, EA share their thoughts on tax and charitable planning and strategic Roth IRA conversions.
Read our Market Letter publication for the fourth quarter 2022 titled, Bad News Is Good News, in which George Hosfield, CFA, Peter Jones, CFA, and Joe Herrle, CFA, share our thoughts on inflation, interest rates, the energy sector and housing supply in the United States.
Although investors hoped the change of seasons would bring a change to the news headlines, in recent days global central banks managed to stay front and center as the Bank of England and Bank of Japan took swift action to provide stability within their respective currency and bond markets. Domestically, Federal Reserve officials were busy defending their “unconditional” stance on tackling inflation. Not surprisingly, capital markets remained under pressure as the prospects of higher-for-longer interest rates and slower economic growth were being digested.
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management was named to Barron’s 2022 Top 100 RIA Firms list this week. Ferguson Wellman was listed at 75 out of 100 in the U.S. and was the only advisory firm to be recognized from Oregon.
Our Octavia Group team lead, Kirstin Havnaer, shares insights on Ferguson Wellman’s private family office for clients.
Investors were expecting Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement of a .75% increase in short-term interest rates. However, they were unprepared for Fed Chairman Powell's hawkish press conference afterward, resulting in a decline in both the stock and bond markets.
Scott Christianson, CFP®, discusses the complexities of Social Security benefits and what our clients should understand before they file.
