Other than the normal shenanigans of tax season, the financial world has been relatively quiet this last month. Our accounts on average registered a small gain to add to the favorable year-to-date returns, and after the dramatic start we had to this year we welcome the opportunity to catch our breath. The areas helping to steady investments are: stabilizing oil prices, persistently low interest rates, glimmers of hope in a China recovery, and no financial crisis to dwell on.
All seems well as most energy companies return to normal valuations and our growing dividend strategy appears to be outperforming the stock market. However, higher stock prices are not always good news. The stocks within the portfolios are on average fully (or 100%) valued, meaning, there are not many great deals (stocks selling at a discount) out there for us to pick up.
With that in mind, we’re looking to rebalance and sell overvalued and overallocated companies while we wait for the current earnings season, interest rates, or the next crisis to knock down stock prices so we can invest cash at more favorable levels. In the meantime, the dividends and interest, the main objective of most our portfolios, continue to roll in helping current and future retirees cover distributions they use to live on.
This quiet month was also great timing for me (Tim) to fulfill my two-week commitment to the Coast Guard for my Active Duty Training at Station Yaquina Bay in Newport, OR. During my two weeks we had a ceremony to honor the accomplishments of the crew. I was one of those privileged to be honored
by the Commanding Officer (CO) for becoming a Coxswain (boat driver) a month earlier. It was a proud moment for me and represented 3.5 years of work.
Being there for two weeks straight always gives me a better appreciation for the dedication of the active duty men and women. They are VERY good at what they do and I’m thankful for the time and effort they put in training a part-timer like myself.
As always, please call us with any questions you have. We’re making our way through our list of calls and if we haven’t reached out to you yet, you should be hearing from us shortly.
Thank you for taking the time to read,
-Bruce Porter & Tim Porter, CFP®