Enjoying The Journey - April 2019

In the fourth quarter of 2018, volatility increased as the market sold off from early October through late December. It is our view that there were two primary factors. We believe the biggest reasons were first concerns about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and selling bonds to reduce their balance sheet, and second the tariff war. We saw the market bottom in late December and move up in Q1 2019.  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced in a press conference on January 4th that the Federal Reserve would no longer be on autopilot to raise rates in the next two quarters of 2019. Instead, they would look at the economic data and take a wait and see approach. Investors liked the change in policy by the Federal Reserve and we saw a rally begin that has lasted for the next several months.

There are now some economists seeing signs of economic indicators that the economy in the US and abroad is slowing. Many companies are reporting earnings are growing at a slower rate in 2019 than in 2018. Earnings for companies in 2018 were above average for many companies due to the corporate tax cuts implemented in late 2017. Also, GDP growth in the US is expected to be slower in 2019 than in 2018. The key question investors are watching is will the slowing economy cause a weakening in the stock market as the year goes on?

You can find our monthly commentary on the stock market on our website by clicking the link below. If you would like to get this market commentary emailed to you monthly, let Ingalill or your advisor know and we will add you to the distribution list.

The IRS announced that the maximum contribution limits are rising in 2019 for some retirement accounts. A few of the highlights include:

- Traditional IRA annual maximum contribution limit increases from $5,500 to $6,000.
- 401k annual maximum contribution limit increases from $18,500 to $19,000.
- The Catch-up Provision for people 50 and over remains at $1,000.
- The annual income limits to be eligible to contribute pretax to a Traditional IRA and post-tax to a Roth IRA also changed.

There are more details about these changes in the Retirement Plan Contribution Chart.

We wanted to remind everyone of the responsibilities of each of our team members, and who you can call if you have questions. Call any of us directly whenever you have a question.

Elaine Manley, Financial Advisor:  408-963-2854
Scott Manley, Financial Advisor:  408-963-2855
Linda Tjiputra, Financial Advisor:  408-963-2896
Ingalill Skoogh, Client Services:  408-963-2858 (Scheduling appointments, helping with any service issues)
Arielle Rowe, Marketing Events Manager:  408-963-2889 (RSVP and any questions about events, creating account forms)
Jennifer Michaelsen, Financial Planning Analyst:  408-963-2884 (Financial planning, supporting the Client Portals and insurance analysis)
Flavio Pando, Jr, Investment Analyst:  408-963-2877 (Placing trades, researching investments, answering questions about the market)
Lynne Houghton, Client Services:  408-963-0242, Working Fridays only (Social Media and Marketing)