Summer 2019

A few years ago for Christmas, my dad gave me a Magic 8 Ball. You know what I’m talking about. You ask a yes or no question, shake the Magic 8 Ball and then turn it over for your answer. This way, I would be able to make ‘educated’ decisions on investment recommendations. “Will the stock market go up?” ***Shaking Magic 8 Ball*** Answer: “Ask again later.” Very reliable.

As I’ve heard it said before, predictions are very hard to make, especially about the future. Sure, anyone can make predictions, but what good are they? Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, when the stock market was roaring, there were many predictions thrown around. After the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 10,000, I remember seeing a piece written by an analyst predicting “Dow 20,000.” It was though the stock market would never go down again…but it did. There were also many predictions thrown out about the success of dot com and technology stocks. The internet was the wave of the future. True, the internet has been the wave of the future, but it has become so much more than what anyone could have predicted. In addition, the stocks people were predicting to be the ‘big winners’ didn’t even include the front runners today, like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google. Some of these companies didn’t even exist, and no one could have predicted how much they’ve grown.

Cliff and I don’t make predictions, instead, we plan for your future. When we meet with you or talk with you over the phone, we want to know what’s going on in your life. Partly, because we care, but also so that we can plan your investments accordingly. If you want to take a big trip, or increase your monthly spending, we need to plan for that. If we are sending you too much money, or you want to make some gifts to charity, we may need to make adjustments or revise our strategies. This is our philosophy.

Everyone’s plans are different; everyone’s lives are different. There is no one fits all plan because your needs and situation is unique to you. Cliff and I are here to understand what that is and make our recommendations accordingly as we walk alongside you every step of the way. We’re not just planning for today; we’re planning for your future.

Any opinions are those of Stacy Caudill and not necessarily those of RJA or Raymond James. The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq.