Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management: Outlook – April 2024 Financial Market Review The S&P 500 continued its Q4 strength into Q1, rallying 10.4% through March 31st—its best annual start since 2019. Five of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks posted positive returns; Nvidia rose a staggering 82%! Apple and Tesla were the Seven’s conspicuous two laggards, losing 10.8% and 29.2%, respectively. Except for real estate, all sectors posted a positive quarterly return. Energy (13.5%), Communications (12.7%) and Financial Services (12.4%) were the biggest winners. Across large-, mid ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management here: Outlook – January 2023 The Great Rate Reset “A firm is a cash-generating machine,” asserted a business school professor, scrawling the same words on the chalkboard. He continued: “And there are only two fundamental reasons for the value of any firm to increase: one, it is expected to generate more cash flow or two, the value that investors assign to that cash flow rises.” The professor then went on to explain that the value of any firm today was the present value of its expected cash flows, discounted by some interest rate. He wrote ..read more

BSSF Wealth, LLC, will be merging with Lighthouse Wealth Management, LLC, adding an additional advisor, Teancum D. Light, JD, CPA, CFP®. BSSF Wealth will assume the name of Lighthouse Wealth Management, which is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). The partnership with Brown Plus remains, and Brown Plus retains majority ownership of Lighthouse Wealth Management. “It is exciting to see the growth of our wealth advisory services,” said Ken Wolfe, President and Managing Principal at Brown Plus. “Teancum brings an extra layer of experience to the team as well as the capacity to serve more client ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Outlook here: Lighthouse Wealth Outlook – April 2022 Is the Bond Market Warning Us? Since the inception of the Lighthouse Wealth Outlook, we have warned of the bond market: January 2021: “Absent a major shift in government policy, most bondholders are virtually guaranteed to lose purchasing power over the next decade. At these rates, even a small increase in yields causes a steep decrease in bond prices.”[1] July 2021: “At present valuations, we would strongly caution against adding longer-maturity bonds or bonds with elevated credit risk.”[2] Octob ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Outlook here: Lighthouse Wealth Outlook – January 2022 Economic Conditions Real U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 2.3% in the third quarter, the weakest quarterly number since the COVID-19 pandemic broke in Q2 2020.[1] Strained global supply chains and a decline in federal government pandemic relief money were key factors weighing on growth. The Federal Reserve now projects full-year 2021 GDP growth at 5.5% (down from its 5.9% September estimate), with a 2022 growth of 4.0%.[2] As the economic growth escalates, so do price levels. In November ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management: Outlook – January 2024 Financial Market Review After losing 3.3% in Q3, the S&P 500 Index rallied 11.7% in the final quarter of 2023. For the year, the Index gained 26.3%, thanks largely to a massive rally in the “Magnificent Seven” stocks: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla. Representing more than a quarter of the S&P 500, the Seven more than doubled as a group and drove nearly two-thirds of the Index’s return. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Composite Index was up 55% in 2023, its best year ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management: Outlook – October 2023 “You only live twice, Mr. Bond.”[1] In 1967, James Bond fans were startled to see their hero fatally betrayed within the first five minutes of “You Only Live Twice.” To their relief, they soon learned that 007 had merely faked his death. No one could have dispatched Bond that easily. (Obviously.) Five-plus decades and as many actors later, Bond showed his flexibility. He could be portrayed in a more whimsical, tongue-in-cheek fashion, à la Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan. Alternatively, he could be played in a dark ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management: Outlook- July 2023 Financial Market Review After posting a 7.5% return in Q1, the S&P 500 Index had another blowout quarter, gaining 8.7%. Once again, the “Magnificent Seven” in the index—Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, Meta, Alphabet and Tesla—drove the returns. Year to date, more than 85% of gains in the S&P 500 can be attributed to those seven stocks. Without their contribution, the index would be nearly flat in 2023. Those seven stocks generated tremendous returns in the Communications (12.5%), Technology (15.4%) and Consum ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management: Outlook – April 2023 “What, me worry?” The United States recently witnessed the second and third largest bank failures in its history: Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. With assets of $209 billion, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was about two-thirds as large as Washington Mutual (WaMu) was when it failed back in 2008. But, unlike WaMu, SVB’s balance sheet was not laden with delinquent loans. Rather, SVB’s collapse stemmed from two different problems: declines in the value of its long-term Treasury bonds and deposit flight. As concerns o ..read more

Download a PDF copy of the Lighthouse Wealth Management here: Outlook – October 2022 A New King Takes the Throne The global press devoted much of September to covering the life and funeral services of the late Queen Elizabeth II. At the time of her passing, she had ruled the United Kingdom for 70 years and seven months, surpassing the previous record of 63 years and seven months set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Notably, Elizabeth II was also the second-longest reigning monarch in the history of the world. Historian Andrew Roberts has opined that Elizabeth “gave us a sense of ..read more