If the holiday season wasn’t busy enough the markets are adding to it!

·       Markets are hitting new highs

·       First batch of the Vaccine is now underway

·       Tesla is joining the S&P (look out for a wild ride!)

·       The leading retail investment platform Robinhood gets a $65Million fine from the SEC

You know what I like about all this news? You and I know a product that gives people security in knowing that they are going to be OK in retirement, regardless of the news.

Speaking of FIAs, If you missed the news in this weeks “Waypoints” webinar, please book a time on my calendar to talk through the BIG INVESTMENT we are making back into you and your business in 2021 in regards to some of your favorite products on the market.

Here are your Quick Hits:

Check out this month’s AEInsider

·       Darren Hardy’s #1 skill to becoming invincible

·       Why Ben Newman finds Flexibility Important

·       Michael Hyatt’s advice for developing your firm’s vision

2020 in 20 visualizations

5 Long Term Trends Shaping Society’s Future

Edelman Sas Advisors, Clients must realize Pandemic, Markets could Get Worse

·       “Advisors need to acknowlege that this pandemic may last longer and may be more severe than most people anticipate and that some of their clients may not be able to remain fully invested in their current portfolios,”

·       “Advisors should be talking to clients about whether they have the financial wherewithal, as well as the emotional wherewithal, to maintain their portfolios for as long as this might last,”

Mapped: The Risk of Eviction and Foreclosure in the United States

·       According to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, of the estimated 17 million adults who are not current on their rent or mortgage payments, a whopping 33% of them could be facing eviction or foreclosure in the “next two months”.

·       President-elect Joe Biden expressed his desire for measures such as rent forgiveness back in March 2020, but it remains unclear what actions will be taken under the new administration when inauguration occurs on January 20th, 2021.

Stock Market in Nine Scary Pictures

• Fear of missing out (FOMO) is the greed explanation.
• Hopium is the “drug” that leads investors to see beyond the pandemic to a perceived prosperous future.
• Federal Reserve support is a godsend that will continue to fuel the stock market. Will the Fed buy stocks? What is its limit?
• Low interest rates are beneficial to the stock market for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that discounted future cash flows are higher. Also, it drives investors to take more risk in order to earn returns.