“There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times, they are a-changin’!” These lyrics from the 1963 song recorded by Bob Dylan sum up the last six months as much as they did when they were written. It boggles the mind how so much has […]

Since our last communication in March which touched on the potential impact of positive news on equity markets, the U.S. financial markets have staged a dramatic recovery coinciding with the gradual positive developments on the coronavirus and economic fronts. Although there is still a considerable amount of ground to make up to reach the previous […]

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 was signed into law by President Trump on Friday, March 27th after several days of tense negotiations within Congress. The Act is an estimated $2 trillion package including nearly $500B in individual rebate checks, another $500B for support of several severely damaged industries, nearly […]

As the political climate here in the United States remains bitterly partisan resulting in the Senate unable to pass the emergency stimulus bill, the world stock markets are reacting with extreme volatility to this uncertainty, as the markets hate uncertainty. Once some form of a stimulus package is agreed upon and passed, chances are we […]

Dear Clients, This past Sunday, Ohio Governor Mike Dewine instituted a “Stay at Home” order requiring all non-essential workplaces to cease operations as of 11:59pm tonight. Lesjak Planning offices, deemed an essential workplace by the order, will remain open to address your ongoing service needs while also maintaining our daily operations. Our ongoing monitoring and […]

(This is an update to a communication we provided to clients in October of 2008 in the midst of the Financial Crisis and found it quite appropriate for current times.) At the most volatile and fearful time of an equity market decline, an investor is left with two choices: a.) Liquidate equity positions and move […]

The U.S. Government, along with other governments around the world, is taking unprecedented steps in hopes of containing the Coronavirus and its impact on our society. Social distancing strategies are effectively grinding the economy to a halt as individuals and families forego most discretionary spending and businesses adjust to altered workforces. A by-product of these […]

Since World War II, there have been 11 U.S. economic recessions, 12 Bear Markets, and 23 U.S. equity market corrections of at least 10 percent. The catalyst for these declines includes geopolitical events, terrorist attacks, credit market collapses, and various asset bubbles, among others. The underlying cause of a significant decline in economic activity or […]

This past week we have witnessed the significant decline in the market indexes in response to fears of repercussions to the world economy from the spread of the coronavirus. As in almost every sharp market decline of the past, fear commands the human emotion to panic and in the case of investing, sell now and […]

As we come to the end of another year, in which they seem to pass too quickly, it can help to take a look at what transpired over the months and how it might help us in our decision making going forward. History will document that 2019 brought us above average investment returns in most […]