Hello Money Matters fans and investor enthusiasts. We had a great seminar at the NC Winery last week with a great turn out!
If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry, we are scheduling another one so stay tuned to Money Matters newsletters and get on our mailing list by subscribing to our website Moneymanagementradio.com. If you would like me to speak at your meeting or organization or know of an organization that might like me to give a talk, let me know! There is no cost or obligation to have me do so and talks range from half an hour for up to 3 hours if need be.
Looking forward to seeing all of you soon!
Marc
PS: I set aside the next 3 weeks to meet with you or anyone who might want a no cost evaluation of their portfolio. Email me at mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com to make a appointment!
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Travel log:
I once went to Hawaii with another couple and the woman of this other couple was a loon (to put it mildly). I made the mistake of letting her drive. With me trying to talk some sense into her as she drove 100 mph with me in the back seat of a convertible mustang, she said "you have to face your fears". I thought... humm.... I fear getting hit by a train but that does not mean I plan to stand on an active train track at some point.
Anyway I survived and she drove me to drink heavily that evening (although I never called her to thank her) but that statement stuck with me. So here I am on my Southern States US trip for business and pleasure after hiking up a few thousand feet on what was deemed a "strenuous" hike to the "vortex" by Sedona Arizona (the Carmel of Arizona). Keep in mind I am scared of heights. In back of me is a steep drop and the winds in there swirl and howl and its supposed to be some sort of magical experience. If you call me s******g a brick magical, well ok then, but I gathered my wits and "faced my fears" (thank you crazy woman) and although I look calm and sedated, I was anything but. (Son in background left but do not let the picture fool you, it was mega hairy). So I scrambled up the steep cliffs (having lossed 22 pounds by way of the adultery diet and no its not what it sounds) and when I arrived here I nailed my foot to the rock by way of an aluminum peton and yelled to my oldest boy to "Take the f....g picture before I pass out!" He said "look happy dad" and I retorted "Take the picture or you will never walk again!".
So here it is. Note my feet are not in the picture on purpose so you cannot see the head of the peton sticking out of my right boot.
After several wraps of bandages and three yanks to remove said peton from my expensive Ridgeline boots, I then went to go down and drink heavily when my two boys said "how about a picture of the 3 of us Dad?" Having extricated the aluminum spike I now had no way of securing myself to the rock ledge and now had to once again traverse the cliffs to arrive again at the "vortex" but now had to wait for my 2 boys to arrive and then convince someone to snap another photo. You will note how Dad is holding onto the middle boy with both hands to insure if I goes, he goes. Sort of like "kill the tortise when I die because I can't stand to have that thing live longer then me".
Anyway it reminded me of a hotel I stayed in Mexico on the 26th floor and saw a Mexican guy on a board suspended by manila rope washing the outside of my window hundreds of feet up. He had no harness but a large piece of rope around his waist. Never mind the fact if he fell he would snap in 2 as he had no harness, just this rope, but as I leaned a bit more over to see more I noticed he was not tied to the board nor the suspending rope but to another guy. I kid you not. Talk about bonding!
I never did see either of them the next day but the board was still there so I have no idea what happened. Well anyway, as you can see I am holding on for dear life but we got the photo and I survived the trip down (going DOWN a mountain is WAY WORSE then going up) despite a peton sized hole in my foot and boot and those damn bandages dragging the whole way as to make me look like some kind of mummy had crawled out of some ancient cave somewhere farther up the mountain and was looking for a meal. Notice again toe of right boot is not in photo. I photo-shopped the blood, sinew, bandages and the like out of the photo for deceny. Its not a smile, its a grimace~
Markets:
Solid recovery in indices in the last few weeks for sure. Markets appear to be under little stress at this time but that can change as we all know! With the elections in plain sight, most of America is focused on the candidates. A Federal Reserve meeting yield a “Stand pat” stance on interest rates citing concerns about markets in general and employment data. (Federal Reserve Minutes). Oil prices saw their biggest increase in 2 months and a lack of any negative market moving news seems to have placated investors at this particular time.
The Dow remains in the 17,000 range, off their recent lows and volatility has ebbed. We carefully watch the markets for any signs of imminent moves and continue to diversify portfolios with both “risk on” and “risk off” type holdings and strategies as well as implementing stop loss points and trailing stops to adhere to proper risk management and retain positive attributes in all portfolios. With summer coming and the fall elections, there are indeed possible catalysts which must be considered as we transverse along 2016. Stay tuned to Money Matters, our show and our newsletter to keep abreast of take on the markets and our portfolios.
Watching the markets so you don’t have to,
Marc
