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Dear Clients and Friends,
Financial markets in Q1 2023 delivered quite the roller coaster ride. Markets were off to a flying start in January, with most U.S. domestic indicators recording a strong positive month. As soon as February hit however, markets soured with this trend persisting until mid-March, when suddenly, despite various bank failures, the major indices turned positive once more, nearly retracing the January high by quarter end.
We face an unusual degree of uncertainty on the investment horizon with a combination of rising rates, inflationary pressures and geopolitical risk factors. Nevertheless our clients, have been well served maintaining a disciplined, goal based investment philosophy as we seek low-cost, tax efficient market, diversified market exposure.
I have been particularly pleased this quarter to commence a consulting engagement with a firm to help redesign our client experience to make it more proactive and comprehensive. Our engagement has provided the inspiration to integrate our planning philosophy in the 5 tenets of; lifestyle, growth, protection, legacy and tax. Throughout the second half of the year you’ll begin to see more materials reflecting this approach. You can read more about this below ‘Improvements in Client Experience.’
I’m thrilled to share with you a renewed vigor for the work we do together, and I hope you see it reflected in each and every interaction. I’d love to hear your feedback.
Ashley Murphy
Founder, Principal
Areté Wealth Strategists
Were last year's market losses an illusion? We've now experienced two consecutive quarters of healthy market gains, the long-predicted recession hasn't materialized despite rising interest rates and the Fed reducing its balance sheet--and oil prices have stabilized. So why are investors still so worried?
We’ve enjoyed a wonderful and life-changing past two years we’ve had here in Brisbane! It was never intended as a permanent move, so in July or early August, we’ll be moving back.
From a professional point of view, there’s simply no substitute for the experiences I’ve had with regards to actually living and executing on so many of the problems I work with clients on as they manage their cross-border lives. Such challenges have included running a business from abroad, determining tax obligations, buying and selling real estate from overseas, managing property, obtaining insurance (and filing claims), dealing with different education and immigration systems, and shipping and logistics. You name it!
Tour De Brisbane - Qualified for World Championships
This past Sunday, April 2nd, was the most important date on the SE QLD cycling calendar for it was the Tour De Brisbane Gran Fondo weekend. This is my event! The course took us on a 112km tour around Brisbane, through highways and underground tunnels never otherwise open to cyclists.
We had a good laugh at the finish when I found out I had won! Well, not quite. As you can see from the screenshot to the right here, they mistakenly put me in the women’s category. Once I emailed the organizer’s to let them know I’m actually a man, they put me in the correct category where it turned out I placed 4th in the Masters Men’s 40-44 recreational category (33rd in the racing category). Winner or not, turns out that time/placing qualifies me for the UCI Gran Fondo world championship coming up this Aug 4th in Glasgow, Scotland. I think I’m going to do it!
[x] Bucket list experience!
Sunday, March 12th saw Team AUKUS’s second try at the Mooloolaba, Olympic distance triathlon. Our team consisted of Dave Frizzell (AUS), center, for the 2km swim, myself (US), right, for the 40km bike ride and John Simpson (UK), left for the 10 km run. Dave put in an outstanding effort for the swim, nearly beating his Personal Best. I remember waiting in the transition zone, dripping sweat given how hot and humid it was wishing I had been the swimmer. With lungs and legs burning, I beat my time of last year by about 30 seconds (the pain reminding me why I only sign up for one time trial race per year). John put in a stellar effort on the run given the muggy conditions. We were very pleased with our second place finish in the Master’s men (40 - 49) category!
Early March saw us welcome the newest member of the Areté Wealth Strategists team; Aamish Aaftab. Aamish is joining us as an Operations Associate. He will be helping with account paperwork, investment reporting and plan data entry and reconciliation.
Aamish has a Bachelor of Science and is finishing up his CFP® studies while simultaneously pursuing an MBA. He has worked for the past 9 months as a financial paraplanner.
Welcome Aamish!
As mentioned in the follow up to our annual ‘Client Satisfaction survey’ back in January (where 3 winners each won a $75 Amazon gift certificate), we’re making a transition away from Wrike as the program we use for client meetings to Notion. After extensive due-diligence, we’ve found that Notion will provide a big improvement as a single point of access to see recommendations, meeting notes, diagrams, and share files. We’ve engaged with ‘Advice Guide’, a practice management consultant to Registered Investment Advisors, to assist with this transition.
Q2 Economic and Financial Market Review - You’re invited to join us Wed Apr 26th @ 7:30pm CT/ 5:30PM PT, which will be Thursday 10:30 AEST (Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne) for a private client Zoom Webinar looking at our Q2 Economic and Financial Market Review. Some of the relevant issues that will be addressed include;
Tax-Smart Charitable Giving
There’s a persistent misconception in the minds of some financial consumers that charitable giving can actually benefit the giver from a tax standpoint, if the gifts are carefully structured to avoid capital gains taxes and generate tax write-offs.
Student Loan Forgiveness on the Docket
You probably know that the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan has been tied up in the courts for months, due to a lawsuit by the state of Missouri and two private individuals.
What is FDIC Insurance, How does it Compare to SIPC Insurance and how do they Work?
It’s important to know the difference between the SIPC and FDIC insurance protection plans.
Our Process - The Wealth Summit Pathway
If you’ve been pleased with the work we’ve accomplished together and have a friend or someone you care about facing similar challenges, please make an introduction. We guide all prospective clients through our Wealth Summit Pathway (WSP). The WSP is a well-defined process for onboarding a new client that aims to understand someone's most deeply held values, goals and understand their relationship to money. If we’re not the right firm to help them, we will do our best to find them the right advisor.
"Please let us know if we might be of assistance.
Have a wonderful rest of your day,"
Ashley Murphy, GFP (USA/AUS) CFP® AIF®
Areté Wealth Strategists, LLC
Access our comprehensive, unbiased financial guides here.
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