I would like to introduce myself and give our readers a different point of view on the crazy market we have been experiencing this year. My name is Cole Ducote, and I am an Associate Financial Planner here at Apriem. I joined the Apriem family last year and I am coming up on my one-year anniversary with the firm this September. Entering the finance industry at a young age has given me a great opportunity to learn from uncommon situations. Changes of lifestyle through a pandemic, a war in Ukraine, economic inflation, and a market correction that investors might be uncomfortable with. These events will be in textbooks for future generations to learn from, how they started and how they concluded. I think back to my childhood, remembering my school days and asking myself, “why are we learning about stuff that happened 50 years ago”. I understand that these situations have great impacts on our economy and the psychological effects they have on investors. It all comes together why my teachers were preaching it then and will continue to do so.

Going back to the basics and staying disciplined, this plays a significant role with your financial plan. By taking some time and getting all your finances in order, our team can establish a financial plan for you and your family. The main objective of a financial plan is to help achieve client goals so that your portfolio can sustain your needs throughout your life and far beyond. Some people want to leave money to their heirs, some want to leave nothing and travel the world, and some want to donate to charity. It all depends on what your goals are and what type of investor you are. We look at things like your risk tolerance, growth rates, inflation, taxes and living expenses. With the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates another 0.75% last week and inflation/CPI (Consumer Price Index) coming in at 8.6% (highest since 1981), we must establish a risk profile. This makes us understand how much risk you can handle and how much return you are expecting given the risk. Once we have a proper risk profile and your financial plan is created, it is crucial that you stay disciplined and do not abandon ship on your financial plan if you expect it to work over the course of your life. In previous articles, we discussed that this is not a suitable time to start selling due to emotion but maybe more appropriate to start buying securities on opportunity. We here at Apriem look at this daily. My personal goals are to one day buy a home and raise a family in California. However, with property values skyrocketing over the last several years, I might be that 40-year-old still living at home, I bet my parents will be happy with that. Having an optimistic mindset and being a younger investor who can take on more risk, I must stay disciplined no matter the circumstances if I want to achieve my goals.

Another factor when creating a plan is having an “emergency fund.” The purpose of this fund is to have liquid cash on hand so you can use it in times of financial distress. Financial distress might be losing a job, major illness, or in this case market volatility. Implementing this into the plan is essential because it serves as a cushion during distress therefore avoiding selling securities during these volatile times. One thing to remember is this will not be the last market correction we will go through, and you must be prepared whenever the next one occurs. I am a visual person, and what I personally like about our financial plans are that they show clients real life “what if” scenarios. “Hope for the best, expect the worst,” as Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the UK announced back in 1833. We plan for this and everything in between.

As I was writing this article it made me think of one of my favorite movie quotes from Jerry Maguire, “help me, help you,” which I believe to be the best relationship between the client and advisor. With that, I want to emphasize the importance of our Financial Planning team. At Apriem, financial planning is included in your wealth management fee. We are unlike many other registered investment advisors since most firms charge separately for planning services. Please reach out to our team at financialplanning@apriem.com. Chris, Megan, and I are here to help you and your family attain financial freedom.

– Cole Ducote, AIF®

Disclosures:
Advisory services offered by Apriem Advisors (“Apriem”), a registered investment adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Any reference to or use of the terms “registered investment adviser” or “registered,” does not imply that Apriem Advisors or any person associated with Apriem Advisors has achieved a certain level of skill or training. Apriem Advisors may only transact business or render personalized investment advice in those states and international jurisdictions where we are registered, notice filed, or where we qualify for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. For complete information about our firm, please refer to our Form ADV Part 2A, 2B and CRS at any time.

All charts and data from Bloomberg unless otherwise indicated.

The information provided in this report should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security. There is no assurance that any securities discussed herein will remain in an account’s portfolio at the time you receive this report or that securities sold have not been repurchased. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The reader should not assume that investments in the securities identified were or will be profitable.

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