What a year it has been. Yes, I realize that is an understatement, but I want to avoid the hyperbole that is so frequent in our news and social media. Let us just say that 2020 was a year that will lend plenty of material to the history books. Many have lost loved ones, others experiences and opportunities, some have even lost their businesses and livelihoods. But regardless of what side of the political aisle you find yourself on, I think we can all agree that our nation needs a little more empathy and a lot less pride. I do not wish to linger on this any further except to say that whatever you are going through, I hope you find peace this Christmas season in the only one who is truly able to grant such peace.
Now I want to take a moment to reflect on the past year for our clients as well as the creation of Provisio Retirement Partners and how things are going so far. The markets were quite unpredictable this year as evidenced by the fact that many thought quite early on that the bull market had finally come to an end. And who could blame them? Count me amongst the bears! It may be hard to remember now but this past spring the S&P 500 was down over 30% when the coronavirus reached our shores[i]. Yet, to everyone’s surprise, the markets rebounded on the backs of stimulus packages and efforts to curb the effects on the virus on our economy. Still, with a volatile election cycle looming, it was believed that the comeback wouldn’t survive to see the end of the year. But thanks in large part to a vaccine rollout and the potential for gridlock in congress, the market surged on and is now sitting at over 14% year to date as of this writing[ii]. Lesson learned: Don’t sleep on the U.S. economy.
For our clients, that has meant strong performance despite the various shutdowns which has allowed us to stay the course with their financial plans. For those in retirement, solid market performance enabled them to continue living the lifestyle they had planned for. For those in the accumulation years of their plan, the volatility of the market early on in the year presented opportunities to invest unlike anything that we have seen over the past several years. Overall, it has been an exceptionally good year for our clients, and we couldn’t be happier in that regard.
In addition to the rest of the craziness of 2020, we went through a transition of own back in March of this year. After over five years apart, my father, Todd Overbeek, and I decided to join forces and create a new partnership which we called Provisio Retirement Partners. It was definitely an odd time to start a new venture, but our clients were overwhelmingly supportive and the response we have gotten has been nothing short of incredible. They muddled through right along with us as we learned to communicate by Zoom call and the occasional outdoor coffee before the weather turned on us.
We truly could not be happier for our clients and we appreciate the trust that they have put in us over the years. Thank you all so much! We head into the new year optimistic and ready to face the next challenge that awaits us. But for now, we are looking forward to spending time with our families and celebrating the Christmas holiday. We hope that you are all able to enjoy time with loved ones this Christmas season (in whatever form that takes) and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year!
I almost forgot! I owe you a song of the week! Consider this tune my gift to you!
Merry Christmas
Alex and your Friends at Provisio Retirement Partners
[i]https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-sp500-sector-performance-march-bottom-rally-economy-2020-6-1029302057
[ii]https://ycharts.com/indicators/sp_500_1_year_return#:~:text=S%26P%20500%201%20Year%20Return%20is%20at%2015.30%25%2C%20compared%20to,month%20and%2013.80%25%20last%20year.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss