Stock Markets & Tax Information

This was an email we sent to our clients last week that we wanted to share on our blog.

To state the obvious, it has been a difficult start to the year for global stock markets.  I don’t want to add to the noise you hear on TV or read about.  As you know, predictions on where its going from here is not what we do.  We believe in taking the appropriate level of risk for your goals and time horizons, then rebalancing back to that level on a regular basis.  For the investments you own that have a shorter time horizon, or, that you have chosen to have a more balanced risk allocation with, it is safe to assume you are not down as much as what you hear reported on the news.  For your aggressive, longer term investments, it is safe to say you are.  That is by design as you have time for them to recover.

For those who have read our investment updates in the past, you will surely remember our theme of the markets taking the stairs up, and the elevator down.  For those who are new to reading this blog, the two links below (from Oct 2014 and July 2015) will give you a glimpse of that theme. 

 http://singlepointpartners.blogspot.com/2014/10/spp-investment-update.html

 http://singlepointpartners.blogspot.com/2015/07/investment-update.html

As for right now, a time like this is typically not a good time to make any major shifts in your investments.  It can be a time to revisit risk tolerance, to determine if a longer term shift should be made at a more stable time in the markets.  In the meantime, you will most likely get a note from us at some point over the next few weeks letting you know that we have rebalanced your account back to the appropriate long term level of risk. 

As always, we are here if you have questions.  It is normal to feel anxious about your money during times like these.  Sometimes reviewing your long term plan, and the goals for the funds, can help keep things in perspective. 

On a separate note, we are entering tax season.  For those who take distributions from IRAs, you probably have noticed the tax forms beginning to come in.  For taxable investment accounts, these aren’t typically available until the end of February.  As a reminder, each year we send our you a personalized checklist of the tax forms we expect you to need to file your taxes.  We’ll be sending those out to each of you in February, so be on the lookout for that email.