Our Services

While developing a customized financial program, we will walk you through a step-by-step process that will help make you feel confident in your decisions.

Once your goals have been established, we will customize appropriate strategies to help you meet or exceed your longer term goals and objectives. We can help you execute a sound financial program utilizing a wide variety of financial products and services. Often it pays to think outside the box, and consider products and strategies that you may not have thought of using to meet your goals, or risk tolerance, or comfort levels.

Our commentary on the current state of affairs–spring and summer of 2018…

A Time For Caution?

We are not always bearish on the stock markets ( in fact, at times we are pounding the table bullish!), but for now, we are concerned enough to urge people to reduce their equities exposures. The US stock markets seem at least partially artificial at current levels, supported by massive stock buybacks, and 8-9 years of zero interest rate policy ( ZIRP) from the Federal Reserve.  S&P 500 profits have been slowing for several quarters in a row, and yet the markets are trading near all-time highs.  We are concerned that there may be plenty of opportunities to lose money in the next couple of years or more by staying fully invested. in our view. It is time to adopt more of a “preservation of capital” stance than the traditional “pursuit of long term growth” stance that is the more usual stance investors mostly focus on.

Come talk to us–we can often preserve all or most of your capital from market risks, and reduce your annual costs at the same time. Please ask us how.

Income Planning in a Near Zero Interest Rate Environment

Generating safe and sustainable income in retirement has become an increasingly difficult task for many retirees. Interest rates have been falling and have been so low for so long that many people are taking risks in stocks and real estate that they might otherwise not do.  They are attempting to not deplete their underlying capital base by using up more than they are earning, but may end up depleting that base or nest egg anyway, in the next stock market or real estate crash or prolonged decline.  There are several ways to skin the income cat, so to speak, and we would welcome the opportunity to show or discuss some of these with you, if this predicament describes you to any degree.

Could Interest Rates Go Negative Here in the US?

Our answer to this troubling question is a definite yes, and we think that the Federal Reserve chairwoman herself has hinted that this hard to wrap your head around situation may be coming to America. Interest rates have been negative in Japan for several months now, and in Europe for over two years now. Incredibly, there is approximately $11 trillion worth of government bonds, in Europe and Japan, as of July of 2016, that is trading at a negative yield!  There is over $27 Trillion, including that previously mentioned $11 trillion, trading at less than a 1% yield!  While we are hopeful that interest rates do not ever go negative here, we think the likelihood is increasing, and that the Fed is hinting at this possibility. See here and here and here.

The implications are vast for almost all retirees and all investors ( even the 25 and 35 year olds) if rates do go into negative territory here any time soon.  We believe are already in uncharted waters in many respects, in the sense that we have never seen rates this low for this long. Also, in our opinion, if interest rates do go negative here for more than just a few months, we think we may lose many attractive options, vehicles, and strategies that we can currently offer you today. It is certainly worth discussing and understanding, in our view.  If you agree, or would like to learn more about how negative rates, or a continuation of the near zero interest rate policy would likely affect your various financial holdings, call us or email us for a free 3 page report–How Zero and Negative Rates Will Affect Various Asset Classes..

Applewood Asset Management is pleased to offer the following services and more…

• • Tax management
  • Investment management
  • Retirement income strategies 
  • Estate and Legacy Planning
  • Insurance and annuity products