Insights matter.

The current bull market is the second longest on record in the post-WWII era, leading many market participants to wonder if there really is too much of a good thing. In the past, we have made mention of the challenges of predicting the future direction of the markets. However, not knowing where things are going doesn’t prevent us from taking stock of where things currently stand. At the surface, when we look at valuation measures and other fundamentals and compare them to historical

As thought partners to our families, one of our principle goals is to help them gain a fuller understanding of the investments they make. We believe a key component to making decisions that are most suitable and consistent with each family’s objectives and aspirations is answering the questions “What do we own?” and “Why do we own it?” One growing area of focus has been a desire to understand how our investments address and impact Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through 2017! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were coming into the year with some tempered optimism for the year ahead.  The first six months of this year have not lacked for action. Stock markets around the world have rallied, led by improving profit trends and higher valuations. Bonds have been surprisingly resilient. The one area of weakness has been commodities, led in particular by oil prices, which

Sometimes the hardest advice to give is to those closest to us. While we don’t pretend to have the secret recipe for success, we have found that objectivity, independence and clarity are essential. Here’s a bit more detail as to how we think about helping aging parents. 1. Use an independent, neutral advisor to facilitate the planning. This person can gather information, identify gaps, detect patterns, and provide thoughtful solutions. It is important that the advisor meets with parents and

Our research consultant, Asset Consulting Group, recently completed an analysis (click here to read) that addresses the growing concern that investors have become complacent. The “complacency index” (bear with us as we delve a little into the weeds here) is an index that is constructed by taking current valuations and dividing them by the market volatility. The higher the number, the higher the degree of “complacency” in the market. As the analysis shows, current levels seem to point to the

It’s only March, but summer is just around the corner. Should teens be considering a summer job? According to Richard Weissbourd, a lecturer and research at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education quoted in this Quartz article, the answer is a resounding “yes!” Weissbourd doesn’t necessarily recommend a high-profile internship, either. He believes teens benefit much more from jobs in the service industry, where they get to see life through “a radically different lens.” “The lessons are huge,” said Richard Weissbourd, a lecturer

At Matter Family Office, we assemble a customized client team for each family. This is vastly different from the common practice in our industry. Typically, other firms assign clients to permanent teams that operate as silos led by a single advisor. Often, compensation for these teams is tied directly to the client revenue they manage or that they bring in with new clients. We believe this “silo” model creates inherent internal competition that limits collaboration and idea sharing. This structure

In a year filled with high drama and surprising turns, 2016 has been unexpectedly good in the markets. As this market monitor through November 18th reflects, returns this year have been better than anticipated. Global stocks have returned 5%, with US continuing to lead the way. In addition, Emerging Market stocks, despite pulling back following the US elections, have posted returns just below 9% for the year. Fixed Income has generally been additive to portfolios, with high yield on pace for its

The close of the second quarter was not without its dramatics. On June 23rd, the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, a partnership to which they had been party (in one way or another) for over 40 years! The trading days that followed exemplified general uncertainty about the consequences of the vote, which we commented on in a brief note on June 24th. The markets reacted and then “un-reacted” to the news, and the net

Around the beginning of every New Year, we are treated to an array of prognostications by various market pundits, who would propose to tell us, as investors, where the markets are headed for the following 12 months. The S&P 500 index will end the year at X and the price of oil will be Y, they tell us. No doubt, significant thought and research go into these predictions. Sadly, however, despite being well-intentioned, hindsight usually proves that accuracy in such

We are proud to announce that we have been named as one of the Top 9 Financial Advisors in the St. Louis Area by Advisory HQ. Please visit the Advisory HQ site to learn more about how top advisors are selected: http://www.advisoryhq.com/articles/best-rated-financial-advisors-in-st-louis-mo/ Please Note: There are many different awards and rankings presented in the financial advisor industry. Matter Family Office does not, nor has it ever, solicited any third party for awards or recognition, nor pay any type of fee

We are writing to share our perspective on the current volatility in the market. Emotions can be our greatest adversary. We, therefore, as your advisors, seek refuge in facts to frame and provide perspective. To help make some sense of this unprecedented beginning of year correction, we believe it is helpful to look at this episode in context and, more importantly, to provide clarity on what we are thinking as it relates to your investment portfolios. The beginning of 2016