Left Brain Thinking

I don't know about you all, but it seems like things are starting to feel different in the markets.

We've gotten through most of earnings season and corporate profits are looking strong despite inflation. This week marked the 4th straight week of broad-base market gains.

This week we received even more good news, as month over month inflation came in at 0.0% for the month of July, which has us asking "Have we reached peak inflation?"

CEO Noland Langford and Director of Research, Brian Dress, try to answer this question, along with another one we've been hearing from clients and other investors: "What should we do with cash in the bank?" With things starting to look up, we think it's time to consider putting excess funds back to work.

Topic 1: Have We Reached Peak Inflation? Topic 2: What to Do with Cash in the Bank

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We think it's time for investors to consider putting excess cash back in stock and bond markets, where the momentum is looking better and long-term prospects look strong.

For a portfolio review and to learn more about our "bounce back" list of stocks and our model bond portfolio, head to https://leftbrainir.com/free-portfolio-review or get on Brian's calendar directly at https://calendly.com/briandress. You can reach Brian at (630) 547-3316 or at [email protected]

It does certainly that the sun is peeking out from the clouds in the markets.

We've always said a great indicator of changing market sentiment is a positive reaction to bad or neutral news.

This week we had the Federal Reserve raising rates (bad news) and a set of earnings reports that were mixed (neutral). Through it all, we saw investors expressing improved sentiment in the form of higher stock prices.

This week, CEO Noland Langford and Director of Research, Brian Dress, cover another busy week of earnings reports, as well as the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates by 0.75%. We end by previewing some of the more important earnings reports for next week. Topic 1: The Fed Weighs In Topic 2: Earnings Review

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Sign up for our research service to receive this week's "The Chosen" report at https://leftbrainir.com/subscribe.

Whether you hold stocks or bonds in your portfolio, odds are you are down for the year. For a portfolio review and to learn more about our "bounce back" list of stocks and our model bond portfolio, head to https://leftbrainir.com/free-portfolio-review or get on Brian's calendar directly at https://calendly.com/briandress. You can reach Brian at (630) 547-3316 or at [email protected]

As investors, we are all trying to make sense of the current market landscape and position for the eventual recovery.

This week on the Left Brain Thinking podcast, we are joined by Andrew Horowitz, a Registered Investment Advisor and pioneer in the podcasting space.

In our time together, we discussed why we don't do our own haircuts and the concept of "designing a portfolio like a flower garden," two interesting metaphors for how investors should proceed with trying to grow their retirement nest eggs.

We examine the difference between first-level and second-level thinking as it impacts investors. We also discuss the "hellacious" impact of inflation and Andrew's view that "we are talking ourselves into a recession".

Andrew also has a hilarious take on the financial media's pet term "capitulation" and whether we need to see it before markets can begin on the road to recovery.

We close out with the sectors in which Andrew thinks opportunities are developing because the economic cycle isn't dead and will never be.

To hear more from Andrew, check out his podcast "The Disciplined Investor" on your favorite podcast aggregator or visit his website at https://thedisciplinedinvestor.com/

This week we speak to some of the issues business owners face as they develop the type of succession plan that secures the future for their families, long after they are gone.

We sat down with George Gore, CFP, President of Capitas Financial Midwest, who specializes in Estate Planning and Business Succession, along with Life Insurance Planning.

We covered an awful lot of ground on this episode. The basic thrust of the episode is the concept that death, disability, and severe market conditions are all potential events that could cause a forced sale of a family business, absent a proper contingency plan.

George shares his experiences seeing many families forced to sell a business when the key principal passes and his views on the best ways to avoid an unwanted outcome, all of which business owners should do proactively before it is too late:

(1) Determining whether the business is sustainable without the key principal.

(2) Having funding mechanisms in place to transfer the business to the next owner.

(3) Retaining expert advice from financial advisors, legal, accounting, and insurance planning specialists.

(4) Utilizing life insurance and gifting exemptions to create a tax-efficient transfer when the time comes.

George also explains how changes to the tax laws coming in 2025 make proper succession and legacy planning all the more critical in the coming years.

To contact George, you can find him at https://www.capitasfinancial.com/location/05-capitas-financial-midwest-llc-illinois

Despite many portrayals in the media, the Millennial generation is coming of age, advancing in careers and starting families.

As millennials enter a new phase in life, new financial challenges present themselves on a daily basis: saving for retirement, saving for kids' college, helping aging parents, and many more. With all these financial pressures, we think it's time for many millennials to think about working with a financial advisor.

This week we are joined on Left Brain Thinking by Anna Kareis of Northwestern Mutual, who bills herself as a "Financial Advisor for Ambitious Millennials".

On this week's episode we cover a lot of ground on topics that matter to this generation that is a rising force in the world of finance, including:

(1) How investing is different for millennials

(2) Challenges advisors face when working with millennials especially navigating certain media narratives

(3) Balancing priorities when making financial decisions

(4) How millennials can get started with investing and overcome "paralysis by analysis"

To reach Anna, you can find her on various social media channels:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-kareis/

Email: [email protected]

For this week's Left Brain Thinking podcast we welcomed Vince Carter from the CFO at Home Podcast. Vince specializes in helping folks navigate the financial challenges that inevitably reveal themselves in any relationship or family.

On the podcast, Vince gives us his views on personal finance in the context of family. We talk about how most people's opinions about money are formed at an early age, which creates complications as partners attempt to marry their "Money Stories" to attack their shared financial goals.

Vince shares with us how couples can bridge the gap between spouses who have different levels of competence in financial matters to get buy-in from both parties on important issues like family budgeting.

We close out the show by hearing Vince's thoughts on how parents can best instill good money values in their children by modeling the right financial behaviors and bringing them in on the reality of household finances. By being open about our financial decision making process, we can help combat the "money shame" that often leads to less than ideal financial outcomes for our children's education and, ultimately, our retirement.

To learn more about what Vince does, check out his weekly podcast, which you can find at his website https://www.thecfoathome.com/

The real estate market has been overheated over the last few years, with the combination of low interest rates and low levels of housing inventory. Purchasing a home is often the cornerstone of investors' financial plan, so we wanted to welcome an expert to hopefully answer the types of questions that come up in the process.

On this week's Left Brain Thinking podcast, we welcome Samir Rashed, Owner/President of Crefco Financial in Shaker Heights, Ohio to talk real estate and mortgage finance.

Samir's business motto is helping to uplift, educate, and inspire through home ownership. We discuss how Samir got into the business, the challenges he sees for homebuyers in the current market, and how folks in the market for house can maximize their chances to purchase their dream home.

Other topics we cover in the podcast:

• Situations where refinancing your home loan makes sense, even though rates have risen
• The process of buying a 2nd (or 3rd, 4th home) and what investors need to know
• How 1st time homebuyers can get more bang for their buck by purchasing multifamily properties
• The nuances around jumbo mortgages
• How student loans and credit card debt factor into mortgage finance

If you want to connect with Samir and Crefco Financial, you can find him (or his wife and COO Darlene Rashed) on LinkedIn, where they produce regular content about real estate and mortgages. Other ways to contact Samir and Crefco are:

Website: https://www.cfgohio.com/ Twitter: @CFGOhio Instagram: @CFGOhio Facebook: CFGOhio

Two stories dominated the headlines this week: the Federal Reserve's 0.5% interest rate hike and more earnings reports. Initially, markets rallied sharply on Wednesday after the Fed's press conference, but gave it all back (and then some) on Thursday.

This week, CEO Noland Langford and Director of Research, Brian Dress, discuss this week's earnings implosions, a few earnings reports that impressed us, and the fact that even some of the "good" stocks are selling off.

Topic 1: Earnings Implosions Topic 2: Impressive Earnings Topic 3: Even the "Good" Stocks are Selling Off

Get signed up to our newsletter list: https://leftbrainir.com/jarvisnewsletter. Special offer this for new subscribers to our research service (basic subscription) https://leftbrainir.com/subscribe. Enter the promo code Jarvis59 at checkout to receive our basic subscription for $59/month for your first 3 months!

Whether you hold stocks or bonds in your portfolio, odds are you are down for the year. For a portfolio review and to learn more about our portfolio recovery strategy, head to https://leftbrainir.com/free-portfolio-review or get on Brian's calendar directly at https://calendly.com/briandress. You can reach Brian at (630) 547-3316 or at [email protected]

Earnings Season dominated this week's headlines and we saw yet another volatile week, with all the major indexes down for the last five days of trading. Whether you hold stocks or bonds in your portfolio, odds are you are down for the year.

This week, CEO Noland Langford and Director of Research Brian Dress discuss how we can use active management to develop a plan for portfolio recovery. The stocks we cover this week offer passive income in the form of high dividend yield and all three could be considered value investments on some level.

Stock 1: Kraft Heinz (KHC) Stock 2: Best Buy (BBY) Stock 3: International Business Machines (IBM)

Get signed up to our newsletter list: https://leftbrainir.com/jarvisnewsletter.

Special offer this for new subscribers to our research service (basic subscription) https://leftbrainir.com/subscribe. Enter the promo code Jarvis59 at checkout to receive our basic subscription for $59/month for your first 3 months!

For a portfolio review, head to https://leftbrainir.com/free-portfolio-review or get on Brian's calendar directly at https://calendly.com/briandress. You can reach Brian at (630) 547-3316 or at [email protected].

This week we welcome Kris, Founder of From Growth to Value and the man behind the Potential Multibaggers subscription service on Seeking Alpha. He is a long-term growth investor that looks for stocks that have the potential to generate a 10x return over a 10 year period.

On the episode, we learn about Kris's journey from a life as a teacher to a professional stock analyst, his investing philosophy that prioritizes companies that engage with true long-term trends, and discuss three of his favorite stock ideas:

(1) Constellation Software (CNSWF) (2) Roku (ROKU) (3) Fiverr (FVRR)

To engage with Kris's content, you can follow him @FromValue on Twitter or on Seeking Alpha at Potential Multibaggers, or at his other research service, Best Anchor Stocks

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Look for new episodes of the podcast every other Tuesday morning!