Click below to read our March 2022 Blog edition.

We would enjoy receiving your feedback on our Blog. Please share any comments or suggestions for future topics with us via email.

Team Franz new mobile headquarters

Artist's rendering of Guthrie family vacation.

STOCKS AND INFLATION – During the 16 highest inflation years over the last 100 years, i.e., 1922-2021, the S&P 500 has been “up” 8 years and “down” 8 years. The index’s average return for all 16 years is a gain of +3.9% per year (total return). The S&P 500 consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. It is a market value weighted index with each stock's weight in the index proportionate to its market value. The “Consumer Price Index” was used as the inflation benchmark (source: BTN Research).

FIRST OF MANY – The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise short-term interest rates this Wednesday (3/16/2022), in what would be its first rate hike since 12/19/2018. The rate hike on 12/19/2018 was the Fed’s 8th rate increase implemented over a 2-year period that began on 12/14/2016 (source: Federal Reserve).

LESS THAN WHAT YOU THINK – The average single family home in the United States has appreciated just +4.7% per year over the 25 years from 12/31/1996 to 12/31/2021 (source: Federal Housing Finance Agency).

READY FOR CHANGE – 27.1 million Americans moved last year, 8.4% of the US population. That’s the lowest percentage of Americans that reported living at a different residence based on an annual survey conducted since 1948. Of the 27.1 million movers in 2021, just 4.4 million people moved out-of-state. 25 years earlier (1996), 16.3% of Americans moved in the prior 12 months (source: Census Bureau).

THE AVERAGE WORKER – Average hourly earnings in the private sector (nonfarm) reached $31.58 an hour as of 2/28/2022, up +5.1% on a year-over-year basis. 10 years earlier (2/29/2012), average hourly earnings in the private sector were $23.27 an hour (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics).

WORKING FULL TIME – The number of Americans with full-time jobs peaked at 152.5 million as of 2/29/2020 (pre-pandemic), fell to 130.5 million as of 4/30/2020, and has since rebounded to 150.4 million as of 2/28/2022 (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics).

MAXED OUT – Only 8.5% of workers who have access to an employer-sponsored defined contribution plan, e.g., 401(k) plan, contribute the maximum amount permitted by law (source: Congressional Research Service).

EDUCATION – 62% of American adults have received education beyond high school, including adults with some college credits all the way to those adults who have earned a doctoral degree (source: Census Bureau).

HIGHEST PRICE FOR CRUDE OIL – US consumers imported $29.7 billion of goods from Russia in 2021. US consumers imported $506.4 billion of goods from China in 2021 (source: Department of Commerce).

IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA AND CHINA – Inflation, as measured by the “Consumer Price Index” (CPI), was up +7.0% in 2021 after rising just +1.4% in 2020. The +7.0% annual inflation was the highest calendar year inflation since 1981 and was the highest year-over-year inflation since June 1982 (source: Department of Labor).

CRYPTO – President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday 3/09/2022 that sets in motion the research and development of an American “Central Bank Digital Currency” (CBDC). 19% of US small businesses expect to offer cryptocurrencies as a payment option in 2022 (source: White House).

Invented by The Economist in 1986, the Big Mac Index is a lighthearted way to demonstrate the concept of purchasing power parity.

Click here to view the full article.

There is an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as the Russian military invades and destroys more and more of the country each day. Images of the destruction and the invasion’s impact on the Ukrainian people are shown daily on news and social media. Over the past few months, markets the world over have been impacted as we begin to realize our reliance on goods and services from Eastern European countries.

This “scenarios” report was recently shared with us and we wanted to share it with you too. These insights on possible outcomes from the current crisis in Ukraine are provided by portfolio strategists at Natixis Investments. Please keep in mind that this article was written earlier in the week. Events in Ukraine may have changed since it was published.

Click here to continue reading this article.

When the time comes for your child to start a life on their own, you may want to help them make that jump. You aren’t alone, because according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 23% of those 37 and younger used a gift and 6% used a loan from family or friends to purchase their home. There are various ways parents can help out. Maybe it’s through giving sage home buying advice, spending your time helping them research or helping out financially through lending, co-signing or buying a house with your child.

Whatever the case may be, we want to help guide you through this process to ensure that you set up yourself (and your child) for financial success. Parents who help out are giving their kids an average of $39,000 to buy a home and putting their own retirement at risk in the process.

Click here to continue reading this article.

It used to be that Americans with tax-favored retirement plans focused mainly on how to get money into them. Now, savers are more and more concerned with how much must be withdrawn, and when—including at death or after.

“Virtually all affluent families—as opposed to very wealthy ones—now have significant assets in retirement plans, and it’s essential to focus on them when doing estate planning,” says Natalie Choate, an attorney in Wellesley, Mass., who specializes in retirement plans.

Total assets in traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, 401(k)s and similar tax-sheltered retirement vehicles grew to $22 trillion in 2020 from $3 trillion in 1995, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Click here to continue reading this article.