Checking In with Ara – April 2024

Hey everyone, it’s Ara with your monthly update. I hope you’re all doing well. I’ve been quite busy traveling back and forth between here and Scottsdale. Recently we just had our annual all-advisor meeting. It’s always fantastic to gather with advisors from across the nation, share ideas, learn about new products, and review the performance of portfolios. It’s a great opportunity for us to learn from each other and discover best practices.

On a personal note, I’m excited to share that I’ve booked a trip to Peru! I’ll be flying out at the end of May for a couple of weeks to hike Machu Picchu, indulge in some amazing food, and surf the longest wave in the world.

Let’s talk about what’s happening with stocks right now. It looks like interest rates are going to stay high for a bit longer because changes to policy rates are happening slowly, as they usually do. With things going back to normal from a growth standpoint, picking high-quality stocks is really important. This is especially true now, as stock prices are pretty high and expected earnings are not looking as good. So, it’s smart to look for stocks that are priced well, and that aren’t affected too much by high interest rates. We’ve got some of those in our portfolios. Even though the market is doing okay, it might be a good time to take some profit from our riskier investments, just to do some value averaging.

As always, I’m here to support you alongside Hank Gompers in our San Diego office, catering to our California clients. For any inquiries or assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (800) 644-1150, extension 11, where both Hank and I will be available to assist you. For our valued clients in Arizona, you can reach Steve Hague and me at the same number, extension 10. I’m looking forward to connecting with each of you soon.

Watch the video above to hear directly from Ara about the latest updates and insights.