What a quarter it was with some tough headline noise…a bank failure, earnings declines, and the Fed raising rates. With all that, our diversified portfolios had a nice quarter and we picked up some gains in the international, bond, and tech areas(unexpected).   As I’ve mentioned to you in our calls and emails, this year in the 4 year presidential cycle tends to be the best and we rarely have 2 negative years in a row.  It still remains to be seen how much of a recession we will have and it’s effect on corporate earnings and the Fed’s next move.  It’s been a test of patience for all of us for nearly 18 months and our team is grateful for your long term focus. See this for more detail on the quarter: here SWM NEWS:We are pleased to introduce Danielle Santerre, replacing Allison, as our new Private Client Associate.  She can be reached at dsanterre@janney.com or 404-926-2010(same number as before). She brings 24 years of banking experience from Truist and Suntrust bank. She is very active in the community and currently active with the Women’s Interactive Network with Janney. She enjoys traveling, exercising, and spending time with her family and is the proud mom to three daughters that are currently students at Florida State and Georgia Southern University.  

What a treat to have our firm’s Chief Investment Strategist

As I begin my 29th year as a Financial Advisor, it still amazes me how much emphasis is put on NEW YEAR predictions.  It might be a “feel good” moment when one sees a large firm predict the market being up 10% or more, yet these predictions are rarely right…like the weatherman. In fact, last year, all of the large firm market forecasts were wrong.  Last year, I suggested in January we were due for a tough year and that bear markets or corrections are healthy and happen every so often. S&P 500 down nearly 20% and Bonds down nearly 15% for 2022.  It was one of those rare years where both bonds and stocks were down. The good news for 2023 is that bonds now yield over 4% and will provide a nice dividend going forward. The stock market, however, has more potential volatility ahead and is tough to call in the next 6 months. I believe we will have more clarity on this recession and the FED over the next quarter or two.   Our team continues to diversify our clients for long term, with a focus on dividends. We continue to keep liquidity a priority for our retired clients so they can continue their active lifestyle into 2023. Thanks for your confidence and here is the summary on the numbers: Annual Summary 2022SWM news:In December, we refreshed and updated our website. Besides our quarterly update, check out the “what we do” area (perfect for client introductions) and our “recent updates” section which contains timely educational articles and whitepapers.  Here is our new team picture (don’t we look younger???).Jeff is enjoying more free time, with both kids in college, golfing/visiting family/hawks games. Here is a snapshot from their visit during the holidays.Allison had a blast celebrating Christmas with her family. All of her kids were very happy!The McKane family has been busy this fall. Hughes started playing NYO tee-ball and soccer and Ridley continued to participate in Tophat soccer and played some basketball. Kevin and Meg rang in the New Year by attending the UGA win over Ohio State….Go Dawgs!!