If you are feeling a bit queasy today, it’s with good reason. Stocks have declined precipitously over the last couple of days and there may well be more to come. There is no denying that it has been painful to watch.

Since we don’t know how steep or prolonged this decline may be, let’s spend a few minutes on what history has shown regarding stock market declines.

First, despite the pundits on TV and online, outside of an external event like a terrorist attack, no one knows what triggers a rapid sell off. Contributing factors MAY include the strong jobs report last week that raised inflation fears, the Federal Reserve’s likely interest rate hikes this year, Washington dysfunction, or a stock market that has been moving higher almost every day for the last year. The steep decline in the last several days is only a fraction of the huge stock market gains we have all gotten in the last year.

The US economy is strong. Corporate earnings are growing and both large and small companies stand to benefit from the recently passed tax legislation. The housing market continues to rebound, and consumer confidence and spending are increasing.

Obviously, the stock market and the economy don’t move in tandem every day, and this selloff might continue for a while, so how do we as investors respond?

Our recommendation, as always, is not to panic sell (or buy). While this is a difficult period for sure, history has shown that selling into a downturn rarely works out over the long term. Our goal for all of our clients is that you have a sufficient allocation to cash and bonds to both provide for near term cash needs and allow you to sleep at night during these periods.

The most important message we want to send this morning is that we are here. Call, email, or come by either office. If you are nervous and want to talk, that’s what we are here for.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2018!

Over the last several months, we’ve enjoyed showing many of you our new office (and Linder home) in North Carolina.

Now, we are excited to announce the opening of our new office in Atlanta, located in downtown Alpharetta. The new address and phone number:

308 Maxwell Rd, Suite 300
Alpharetta, GA 30009
770-696-4470

It’s still a bit of a work in progress, but the internet, phone, and coffee pot are working, so we are open for business and looking forward to seeing you.

Of course, the “brilliant” advice you receive from both offices is unchanged!

This is Charles this week writing a blog post while I nervously look out the windows at the swaying trees here in GA due to Irma. I’m hoping all of you are safe as you read this.

I honestly can’t say that I have often worried about identity theft, credit fraud, and the like. However, with the apparently catastrophic breach at Equifax reported last week, I decided on initiating a credit freeze with each of the three credit bureaus as these breaches are becoming the new normal. It was surprisingly easy to do online. My wife Lori will do it as well, and we are recommending it to our two grown kids (it can be done for minor children as well).

Basically, a credit freeze (or security freeze) allows you to seal your credit reports for as long as you’d like, and then requires a personal identification number (PIN) to temporarily “un-freeze” your credit when and if you need to apply for credit in the future (new credit cards, home loans, car loans, etc). This additional security means that criminals won’t be able to establish new credit in your name even if they obtain your personal information.

Freezing your credit does not impact your existing lines of credit in any way, nor does it affect your credit rating. I suppose if you need frequent access to your credit reports for work or for regularly creating new accounts, then you may not want to use this technique, but for me it seemed like a no-brainer.

The cost ranges from about $3 to $10 per person per bureau to freeze a credit report (was $3 in GA). It’ll cost you that amount again if you want to thaw your credit in the future, which is also done online just as easily. Small price to pay for peace of mind in my view.

Additionally, I’d like to recommend signing up for Credit Karma which is a free service that allows you to monitor your credit ratings and all reported credit activity for your various accounts. It can be used on a PC or via a smartphone app. Just google Credit Karma or find it in your App Store. I’ve used it for several years.

Here are the links for the three credit bureaus:

Equifax – https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
Experian – https://www.experian.com/ncaconline/freeze
TransUnion – https://freeze.transunion.com/sf/securityFreeze/landingPage.jsp

As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to one of us.