Across the Globe, the entire world is watching closely the humanitarian impact unfolding in Ukraine.  We stand with all the individuals and families impacted and our hearts and thoughts are with them.  While the humanitarian crisis occurring in the Ukraine is deeply unsettling and is contributing to market volatility, we have been in a prolonged period of increased volatility for the last few years.  Most recently with the pandemic and its effects on the job market and the economy… then government spending concerns leading to inflationary fears and now geopolitical fears related to the Russian activities in the Ukraine.

Often in periods of uncertainty we hear “This time it is different” or “ It’s the same as before”.  Both statements cause us to look closer and make sure our research is sound and our trusted portfolio managers are on top of events and acting appropriately to safegard and grow your investments.  Sometimes this involves removing an idea that is no longer going to work due to recent changes, sometimes it is staying the course while the rest of the market panics.  Sometimes it is taking avantage of others’ panic in the market to add an idea to a portfolio that may now be on sale.

After reading many articles and reviewing lots of material this past week, it would appear that the consenus seems to be….the North American economy is relatively insulated from this specific event.  That said the individual investors and consumers will most likely feel some effects in the form of additional inflationary pressure.  The biggest impact will be to Russian stocks, bonds and currencies,  which our portfolios hold none of directly.  The upward pressure on oil and gas prices may actually help North American energy companies who have already been performing well in last 12 months.

This chart below shows market volatility during other periods of unrest and their subsequent recovery.The managers are opportunistically taking advantage of indiscriminate selling of certain stocks by the markets.

We are sending this commentary out to you to assure you that a lot of extra time has been spent this week researching this most recent event and how our partners view and are dealing with it.  While we don’t know how Russia’s plan for the Ukraine will turn out… we are confident that the managers are fully abreast of things and your investments are in good shape.

As always if you have any questions please call us directly.

Health, Happiness & Success!

Deb, Gary, Kelly & James