“It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.”

-Robert Kiyosaki

The current “wall of worry” is made up of concerns regarding: the timing of the next recession; the state of the (messy) political situation in Washington, including but not limited to the trade situation with China and ongoing impeachment proceedings; negative sovereign yields in Europe and Japan; IPOs of companies with no profits; income and wealth inequality; and other subjects.
While it is true that there is a fair amount to be concerned with, many (including Blackstone) are quick to ignore the strength of the consumer, continued GDP growth in the U.S., low unemployment, and growing corporate earnings. (We do not see a recession in the near future.) There is no distinction being made by Blackstone between high priced bonds and private equity versus a reasonably valued, but not cheap, stock market. And of course, their approach takes a “market” perspective instead of viewing the opportunity through the lens of a concentrated portfolio of fine growing businesses, which is what we at FLI utilize for client assets and our own assets. Read Full Perspective

The third quarter ended on a higher note despite many uncertainties including the political maelstrom of potential impeachment of the President. Continue Reading

On September 18, 2019 members of the First Long Island Investors Investment Committee held a web seminar where they reviewed the positive economic factors as well as the elements contributing to the wall of worry, all with the goal of making sense of the markets.  They covered our approach to investing and how we are recommending that clients adjust their portfolios for long-term growth.