The Morningstar broad index is up 16.52% YTD and up 8.49% in the last quarter. Large cap growth is coming back from the beating it took at the end of last year. The Federal reserve skipped raising interest rates last session. I think they were hoping the GDP growth would slow down, but it did not. The numbers that just came out show they were not correct in this assumption. The ECB (European Central Bank) increased their rates and, in a bit of irony, they maybe should have been the ones to have skipped a rate increase, given that growth did slow overseas. This, once again, shows trying to predict economies is close to impossible! You cannot time the market. Most people were very bearish in January.
So much for the markets. We will continue to use a long-term view of not trying to hit home runs, which more often than not ends poorly, but look for well-run profitable companies with solid realistic growth.
I want to spend the rest of this letter to you to help you understand the Schwab purchase of TD Ameritrade (TD) and what it means to you. The conversion is scheduled to happen on September 5, 2023. You will start to receive a key takeaway letter from Schwab soon, if you have not received one already. All your accounts and positions will automatically transfer to Schwab at that time. You will be assigned a new account number. If you are not set up on TD’s “advisorclient.com” website, we will help you set it up if you desire to use that platform. If you are currently using TD’s platform, about 60 days prior to the conversion to Schwab, you will log into Advisorclient.com and you will be given a choice to create a new username or keep your existing name. TD will send a link to log into the “SchwabAlliance.com” website. That’s it. From what we can tell on our end, there appears to be improvements from TD’s platform. Nick, Keith, Kathy, Alison & I will be available to help answer any questions you might have. We are currently reviewing our records to see if anyone is not set up on the TD AdvisorClient.com site to try and help make the conversion even smoother. Schwab has currently created a website which will go into more detail on the conversion. The site is “welcome.schwaab.com/alliance”, should you wish to access the new platform.
Please call or write if you have questions. We all thank you and hope you have a great summer! Sincerely,
Willis Ashby, President and CFP®
Wall Street Journal First Trust
Zacks Research
5105 DTC PKWY Ste 316
Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111 United States
5105 DTC PKWY Ste 316
Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111 United States