February 2015: How to Accelerate (and not deflate) Your Way to Wealth

How did the first month of 2015 go for you? Are you on track to reach your goals?

Despite Seattle losing in the Superbowl, we wanted to share with you Coach Pete Carroll’s team rules as they are very similar to our principles for building wealth in your financial life:

1. Always protect the team (our rule – protect your family and wealth)
2. No whining, no complaining, no excuses (our rule – take responsibility)
3. Be early (our rule – don’t procrastinate).

With those rules in mind, here’s what we cover in our February 2015 newsletter to help you enjoy the present and accelerate your way to wealth

• How to Accelerate (and not deflate) Your Way to Wealth
• The Market Scoreboard for January 2015
• Illumination’s Media Spotlight: Financially Intelligent Insights
• Illumination’s Upcoming Events

Illumination’s Insights: How to Accelerate (and not deflate) Your Way to Wealth

This past month we conducted a webinar on Strategic Financial Planning that had information on how to accelerate your progress towards financial independence. We want you to win the Superbowl of your financial life. There are smartcuts if you have the proper knowledge and systems around your wealth. “Deflategate” is not needed. I highly recommend you to take a few minutes out of your day to listen in. Here are a few of the major topics that we cover:

• The critical number within your control that precisely determines the time it takes for your financial independence
• The simple formula anyone can use to calculate their retirement number
• The Rule of 300 and why it is integral to your financial success

Click here to watch the webinar.

Market Scoreboard: January 2015

The S&P 500 closed the month with a -3.10% loss, its worst monthly performance since its -3.56% plunge in January of last year. The S&P 500 has now fallen 4 of the last 5 weeks, including this past one. The overall market action continues to be extremely volatile and this type of behavior (which shows indecision) may be a precursor to a change in trend.

Sources: www.stockcharts.com. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.

Foreign markets, including Europe and Emerging markets both declined in January albeit at slower pace than U.S. equities, falling less than 1% each. At a time when U.S. central bankers have ended their money printing operation trough QE, Europe has made major commitments to begin it’s own QE program.

As equities sold off and economic data soured, bonds rallied and yields fell even further with the 10 year treasury note yield settling at 1.67%. This is it’s lowest level since early 2013. What’s interesting to note is that despite the strength in bonds (they outperformed stocks in 2014) they continue to be the most hated asset class and based on the surveys we follow indicated there is a lot of room for bond exposure to rise (despite the paltry yields).

In that regard, we regularly monitor the BAML survey of global fund managers. Among the various ways of measuring investor sentiment, this is one of the better ones as the results reflect how managers are allocated in various asset classes. These managers oversee a combined $700b in assets.

The data should be viewed mostly from a contrarian perspective; that is, when equities fall in price, allocations to cash go higher and allocations to equities go lower as investors become bearish, setting up a buy signal. When prices rise, the opposite occurs, setting up a sell signal.

In the January 2015 survey, fund managers were +51% overweight equities. The only other time equity allocations have been this high in the past year was in July 2014 – when equities fell later that month. The current overweight levels should be viewed with a skeptical eye as it says “who’s left to buy?” if they are already heavily invested.

Our Appearances

4 Ways You Can Use Your Kids to Lower Your Taxes

Personal Finance

New York Times: Savings Rates Are Anemic, but a Survey Shows They Are Less Paltry Online

CNBC: Tug-of-war: Fund retirement or kid’s college education?

Life

Business Insider: What 21 Extremely Successful People Were Doing At Age 25

Business

Washington Post: How 10 CEOs work smarter, manage better and get things done faster

Great Videos, Podcasts & TED Talks

Eventual Millionaire: One Tactic That Will Revolutionize Every Part of Your Life with Hal Elrod

Upcoming Events & Speaking

We are co-hosting a free webinar with Advisors on Target on Wealth Building through Strategic Business Planning on Wednesday, February 11th at 3pm PST. We will be covering the planning tactics that successful business owners utilize to run highly profitable businesses. We invite you to register here.

Matt is excited to be speaking at Questpoint, one of San Diego’s most dynamic and admired companies on February 25th. The topic he will be discussing is The 10 Most Important Things in Your Financial Life.

When it comes to your financial life, there are only a few things that you should focus on – the things that matter and the things you can control. In his talk, Matt will be discussing The 10 most important issues that make a real difference in your financial life.

If you company, colleagues or friends would benefit from unbaised, practical & actionable continuing financial educational workshops, please email matt@illuminationwealth.com to discuss the possibilities of taking your financial intelligence to the next level.

“The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions.” – William F Scolavino

Thanks for taking the time and being a part of our community and thank yourself for taking a few minutes to invest in your financial future.  If there are any topics that you would like us to address, please hit replay and let me know. We look forward to catching up with you soon.

All the Best,

Matt & The Illumination Wealth Team

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The opinions and forecasts expressed are those of Matt Rinkey, President of Illumination Wealth Management (IWM) and may not actually come to pass. Mr. Rinkey’s opinions and viewpoints regarding the future of the markets should not be construed as recommendations of any specific security or Illumination Wealth services. No part of this material is intended as an investment recommendation. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation to purchase or sell securities or any of IWM’s services. Do NOT ever purchase any security without doing sufficient research. There is no guarantee that investment objectives outlined will actually come to pass. Investors should consult an Investment Professional before investing in any investment program. Neither Mr. Rinkey or Illumination Wealth nor any of their employees shall have any liability for any loss sustained by anyone who has relied on the information contained herein. Entities including, but not limited to IWM, its officers, directors, employees, customers and affiliates may have a position, long or short, in the securities referred to herein, and/or other related securities, and may increase or decrease such position or take a contra position. The analysis contained is based on both technical and fundamental research. Although the information contain is derived from sources which are believed to be reliable, they cannot be guaranteed. Past performance is never a guarantee of future results.