Matt Ward is our Financial Advisor member. Matt stated that when making recommendations about stock market investing, he relies on both his own research and the research that is provided by R.W. Baird. He gave us a handout from Baird that summarizes the 2nd quarter od 2014 and provides their outlook on future market trends. This was not a typical June. There were some positives such as solid corporate earnings and the stock prices went up with the volatility being low. Given the geo-political situation and the potential ending of the quantitative easing by the Fed, it is anticipated that higher volatility is in the future.

At this point, energy and utilities are strong performers. Matt see a rotation in large capital stocks, people are seeking more safety in their investments. With the ongoing zero interest rate, people have let their guard down with the good market that has been happening. Matt talked about what will happen when the quantitative easing ends. Bond yield typically will be affected as well as stock prices. The S&P might be overvalued.In a long term perspective, diversification of an investment portfolio is a strategy with the components based on a risk tolerance perspective. He mentioned the pros and cons of having precious metals in the investment portfolio.

Remember Matt Ward and R.W. Baird when you hear your associates mention that they have questions about their investments and are looking to have their financial portfolios re-evaluated.