Market commentary and client letters from White Oak Financial Management, a fee-based fiduciary investment management firm in Asheville, North Carolina.https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/en-usCopyright 2026 White Oak Financial Management, Inc.https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/08/17/market-at-all-time-highs-should-we-be-worried/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/08/17/market-at-all-time-highs-should-we-be-worried/I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer. It's been hot in Asheville, but we've had enough rain over the past month to keep things green. The stock market is once again near all-time highs. And when markets reach these levels, it's natural to wonder whether they've simply…Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/08/13/market-commentary-from-laura-mccue/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/08/13/market-commentary-from-laura-mccue/The past several weeks have been a good reminder of something we see repeatedly in investing: the stock market can move quickly, even when the underlying economy and long-term outlook have not changed dramatically. After a strong first half of 2026, U.S. equities experienced a period of increased volatility beginning…Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/06/03/white-oak-privacy-policy/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/06/03/white-oak-privacy-policy/Please see the link to our updated Customer Privacy Policy Notice, which describes how we protect your personal information. This notice is provided annually and when updated as required by federal securities law. We have prepared a condensed version that includes all required information in an easy-to-read format. You can…Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brittany Teeters)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/05/26/solid-earnings-shifting-conditions-a-mid-year-perspective/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/05/26/solid-earnings-shifting-conditions-a-mid-year-perspective/I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. Asheville got some much-needed rain over the weekend, so it didn't really feel like the start to summer. With the bulk of first quarter earnings season behind us, I want to share what the data are telling us. The results have…Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/03/21/navigating-the-market-war-rotation-and-earnings/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/03/21/navigating-the-market-war-rotation-and-earnings/I hope you are well and enjoying the first tastes of spring. The daffodils and redbuds are blooming here in Asheville, but the financial markets are certainly putting a damper on things. Let me take a few minutes to share my thoughts on what's happening, why, and how I'm thinking…Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/01/16/important-white-oak-annual-disclosure-update/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2026/01/16/important-white-oak-annual-disclosure-update/As part of our commitment to transparency and in accordance with SEC regulations, we are providing you with our updated disclosure documents for 2026. What's New: Effective January 1, 2026, White Oak simplified its fee calculation methodology, moving from a cash-flow-adjusted method to a straight average daily balance calculation. This…Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/12/24/happy-holidays-a-look-at-us-gdp/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/12/24/happy-holidays-a-look-at-us-gdp/I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season surrounded by family and friends. Amidst the festivities, I wanted to share some thoughts on the U.S. economy following the latest GDP report released this week. Despite a year marked by significant political and policy shifts, the data shows an economy…Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/11/12/year-end-charitable-giving-strategies/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/11/12/year-end-charitable-giving-strategies/As we approach year-end, many clients are thinking about charitable giving—both to support the causes they care about and to take advantage of available tax benefits. Because the standard deduction has increased significantly in recent years, fewer taxpayers now itemize deductions. For 2025, the standard deduction is $15,750 for single…Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/10/10/market-volatility-and-earnings-season-ahead/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/10/10/market-volatility-and-earnings-season-ahead/I hope you are well as we head into what we all hope will be a beautiful fall. Here in Asheville, we recently marked one year since Hurricane Helene devastated our region. Recovery continues, and while we still have a long way to go, it's encouraging to see our community's…Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/07/28/a-view-of-the-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/07/28/a-view-of-the-markets/I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer. Asheville’s cool and rainy early summer has morphed into a hot and humid July. As is probably the case for many of you, I’m ready for a break. Since my emails from April’s tariff-induced volatility, the market has recovered and…Mon, 28 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/05/06/market-commentary-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/05/06/market-commentary-2/April was another whirlwind of a month for markets, which were shaken to their core by the larger than anticipated reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2nd. The S&P 500 peaked with an intraday high of 5,695.31 on April 2nd, then bottomed out with an intraday low of 4,835.04 on the…Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/05/01/the-r-word/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/05/01/the-r-word/I hope you are all well. Asheville is, thankfully, enjoying a beautiful spring and the recovery efforts are continuing. Much of the region is back to normal and visitors are encouraged to return to enjoy our mountains. News out yesterday: first quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) contracted at an annualized…Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/04/06/tariffs-and-market-stress/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/04/06/tariffs-and-market-stress/I hope you all are well, and that spring is springing in your neighborhood. Asheville is coming along in its recovery. Except for those hard-hit flooded areas of the region, things are mostly back to normal. What’s not normal were the market drops on Thursday and Friday. Across those two…Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/03/27/annual-regulatory-documents/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/03/27/annual-regulatory-documents/As we communicated earlier in the year, White Oak's registration with the SEC brings new requirements for ensuring clients have easy access to the regulatory documents under which we operate. Our up-to-date documents (ADV Part 2, Form CRS, Wrap Brochure, and Privacy Policy) can always be found on our website…Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/03/13/a-perspective-on-trade-deficits-tariffs/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/03/13/a-perspective-on-trade-deficits-tariffs/As you are likely aware, the market is down roughly 10% from recent highs. While corrections such as these are not uncommon (we get one per year on average), this one seems worse because it is linked to the heated rhetoric about U.S. trade policies, deficits, and tariffs. It is…Thu, 13 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/03/03/reflections-on-the-market-and-tariffs/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/03/03/reflections-on-the-market-and-tariffs/Spring is upon us, and I hope you all are well. Asheville’s recovery continues although the progress is quite variable. Last fall’s storm was primarily a wind/tree event for some, a devasting flooding event for others. Those communities that experienced flooding will take much longer to recover. Thanks to all…Mon, 03 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/01/13/important-information-from-white-oak-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2025/01/13/important-information-from-white-oak-2/White Oak has experienced significant growth in the past few years, increasing both our number of clients and amount of assets under management. Therefore, we are happy to report that last August, White Oak shifted its registration from North Carolina (and other relevant states) to the Securities and Exchange Commission.…Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/10/11/fidelity-data-breach/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/10/11/fidelity-data-breach/Over the coming days, you may read or hear about a data breach at Fidelity. While we have not received any official information from Fidelity, the information that has come out suggests that impacted clients have already been informed. Further, the breach may have been limited to clients in Massachusetts,…Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/10/04/white-oak-update/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/10/04/white-oak-update/Dear White Oak Clients, Greetings from Asheville, NC - we're back in the office with power, phones, and internet access. We do not yet have water, but hoping that is not too far behind. Thank you to the many people who emailed, called, and texted us to inquire about our…Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/09/29/hurricane-helene-white-oak/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/09/29/hurricane-helene-white-oak/Greetings White Oak Clients, This is Brent working on Priestley's computer at a temporary office (a Starbucks in Charlotte). As most of you have probably heard, Asheville was hit very hard by Helene on Friday. Tremendous flooding, untold numbers of downed trees and blocked roads, power is out as is…Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/09/16/falling-interest-rates-the-market/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/09/16/falling-interest-rates-the-market/I hope you are all well. Fall is in the air in Asheville with some nights cool enough to leave the windows open. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to begin a series of rate cuts when their meeting concludes on Wednesday. There is still debate among the talking heads…Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/08/12/a-bumpy-ride/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/08/12/a-bumpy-ride/I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer. Last week, the market (S&P 500) decided to have a bit of a tantrum. The prior week, the market began a downward move on the back of declines in large-cap, technology stocks. Then last Monday, we woke up to the…Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/05/20/dow-40000-and-the-rule-of-72/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/05/20/dow-40000-and-the-rule-of-72/Last week, both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new all-time highs. The Dow ended the day Friday just above the very large, very round number of 40,000. Such highs typically generate a lot of headlines and in turn client questions. Typical questions include: how can the market be…Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/04/25/economic-activity-gdp/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/04/25/economic-activity-gdp/I hope you are all well and enjoying springtime. The market hit all-time highs at the end of March and since then has traded lower, reaching a decline of roughly 5.5% last week. This morning the market is down again, although still higher than last week’s low. The move this…Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/03/19/a-perspective-on-the-banks/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/03/19/a-perspective-on-the-banks/I hope you are all well and enjoying a beautiful spring. Asheville is blooming and the longer and warmer days are a welcome change to the gray, rainy winter. Over the past year, the news of several bank failures and other banks requiring capital injections have surfaced memories of the…Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/01/22/the-long-road-back/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2024/01/22/the-long-road-back/I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season, and the new year is off to a great start. I know it’s been cold everywhere. Over the weekend, Asheville got its first snow of the season with low temperatures in the single digits. Brrrrrr! The market has been on a long…Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/12/06/monitoring-stress/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/12/06/monitoring-stress/I hope you are all well and enjoying a great holiday season! One question/comment I consistently hear from clients relates to current events (government shutdowns, deficit spending, wars) and the worry that the market is heading toward a cliff. I spend a lot of time scanning the horizon looking for…Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/10/28/markets-indexes/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/10/28/markets-indexes/I hope you are well and enjoying a beautiful fall. The colors here in Asheville are spectacular. The market was down again this week and has entered a correction. (A correction is defined as being down 10% from recent highs.) You have likely heard a variety of explanations – from…Sat, 28 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/09/19/trading-ranges/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/09/19/trading-ranges/I hope you all had a nice Labor Day holiday, and the end of your summer is going well. You have probably heard something like this exchange before: Question: What do you think the market is going to do over the next few months? Answer: It’s going to go up…Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/07/18/a-summer-reflection/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/07/18/a-summer-reflection/I hope you are all enjoying your summer. Travel seems to be back on the agenda for many clients I have spoken with recently, another great sign of the fading effects of the pandemic. As I have discussed in other writings, the market downturn that began in early 2022 has…Tue, 18 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/05/29/market-insights/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/05/29/market-insights/White Oak Financial Management, Inc. is happily celebrating 20 years in business this year, and we are so lucky to be serving our wonderful clients. We think we have the best clients in the world and appreciate the continued trust and confidence in good times and tough times. We always…Mon, 29 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/05/29/yearly-check-in/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/05/29/yearly-check-in/This is a yearly check-in regarding portfolio reviews, money movement, online account access, etc. Most importantly, please see the links below to White Oak's regulatory documents, including our Privacy Policy within our Wrap Brochure, which we offer our clients annually as required by law. Portfolio Reviews We generally recommend meetings…Mon, 29 May 2023 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Priestley Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/04/24/innovation-meaningful-co2-reduction/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/04/24/innovation-meaningful-co2-reduction/I hope you are all well and enjoying the spring. Asheville is getting a fair amount of those April showers and I’m ready for May’s sunshine. Last December, I wrote a letter about green hydrogen and prefaced my comments by saying I’m not taking sides in an argument about climate…Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/03/13/the-ghost-of-christmas-past/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/03/13/the-ghost-of-christmas-past/I hope you are all well and enjoying the early spring. The extra hour of daylight that began yesterday makes me look forward to warmer days ahead. Unfolding events over the weekend may remind us of the ghost of Christmas past – a haunting straight out of the 2008/09 financial…Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/03/03/market-snapshot-3/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/03/03/market-snapshot-3/Current US Equity Market Conditions The Bullish Percent for the NYSE has reversed down in O's showing supply in control, falling stock prices, and investors on defense. The US Equities Bull/Bear indicator using the S&P 500 shows continuing long term bear market since March 2022 and slipping down again. Of…Fri, 03 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/02/07/market-snapshot/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/02/07/market-snapshot/The NYSE Bullish Percent Investors have the ball and field position is good. Bull/Bear Indicator Chart Climbing out of long term bear market but not yet into bull market Market Conditions Meter – 3 of 4 positive BOSS, Short term, intermediate term-positive Long term-negativeTue, 07 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/02/01/innovation-artificial-intelligence/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2023/02/01/innovation-artificial-intelligence/I hope you are well and that 2023 is off to a great start. After a very long and uncomfortable 2022, I am hopeful that the worst is behind us and that we can look forward to a better market this year. At least we’re off to a good start.…Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/12/22/lets-not-overlook-american-innovation/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/12/22/lets-not-overlook-american-innovation/In the early 2010s, the great financial crisis of 2008/09 was still on the minds of investors. That coupled with any number of other crises, including the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, multiple threatened/one actual shutdown of the Federal government, innumerable debt-ceiling-hike standoffs in Congress, and more. Investors…Thu, 22 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/12/14/reviewing-online-safety/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/12/14/reviewing-online-safety/Not surprisingly, the number of reported instances of fraud, phishing schemes, and hacking tends to increase at this time of year. To encourage all of us to be vigilante and cautious, let’s review some common recommendations. Email Do 2. Install antivirus and firewall programs AND keep them up to date!…Wed, 14 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/28/point-and-figure-indicators-6/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/28/point-and-figure-indicators-6/September 28, 2022 Using the DWA DALI chart is an adaptive suite of risk management solutions for investors, with the primary objective of pivoting between wealth accumulation strategies (i.e. offense), and wealth preservation strategies (i.e. defense), in a timely fashion. The methodology used is rules-based, and designed to follow the…Wed, 28 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/23/point-and-figure-indicators-5/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/23/point-and-figure-indicators-5/Market Snapshot - 9/23/2022Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/23/the-thing-about-down-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/23/the-thing-about-down-markets/As I am sure you are aware, the market is down over the last few weeks, and we are now approaching the lows from mid-June. The thing about down markets is that you never know you have hit the bottom until you can see it in the rear-view mirror. And…Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/08/point-and-figure-indicators-4/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/09/08/point-and-figure-indicators-4/Market Snapshot - 9/7/2022Thu, 08 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/08/10/point-and-figure-indicators-3/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/08/10/point-and-figure-indicators-3/Market Snapshot - 8/10/2022Wed, 10 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/08/09/which-one-is-it-recession-or-no-recession/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/08/09/which-one-is-it-recession-or-no-recession/There is a lot of talk in the media these day about a recession. We’re in a recession – we’re not in a recession – a recession is coming. So, which one is it? Technically, a recession in the United States is defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research…Tue, 09 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/11/point-and-figure-indicators/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/11/point-and-figure-indicators/Market Snapshot - 7/11/2022Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/08/extreme-negativity-and-the-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/08/extreme-negativity-and-the-markets/I hope you all are having a great summer! Clearly the market could do more to help, but alas that is not the case. It’s amazing how quickly sentiment can change. While there were some rumblings of stormy weather late last year, the market hit six new all-time highs from…Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/08/market-commentary/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/08/market-commentary/I hope your summer is off to a great start! I've been enjoying being a first-time grandmother and starting anew by moving into a new house. It is fun and refreshing to clean up and out. As for the markets, it's been frustrating that the U.S. and International stock markets,…Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/08/point-and-figure-indicators-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/07/08/point-and-figure-indicators-2/Bull Bear Indicator - 7/08/2022Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/06/13/why-a-declining-multiple/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/06/13/why-a-declining-multiple/Higher prices throughout the economy, higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve, and the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine make market participants quite uneasy. And with this uneasiness, the market continues its relentless dive from all-time highs in early January. We know that markets go up and markets go down…Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/05/10/sector-update-and-company-retirement-plan-recommended-action/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/05/10/sector-update-and-company-retirement-plan-recommended-action/With the domestic and international equity markets currently in bear market territory and the bond market in an even steeper bear market since October of 2021, the only places to best shelter in investments recently have been in the 1 ranked position Commodities, such as energy, agriculture, nonferrous metals, and…Tue, 10 May 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/04/28/volatility-not-just-in-the-stock-market/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/04/28/volatility-not-just-in-the-stock-market/We are all quite accustomed to volatility in the equity markets, but we are also learning that economic growth can be volatile. You will surely read some scary headlines over the next few days about not just slowing growth, but an actual decline in economic activity in the first quarter…Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/04/21/important-information-from-white-oak/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/04/21/important-information-from-white-oak/We are pleased to introduce you to a new member of our White Oak office and to offer other important administrative updates and information. We are so fortunate to have welcomed Karen Cogburn to our office in February as our administrative assistant. Her email address is Karen@wofm.us. Karen began her…Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Priestley Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/03/28/market-update-3/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/03/28/market-update-3/It has been a changing and challenging start to the first quarter of 2022. Our clients may have noticed that they are now holding energy investments like oil and natural gas, precious metals, industrial basic materials, and agricultural products in portfolios. In early-mid March, using the Dynamic Asset Level Investing…Mon, 28 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/03/04/providing-context/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/03/04/providing-context/The images coming out of Ukraine are both troubling and tragic. The U.S. and many other countries continue to increase pressure on Russia and Belarus with ever-widening sanctions. And it’s not just sanctions levied by governments, we are now beginning to hear that companies are doing what they can to…Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/02/28/ukraine-and-market-uncertainty/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/02/28/ukraine-and-market-uncertainty/The former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said, “The bullying of small nations by big ones, the trampling of justice and decency in the pursuit of national aggrandizement, and the reckless indifference to human life, should have no place in our world.” It goes without saying that what is happening…Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/01/23/will-it-go-around-in-circles/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2022/01/23/will-it-go-around-in-circles/Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday season and that 2022 is following suit. Too bad the markets are not cooperating. What we have experienced over the last few months reminds me of a song from the early 1970s – Will it Go ‘Round in Circles?…Sun, 23 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/11/29/a-black-friday-for-the-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/11/29/a-black-friday-for-the-markets/I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! In case you actually left your home for Black Friday shopping (as opposed to shopping online), you may have missed the fact that the markets had their own Black Friday. Potentially troubling news about a new Covid-19 variant…Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/11/22/important-roth-ira-conversion-information/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/11/22/important-roth-ira-conversion-information/Congress made several changes to IRA rules in 2020 and is considering more in the near future. Legislators are looking to end the so-called “back door Roth IRA” and “mega back door Roth IRA” strategies. Currently, the back door Roth IRA conversion allows an individual to make a nondeductible, after-tax,…Mon, 22 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMTTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/11/08/the-season-for-earnings/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/11/08/the-season-for-earnings/The clocks turned back over the weekend, which signals we are in the middle of a beautiful fall season and winter is not far away. Another season, earnings season, is also well underway with roughly 90% of S&P 500 companies reporting results. More companies are reporting revenue beats than average…Mon, 08 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/10/18/happy-fall/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/10/18/happy-fall/Happy Fall, y’all! October begins my favorite time of the year for many reasons which include the weather and market investment opportunities. The third quarter of 2021 is officially in the books, and while it was punctuated by heightened volatility in the final days of trading, the S&P 500 managed…Mon, 18 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/08/30/weathering-the-covid-storm/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/08/30/weathering-the-covid-storm/You may remember that, over the past few years, I have talked about the resilience of corporate America. Companies that did not fare particularly well during the tech crash of 2002/2003 or the financial crisis of 2008/2009 took those opportunities to learn from their mistakes and make improvements in their…Mon, 30 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/08/25/2671/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/08/25/2671/A recent conversation about a dire prediction by a talking head made me think about the seasonality of the markets. As we head from mid to late summer, the number of experts predicting a coming market downturn seems to be increasing. These experts want to be viewed as insightful sleuths…Wed, 25 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/07/16/corporate-earnings-will-lead-us/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/07/16/corporate-earnings-will-lead-us/I hope you are well, enjoying the summer, and starting to get out and about. The grip of the pandemic continues to lessen, although the recent trouble with variants reminds us that we are not free and clear of this event. At the same time, the US economy continues to…Fri, 16 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/05/19/a-brief-update/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/05/19/a-brief-update/Over the past two weeks, volatility has picked up and despite GREAT earnings reports from many S&P 500 companies, the market has experienced some big down days - today seems to be another one. Has something changed? I don't think so. While we have experienced a number of down days,…Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/05/19/the-markets-main-street/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/05/19/the-markets-main-street/The pandemic gripping the globe since early last year is beginning to abate. Over the coming years, there will be many lessons learned, but for now, one important lesson for investors to learn is that the stock market and Main Street are not one and the same. Making decisions based…Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/04/28/2652/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/04/28/2652/I hope you are all well and enjoying a beautiful spring. We continue to see mixed messages with respect to the progress of the pandemic. Things are not completely back to normal but the progress toward such is certainly underway. Currently, we are in the middle of earnings season with…Wed, 28 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/04/13/asset-class-rotation-and-momentum-investing/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/04/13/asset-class-rotation-and-momentum-investing/Well, after a stellar year of returns for our clients in 2020, this first quarter has been tough on our trend and momentum investment management style. It hasn't been awful, but frustrating for sure, with the seemingly constant shifts in asset leadership since the start of 2021. January resulted in…Tue, 13 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/26/market-conditions-3/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/26/market-conditions-3/This image provides the overall, equity market conditions based on \\\\\\\\\\\\\ for March 26, 2021.Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/22/update-from-white-oak-8/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/22/update-from-white-oak-8/The IRS has announced that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. In addition, Individual tax payers can postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year until May 17…Mon, 22 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/18/irs-deadline-changes/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/18/irs-deadline-changes/Yesterday, the Treasury Department & IRS extended the federal tax filing deadline for individuals to May 17, 2021. Here is a link to the complete details: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-day-for-individuals-extended-to-may-17-treasury-irs-extend-filing-and-payment-deadline There are three important caveats to this news that clients need to be aware of and work with your CPAs to ensure compliance.…Thu, 18 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/11/market-conditions-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/11/market-conditions-2/This image provides the overall, equity market conditions based on point and figure indicators for March 11, 2021.Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/09/where-do-we-stand-today/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/09/where-do-we-stand-today/Global markets experienced yet another exceptionally volatile week as bond rates continued to move higher, although Friday's session proved to be a positive one for major indexes. Since reaching an all-time high on February 16, the S&P 500 (SPX) Index posted a negative return of -2.31% (through 3/5), while the…Tue, 09 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/08/so-now-what/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/03/08/so-now-what/Between the end of last year and mid-February, the market hit a series of all-time highs. Even with optimism over the prospects for enough vaccine for all Americans by June, the mood of the market seems to have dimmed over the last few weeks. Does this shift suggest we have…Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/02/05/market-conditions/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/02/05/market-conditions/This image provides the overall, equity market conditions based on point and figure indicators for February 5, 2021.Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/02/05/market-snapshot-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/02/05/market-snapshot-2/Bull-Bear Indicators - 2/05/2021Fri, 05 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Snapshotinfo@wofm.us (wofm-admin)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/02/04/are-valuations-too-lofty/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/02/04/are-valuations-too-lofty/Twenty-twenty (2020) was a year of head-scratching drama. The year started off great with low unemployment, an economy humming along, and the stock market hitting all-time highs in mid-February. Then things began to fall apart. The pandemic gripped the world's attention; the market sold off roughly 34% in just a…Thu, 04 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/01/13/office-introductions-and-analysis-of-financial-markets-in-unified-political-environment/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2021/01/13/office-introductions-and-analysis-of-financial-markets-in-unified-political-environment/We know that the current political climate has many investors wondering how the US equity markets will perform under unified political leadership. We think it helps to understand the past in order to think about what the future holds. Today, the folks at Nasdaq Dorsey Wright, who provide us with…Wed, 13 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/12/31/happy-new-year/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/12/31/happy-new-year/Talk about a roller-coaster – 2020 was the king-daddy of them all! And while it’s not over just yet, I hope we can feel the intensity of the ride diminishing as if we were coming around that last corner of a real roller coaster. The vaccine is here; treatments and…Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/12/28/update-from-white-oak-6/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/12/28/update-from-white-oak-6/We hope that you have had a very Merry Christmas and holiday season and are looking forward to a Happy New Year. The year 2020 has been strange in so many ways ... some awful and some great. We are all hoping for good health and prosperity in 2021. The…Mon, 28 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/12/07/bringing-2020-to-a-close/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/12/07/bringing-2020-to-a-close/As we head toward year-end, it is easy to chalk up 2020 to a crazy year where nothing made sense. Aspects of that might be true for living through pandemic-induced lockdowns, re-openings, and a Presidential election. But since the early days of the initial market sell-off (late February through mid-March),…Mon, 07 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/11/06/the-election-back-to-basics-part-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/11/06/the-election-back-to-basics-part-2/Let me begin by commenting on the election and the market’s reaction thus far. While many likely expected market upheaval resulting from a delayed election outcome, that has not been the case. The market was up sharply on Monday and that trajectory continued through yesterday with the S&P 500 up…Fri, 06 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/10/22/back-to-basics/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/10/22/back-to-basics/As we all continue to navigate these turbulent times, it may be helpful to periodically refocus on why we invest in equity markets and what drives equity markets higher. When we buy stock in a company, we are buying an ownership stake in that company. That ownership stake gives us…Thu, 22 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/09/29/are-we-headed-in-the-right-direction/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/09/29/are-we-headed-in-the-right-direction/Over the past six months, I have written several articles trying to help clients catch glimpses of the economy. We all understand the tremendous shock our economy has taken as a result of this pandemic, but most media outlets provide little help in contextualizing what is happening. In previous emails,…Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/09/21/momentum-investing/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/09/21/momentum-investing/For the past nearly eighteen years, I have been a trend and momentum investment manager, and it has served White Oak and our investors well. Our success is especially evident this year with outsized returns in a market that has scared many into thinking that it just can’t be. But…Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/08/19/a-complete-strategy-needs-a-plan-for-offense-defense/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/08/19/a-complete-strategy-needs-a-plan-for-offense-defense/Something that caught our eye recently was a New York Times article entitled “Once You’re out of the Market, It’s Tricky Getting Back In.” There are some oversimplifications in the piece, like a quote that begins “Jumping out of the market is a mistake”. However, we wholeheartedly agree that “…getting…Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/08/18/consumers-continue-to-power-through/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/08/18/consumers-continue-to-power-through/About a month ago, I wrote about consumer spending and how credit card data suggested a pronounced recovery from lows hit in late March. We are continuing to see such in data from both government statistics and corporate earnings reports. Last Friday, the government released retail sales data for July…Tue, 18 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/22/does-the-index-really-tell-the-story/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/22/does-the-index-really-tell-the-story/As the market continues to trudge higher, I continue to hear comments that there must be something wrong with the market. How can the market move higher in the face of the continuing crises this country faces (virus, race relations, upcoming election)? I am always pleased to take the time…Wed, 22 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/21/update-from-white-oak-6-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/21/update-from-white-oak-6-2/Market action on Friday saw muted gains for most domestic equity indices, but those gains did cause the Bullish Percent for the NYSE (BPNYSE) to reverse back up into a column of Xs at 58%. As a refresher, this indicator measures the percentage of stocks in the NYSE that are…Tue, 21 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/01/consumer-spending-during-a-pandemic/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/01/consumer-spending-during-a-pandemic/As we head toward the July 4th holiday, the news media continues to blare out a mixed bag of headlines. One day viral infections are surging and the market is plunging; the next day, things are perhaps getting better and the market is surging. The news media is always looking…Wed, 01 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/01/the-midway-mark-and-portfolio-reviews/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/07/01/the-midway-mark-and-portfolio-reviews/It may be hard to believe, but the "dog days" of summer are upon us, and we are just a day away from the official halfway point of 2020. What a second quarter it has been!! The best for the Dow since 1987… the year I started in the investment…Wed, 01 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/06/05/the-economy-begins-to-re-open/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/06/05/the-economy-begins-to-re-open/As you have probably heard by now, the jobs report for May came in much better than expected. Analysts were expecting a LOSS of more than 8 million jobs and an INCREASE in the unemployment number to something close to 20%. The actual report instead showed an INCREASE of 2.5…Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/05/08/a-disconnect-in-the-market/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/05/08/a-disconnect-in-the-market/A comment I hear from clients, friends, and others on a fairly consistent basis relates to a disconnect between the market’s performance over the past month or so and their perception of where we are in our journey through this viral pandemic. I often hear questions like: Why is the…Fri, 08 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/05/07/the-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/05/07/the-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe/An article that appears in Capital at Play – May 2020 issue. Click below to read the article. https://www.capitalatplay.com/the-most-powerful-force-in-the-universe/Thu, 07 May 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/30/update-from-white-oak-4-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/30/update-from-white-oak-4-2/I imagine you are weary of the cumulative effects of the quarantine – the virus itself, the economic devastation and uncertainty, and the political infighting. Altogether, they’re enough to make us crazy. However, I am always optimistic and expect things will change for the better soon. Economically, the Covid-19 virus…Thu, 30 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/20/oil-prices-a-failure-of-the-media-to-inform/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/20/oil-prices-a-failure-of-the-media-to-inform/If you happened across a news show or website today, you likely saw breaking news about oil prices crashing. Here are a few that I saw today: Oil crashes….price goes negative (CNN) Oil prices plummet (New York Times) Oil drops below $0, signaling an extreme collapse in demand (Washington Post)…Mon, 20 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/15/update-from-white-oak-3/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/15/update-from-white-oak-3/The first quarter of 2020 is officially behind us, and it will go down in the record books as one of the most volatile and worst quarters for US equities in history. Luckily, we had begun taking some profits off the table in January in anticipation of normal, broader profit…Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/14/earnings-season-during-a-pandemic/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/14/earnings-season-during-a-pandemic/Yesterday marked the beginning of earnings season for the January/March 2020 quarter. Such backward-looking data does not tell us much about what is happening now or what may happen in the coming months, but we can glean bits of information about the health of corporate America. Below are several bullet…Tue, 14 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/06/the-bottoming-process/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/04/06/the-bottoming-process/It’s been quite the ride so far this year, and we are pleased to say that our Fidelity accounts have generally performed very well as compared to the equity benchmarks. In March, the Dow Jones Index had the 3 biggest daily drops AND the 5 biggest daily gains on record.…Mon, 06 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/23/changing-tax-deadlines/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/23/changing-tax-deadlines/While the market continues its unsettled and very unsettling behavior, other developments from Federal and State governments are springing into action to help the current situation. Below is some information I received from our CPA this morning. It is good news. Please confirm this information with your CPA, especially since…Mon, 23 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/20/a-recession-what-does-it-mean-for-the-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/20/a-recession-what-does-it-mean-for-the-markets/The economic fallout from the COVID-19 virus continues to grow, with more events being cancelled and businesses scaling down or altogether suspending operations on a daily basis. In the midst of such widespread consequences, many analysts and pundits have begun to talk about the big R – recession – a…Fri, 20 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/18/searching-for-the-bottom/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/18/searching-for-the-bottom/You may remember prior posts when I talked about corrections being a process and part of that process is finding a bottom. We look for signals that suggest we are at or near the bottom. Here are three that offer some encouragement. The market tends to find bottoms that align…Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/17/important-technical-levels/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/17/important-technical-levels/Keeping a long-term perspective is always important, but it’s essential when markets are stormy and emotions are running high. A look at history shows that while markets react to news events in the short term, they have tended to reward patient investors over long periods of time. Indeed, global markets…Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/11/market-irrationality/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/11/market-irrationality/The markets continue to ping-pong – up 1,000 / down 1,000 – rattling the nerves of investors and bystanders alike. Each day is a mirror of the previous. Everyone seems to be trying to handicap the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. Throw in a price war over…Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/09/reading-past-the-headlines/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/03/09/reading-past-the-headlines/The markets are trading sharply lower this morning and undoubtedly you have heard the news media screaming about plunging oil prices and an expanding numbers of cases of coronavirus and quarantines. It can all be quite unsettling for sure, but know we are monitoring the situation very closely and will…Mon, 09 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/02/27/another-correction/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/02/27/another-correction/As you are likely aware, the market is trading lower again today on worries related to the coronavirus. And now you will see the news media running “breaking news” stories about a market correction. As I have written in the past, the market experiences downward, and often dramatic, moves lowers…Thu, 27 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/01/27/headline-risk-the-threat-of-a-pandemic/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2020/01/27/headline-risk-the-threat-of-a-pandemic/As you are probably aware, the market sold off on Friday and is selling off again today. As I write, the S&P 500 is down almost 1.5% for the day and is roughly 2.5% below the all-time high set last week. Worries about the coronavirus in China seem to be…Mon, 27 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/12/30/changes-to-retirement-savings-rules/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/12/30/changes-to-retirement-savings-rules/You may have already heard that year-end legislation to fund the government included changes to retirement savings law. The following chart offers an overview of what we know (or believe) to be true with respect to the new law. As with most legislation making such sweeping changes, the details, and…Mon, 30 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTTaxes & Rulesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/12/26/a-december-to-forget/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/12/26/a-december-to-forget/I know you just heard from me a few days ago and a new email so soon should not be interpreted with alarm. Instead, my intent is to provide some additional perspective on a December we all hope to soon forget. I continue to believe that this market downturn, which…Thu, 26 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/12/09/euphoria-not-yet/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/12/09/euphoria-not-yet/You’ve probably heard the old saying that bull markets die in euphoria. Many investors begin to wonder whether we’ve reached a euphoric state when the market continues to make all-time highs…like now. In 2019, the S&P 500 has already recorded more than 20 new all-time highs and today we’re trading…Mon, 09 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/10/29/its-all-about-earnings/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/10/29/its-all-about-earnings/As you may know, we are in the midst of another quarterly earnings season. The onslaught of news about the health of corporate America is a welcome relief to recent news cycles focused on trade/tariffs, impeachment and various indiscretions in Washington. The S&P 500 reached a new all-time high yesterday…Tue, 29 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/10/22/update-from-white-oak-9/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/10/22/update-from-white-oak-9/There have been a number of market-moving events beginning this summer. The U.S. trade war with China continues to drag on, and investors have become worried it may tip the global economy into recession. It could go unabated, or it could be resolved more quickly than people think. The reality…Tue, 22 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/09/06/end-of-summer-and-the-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/09/06/end-of-summer-and-the-markets/The turn of the calendar to September is often bittersweet, as it means the summer is in our rear view; however, for investors to see this particular August come to an end, is likely welcome. The volatility in the markets picked up quite a bit in this last month of…Fri, 06 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/09/04/factor-analysis-resource/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/09/04/factor-analysis-resource/As you are undoubtedly aware, technology is changing and enhancing all fields. And while much of the financial technology clients come in contact with is related to reviewing accounts online, paying bills, etc., we are beginning to see some real advancements in portfolio construction and risk mitigation tools. Investment risk…Wed, 04 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/08/22/beyond-the-yield-curve/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/08/22/beyond-the-yield-curve/You know it’s late August when corporate earnings season is over, the market is trading off of whatever little news is available, and volatility increases (many Wall Street people are on vacation, trading volume is low, so market moves tend to be exaggerated). That’s where we are now. It feels…Thu, 22 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/08/15/about-that-yield-curve-inversion/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/08/15/about-that-yield-curve-inversion/The market took a big dive yesterday and the news media screamed about an inverted yield curve and a recession. You might ask, so what is an inverted yield curve? During most times, investors require higher payments (yields) for buying longer-dated bonds. Or think of a CD – a bank…Thu, 15 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/08/05/fear-the-markets/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/08/05/fear-the-markets/Mark Twain once joked, “I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” The same can be said for investors. Since the financial crisis, investors have spent a lot of time and energy worrying about events that seemed destined to send the markets into another…Mon, 05 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/07/01/is-a-recession-imminent/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/07/01/is-a-recession-imminent/Today, the US economy broke a record for the longest expansion in history. The last recession ended in June 2009, so the US economy is now in its 121st month of growth. With this record in place, the drumbeat of pundits predicting the next recession is likely to increase. And…Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/05/23/update-from-white-oak-5/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/05/23/update-from-white-oak-5/Over the past weeks, volatility picked up in response to the trade deal with China (or lack thereof). For much of this year, we’ve expected the trade deal to go through and for news related to China to fade from the front page of the papers. However, that all changed…Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/04/26/2019-off-to-a-good-start/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/04/26/2019-off-to-a-good-start/It’s amazing how quickly sentiment can change. And the change from last December shows the importance of focusing on data and not sentiment. During last fall’s downturn, it seemed that everywhere you looked, people were talking about a global slowdown and a coming recession in the United States. Pessimism abounded,…Fri, 26 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/04/14/focus-on-corporate-profits/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/04/14/focus-on-corporate-profits/Over the past week, volatility picked up in response to the trade deal with China (or lack thereof). For much of this year, we’ve expected the trade deal to go through and for news related to China to fade from the front page of the papers. However, that all changed…Sun, 14 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/03/13/trusted-contact/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/03/13/trusted-contact/As you know from your monthly and tax statements, our firm uses Fidelity Investments as the custodian of your assets. Recently, Fidelity implemented an SEC policy wherein a “trusted contact” is listed alongside the account owner. You may have recently received an email that looks like this. /.... The purpose…Wed, 13 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/03/08/update-from-white-oak-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/03/08/update-from-white-oak-2/We hope you have had a good start to 2019! The New Year is shaping up quite nicely. The markets have recovered well from the December lows, although not back to the all-time highs from early October. We think the market reaction to events late last year was overblown and…Fri, 08 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/02/20/the-market-rebounds/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2019/02/20/the-market-rebounds/The New Year is shaping up quite nicely. The market is up roughly 18% from the December lows, although not back to the all-time highs from early October. As I said in several emails, I think the market reaction to events late last year was overblown. Likewise, I think the…Wed, 20 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/12/21/a-lump-of-coal/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/12/21/a-lump-of-coal/Historically, December is the best-performing month for the S&P 500. However this year, it looks like December is playing the role of the Grinch and leaving us all with a big lump of coal in our stockings! In addition, this year (2018) is shaping up to be a down year…Fri, 21 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/12/21/market-update-from-white-oak/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/12/21/market-update-from-white-oak/Despite the historical bias for December being the best-performing month for the S&P 500 going back to 1950, the market volatility certainly hasn’t let up in December 2018. As a matter of fact, the NYSE Bullish Percent, which is our guide to risk levels in the U.S, equity markets, reversed…Fri, 21 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/12/06/market-perspective-is-the-route-clear/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/12/06/market-perspective-is-the-route-clear/The past two months of this year's market action have been frustrating. However, most of the signs we are watching are positive for US equities in the short, intermediate, and long terms. Domestic equities are still strongly holding their place as the number one spot in the world to be…Thu, 06 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket CommentaryProcessesinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/11/27/daily-volatility/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/11/27/daily-volatility/A persistent comment/question I hear from clients and others relates to the market’s recent volatility….up 300…down 200…up 175…and so forth. You may remember that following the 2016 election and for much of 2017 there was very little volatility. During that time, I tried to remind people that volatility was not…Tue, 27 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/11/01/market-update-2/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/11/01/market-update-2/October 2018, historically a scary month for investors, did not disappoint in terms of bringing on an increased level of volatility to the market, which often delivers many new opportunities to invest at lower prices. February and October are usually the worst-performing months of the year. Typically, in the month…Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Laura McCue)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/25/sp-500-peak-earnings/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/25/sp-500-peak-earnings/The market’s recent volatility has many wondering whether the moves higher we enjoyed over the past couple of years can be maintained. Common questions include: “What happens when the benefits of the tax cuts go away?” “What happens if earnings growth slows?” As I did in my last email, I’d…Thu, 25 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/15/market-pullback/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/15/market-pullback/Last week was another one of those weeks when downward moves in the market brought back those lingering thoughts of Is this the start of 2008 all over again? I think the answer is no. One of the market analysts that I follow particularly closely (because he is right so…Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/04/rising-rates/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/04/rising-rates/As you may have noticed over the last week, interest rates are moving higher. It began with the Federal Reserve raising the level for its target benchmark to 2.00%-2.25%. This is the third rate hike by the Fed this year. They also signaled rates may rise again in December. Then…Thu, 04 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/02/the-effect-of-rising-rates-on-equities/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/10/02/the-effect-of-rising-rates-on-equities/I thought you might like to see some interesting longer-term perspectives from Dorsey Wright and Associates (DWA) on interest rates and their connection to the equity markets in which we are fully participating. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve raised the level for its target benchmark to 2.00%-2.25%. This is…Tue, 02 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/08/02/market-update/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/08/02/market-update/I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer! Asheville’s summer this year reminds me of those growing up – not too hot and enough rain to keep things lush and green. In my last post following this year’s market correction, I cautioned that corrections are a process and on average…Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/03/24/lifespan-of-a-market-correction/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/03/24/lifespan-of-a-market-correction/The markets took a turn lower this past week and we are now approaching the lows of mid-February. The Dow is actually several percentage points lower than the S&P and Nasdaq, primarily because of the price action of Boeing. And while the market may be down 10%+/- from the January…Sat, 24 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/02/05/recent-market-volatility/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/02/05/recent-market-volatility/A bit over a month ago, I posted an article about market volatility. In it I reminded you that periods of low volatility won’t last forever and that a 5% pullback, or even a 10% correction, would not surprise me. Well, welcome to some newfound volatility and an 8% pullback…Mon, 05 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/01/08/looking-back-looking-forward/https://whiteoakfinancialmanagement.com/2018/01/08/looking-back-looking-forward/Happy New Year!! I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season and that 2018 is off to a great start (albeit a very cold one here in NC). As we begin the new year, it seems like a good time to share some thoughts about the market in…Mon, 08 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMTMarket Commentaryinfo@wofm.us (Brent Ford)