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    Q3 2024 Review: Maybe The Market Does Care?

    Maybe the market does care? Out of nowhere, the broader market “woke up” and decided there were a whole lot of compelling investments that had little to do with AI. For the first time this year, the average S&P 500 stock outperformed the market cap weighted index, going up 9%, or almost double.  Many of…

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    Compass Sponsors 4th Annual Fairfield Paddle Fest

    September 7th, 2024 The Fairfield Rotary Club and Compass Wealth Management present the fourth annual Paddle Fest! Proceeds were awarded to Operation Hope, whose programs and services focus on eliminating hunger and homelessness, and are designed to help people solve their crises and build stability in an environment where compassion inspires dignity and hope.https://operationhopect.org/ Despite…

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    Tax 101: Back to Basics

    Benjamin Franklin said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes”. Taxes play a crucial role in shaping our financial landscape. Understanding their nuance is key to helping make informed financial decisions. To assist, we developed a primer on the basics, specifically how they impact your income and investments. We focus on Federal taxes, as each…

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    Q2 2024 Review: Sometimes the Market Just Doesn’t Care

    Sometimes the market just doesn’t care. All the air gets sucked up by a mega trend, and everything else gets overshadowed. Investors can chase the trend, or they can focus on the opportunities hiding in the shadows.  Air Products & Chemicals is the third largest industrial gas company in the world, supplying hydrogen, oxygen and…

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    Q1 2024 Compass Review: Two Sides of a Coin

    In Warren Buffet’s latest annual Berkshire Hathway letter, he wrote, “For whatever reasons, markets now exhibit far more casino-like behavior than they did when I was young. The casino now resides in many homes and daily tempts the occupants. One fact of financial life should never be forgotten. Wall Street – to use the term…

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    Is Value Investing Dead?

    Investing has always been dominated by two schools of thought, growth and value. Buying companies with exceptional growth rates makes sense. After all, if the object of the game is to make money as fast as possible, concentrating on those few companies that can outperform their peers should give you the best chance of winning. The value school…

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    Property and Casualty Insurance

    Property and Casualty Insurance: Don’t leave home without it! A major crisis. Last year, a friend’s parents’ life took an unexpected turn. While on vacation, they received a devastating phone call informing them a fire destroyed their home and belongings. Left only with the clothes they had packed; they returned to assess the damage and…

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    Q4 2023 Compass Review: Time

    The cornerstone of investing is the tradeoff between interest and time. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow because you can earn interest on that dollar. When interest is zero, time matters less. When time matters less, you take more risk to grow your assets. The most important consequence of higher interest…

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    Top Heavy

    Upside down pyramids are unstable. With all that weight up high they can be tipped over with a feather. If you are near one, it’s best to stay away until the inevitable fall. That’s better! Now we have a nice solid base. Sure, it came at the price of a crash, but the fall was…

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    Q3 2023 Compass Review

    Expectations are hard to change.  We expect certain things from our partners, our friends, an Amazon delivery, and a dining experience.  When these expectations aren’t met, it’s hard to accept reality.  Here is the new reality; Lunch just got a whole lot more expensive.  In previous letters we warned that the era of “free lunches”…

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