Market Commentary for the week of November 6, 2017

The Markets

Apple shares helped push major Wall Street indices up Friday while investors also assessed a mixed U.S. labor market report. For the week, the Dow rose 0.45 percent to close at 23,539.19. The S&P gained 0.29 percent to finish at 2,587.84, and the NASDAQ climbed 0.94 percent to end the week at 6,764.44.

Source: Morningstar.com. *Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three- and five-year returns are annualized. The Dow Jones Industrials, MSCI EAFE, Barclays US Agg Bond and S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, are based on total return, which is a reflection of return to an investor by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax. The NASDAQ is based on price return, which is the capital appreciation of the portfolio, excluding income generated by the assets in the portfolio in the form of interest and dividends. (TR) indicates total return. (PR) indicates price return. MSCI EAFE returns stated in U.S. dollars.

Search for Yield – Today, less than 5% of investment-grade global fixed-income securities have a current yield greater than 4%. Before the 2008 global real estate crisis began, 80% of investment-grade fixed-income securities worldwide had a current yield greater than 4% (source: International Monetary Fund, BTN Research). 

Little Experience – Just three members of Congress, i.e., 3 out of 535 House and Senate members, had securities licenses (selling stock and bonds) before their election to Congress (source: CRS, BTN Research). 

Jobs for Jobless – In August 2009, the United States had 6.4 out-of-work Americans per job opening. In August 2017, the United States had 1.2 out-of-work Americans per job opening (source: Labor Department, BTN Research).

WEEKLY FOCUS – For Your Family’s Sake, Put Final Wishes in Writing

In life, rock ‘n’ roll icon Tom Petty reached countless fans with a musical career that spanned four decades. But in many ways, he sent an even more powerful message with his death on Oct. 2.

After the 66-year-old was rushed to a hospital in cardiac arrest, his family had him removed from life support, a request Petty had made in a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order he had shared with his loved ones.

Because Petty had made his wishes known ahead of time, his family was spared from making an agonizing decision. While it may be difficult to face your own mortality, making arrangements for your care in an emergency where you are unable to speak for yourself is critical to your estate planning. If you’re an adult child, you may also need to speak with your parents about their desires should something tragic happen to them.

Because spending in the last year of life averages about $18,000, having a plan in place ahead of time can save your family from having to cover costly medical bills.

Some items you should prepare while you’re still healthy include:

• A DNR or a do-not-intubate (DNI) order. Both a DNR and a DNI need to be signed by a doctor. A DNR instructs health-care professionals not to perform CPR. A DNI tells them you do not wish to have any tubes inserted into your body.
• A health-care proxy. Also known as a power of attorney, this legal document allows a family member or friend to make health-care decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself.
• A living will or advance care directive. This document gives clear and specific instructions to your health care proxy and physicians regarding the use of life support, a feeding tube or intravenous fluids.
• Funeral plans. By preplanning all the details of your funeral, you can spare your loved ones from having to take care of arrangements during what is sure to be a difficult time for them.

Once you have all your planning documents complete, store them in a safe place where your health-care proxy and family members can easily retrieve them.

While it may seem uncomfortable to make plans regarding the end of your life, by getting your plans down in writing, you can be comforted knowing your loved ones will not be burdened with difficult decisions.

It can be difficult to know where to start building a plan for an unexpected medical emergency. Call us today to discuss how we can help.

* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australia and Far East Index (MSCI EAFE Index) is a widely recognized benchmark of non-U.S. stock markets. It is an unmanaged index composed of a sample of companies representative of the market structure of 20 European and Pacific Basin countries and includes reinvestment of all dividends. Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index comprised of U.S. investment-grade, fixed-rate bond market securities, including government, government agency, corporate and mortgage-backed securities between one and 10 years. Written by Securities America, Copyright November 2017. All rights reserved. Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. SAI# 1941457.1