SAN ANTONIO INVESTMENT INSIDER GUIDE WE$INAR E:PLORES (INANCIAL ENVIRONMENT

With so few guarantees in today’s world, there is one absolute: the stock market will go up and down. The market has been on the ascent into the financial stratosphere of late, leading many advisors to issue cautions that a market adjustment appears inevitable. To better understand the current financial environment, San Antonio ExpressNews recently held its Investment Insider Guide webinar, featuring four regional experts. Publisher Mark Medici asked a series of insightful questions about the current economy designed to provide viewers with a broad swath of opinions to help all of us manage or establish our portfolios.

Medici was joined by John Touhy and Josh Lynch, CEO and director of Portfolio Management with SWBC Investment Services respectively; Curt Coulombe, a financial advisor with

Elliott & Associates Wealth Advisors; and Dustin Whittenburg, tax law attorney with the Law Office of Dustin

Whittenburg. Here are excerpts from that conversation.

After a 28year career in the industry, Coulombe acknowledges that this market cycle is somewhat unique due to the pandemic. However, he believes the common perspective that “growth in earnings justifies lofty valuations and that companies will grow into higher valuations” has borne out recently. However, Coulombe cautions that an aggressive Fed policy or unforeseen virus mutations could “throw a wet blanket on this party very quickly.”

Touhy recommends a familiar strategy in the face of this uncertainty: a diverse portfolio. He is concerned about geopolitical risk, as demonstrated by recent shortages in microchips and new cars, among other goods. He also asserts that the current growth in the market can be largely attributed to domestic spending.

“What we’re dealing with right now is interest rates that are at all-time lows. It seems when interest rates try to increase, they just get pushed back down. So we’re taking a very sharp look at guiding investors to understand the risks that they’re taking to obtain their reward. There is always risk and reward.”

Touhy says his firm is spending additional time with clients, advising them to “really take a step back. Because as you see the stocks, you see Bitcoin, you see all the highlights in the news that can start to distract you, the investor. We look at the impact of what happens tomorrow, what happens down the road in six months, and we look at really being careful when selecting securities to obtain

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