Mattson Financial Services - February 2021

Mattson Financial Services - February 2021

F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S , L L C

616-514-3831

www.MattsonFinancial.com

FEBRUARY 2021

DON’T SINK IN THE SWAMP!

I f the market goes up, we’re happy. If the market goes down, we try to stay ahead of it by riding it out, investing more, or ignoring it. Our grandparents had a much easier time. Many worked for a company, received a pension and Social Security, and maybe bought some stocks that paid a dividend. With our parents, people changed jobs, became more mobile, kept their noses down, and worked. Some were told to buy land because it wouldn’t decrease in value and that they should get to know their banker. Handshakes and loans were dependable — until 2008. Today, it’s hard to find a bank that hasn’t been acquired by a larger group, and getting a mortgage is difficult for some. In any case, many baby boomers are reaching retirement and feeling like they are wading through a swamp. Some may ask, “If I invest here, am I going to sink a little? Am I going to go under up to my nose or worse? Will I lose everything? How do I ensure at least some of my assets last through retirement?” So, what’s the answer? Many turn to diversification to target a risk level based upon their retirement goals, risk tolerance, and investment time horizon. Now, you may look at your portfolio and say, “Well, I’m diversified. I have several different mutual funds, so I’m good.”

that move up and down together — and are likely to be affected similarly by events — is not true diversification. Traditionally, stocks and bonds are considered to have a negative correlation because stocks are supposed to go up when bonds go down and vice versa. However, we’ve seen times when both go down together! Stocks and bonds can be an important part of a portfolio, but so are non-correlated assets, such as real estate, hedge funds, private equities, commodities, and foreign currency. So, what we suggest is to diversify your portfolio into assets with different correlation levels to diversify your income flow. “But,” you say, “I don’t have a multimillion- dollar portfolio to be able to diversify in all these categories.” You’re right, if you look at the individual issues, but with exchange- traded funds (ETFs), you can achieve that diversification. Buying ETFs allows for real- time trading and transparency, holding exactly what you want in your portfolio. The fees are generally low, and they give you 20/20 vision of your assets, showing when and where to draw income from within your portfolio. For a more predictable retirement income stream, an indexed annuity can be beneficial. With indexed annuities, you can create retirement income that you won’t outlive, with guarantees backed by the issuing insurance company. While these contracts are invested directly in a market index, they provide

guaranteed minimums and protect against losses when the market goes down. When the market is up, you capture a portion of the gains depending on caps, spreads, and participation rates. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical example of a diversified portfolio. Let’s say you have a million dollars and you put $350,000 into an indexed annuity. Then you take another $350,000 and divide it between stocks and bonds at a 60/40 ratio in diversified ETFs. Then you place $250,000 into non-correlated assets, divided between real estate, private equity, hedge funds, foreign currencies, and commodities, like gold. Then you hold the last $50,000 in cash for needs that may arise. Assuming we experience another market decline, using the example above, if correlated assets decline, the non-correlated assets and fixed annuities would allow you to take income without taking from an account that is negative. If income is not needed, then the portfolio can be rebalanced by withdrawing from the positive non-correlated positions and buying while the market and correlated assets are down. Continuing with the example, when the markets recover, you can take any of your gains and move them back to where they were disbursed from, thus rebalancing your portfolio into the same percentages without significant market losses.

This isn’t always true! In my opinion, being diversified with correlated assets, or assets

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FROM BOOKS TO … PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?

Amazon Launches Amazon Pharmacy

For years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been vocal about his plan to disrupt the American health care system. In 2018, Bezos and his millionaire pals Warren Buffett (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway) and Jamie Dimon (CEO of JPMorgan Chase) formed a company called Haven Healthcare to “stem the rise of employer health care spending,” according to Bloomberg Businessweek. That venture fell apart, but Bezos never took his eyes off the prize. That same year, Amazon bought a drug-delivery startup. In 2019, it started selling its own brand of over-the-counter medication. Then, in November of 2019, Amazon opened Amazon Pharmacy to sell prescription drugs online. The new program offers Prime members two-day delivery and massive discounts on generic and name-brand drugs. Given Amazon’s history, this was no surprise.

everything, especially all things health and fitness. Health-conscious people have bought workout equipment, supplements, snacks, fitness books, and more on the website for years. Then, in 2017, Amazon bought the organic grocery store Whole Foods and offered shopping discounts to Prime members, further cornering the market of health-conscious consumers. Both the Whole Foods purchase and the failed Haven Healthcare venture foreshadowed the arrival of Amazon Pharmacy. The latter showed how serious Bezos is about diving into the highly regulated realm of health care and insurance. The former revealed the growing importance of Prime membership in an increasingly Amazon-owned world. According to Business Insider, Prime members have access to “discounts of up to 80% on generic drugs and 40% on brand-name medications when paying without insurance” through Amazon

Since starting in 1994 as a marketplace exclusively for books, Amazon has worked toward becoming a one-stop shop for

MONEY SCAMS ARE SKYROCKETING Here Are 3 Ways to Protect Yourself Right Now

For the past year, scammers have been working full time to fleece people. As a result of COVID-19, federal financial relief efforts, and state-level relief efforts, scammers have found a new way to get into their victims’ pockets. Now, they’re using COVID-19 again, this time with the “vaccine scam.” Through this scam, they’ll sign you up for the COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for a fee. They are also using variations of the grandparent scam, in which scammers pretend to be a family member in trouble (this time, they have COVID-19 or have lost their job) and they need money. Scammers make phone calls, send text messages, and craft phishing emails, hoping you’ll take the bait. How can you protect yourself from these financial scams and more? Try these three different ways! 1. Shut them down. If you get a call from a scammer, hang up immediately (better yet, don’t answer unknown callers at all). At the same time, delete scam texts or emails the second you see them. If you get a call, text, or email from someone claiming to be with the government or a government agency, it’s a scammer. No one from any federal agency

will ever call you out of the blue. Anyone claiming to have a cure or pretending to be in desperate need of money is also trying to scam you. Never say a word back to them. Cut them off and go about your day. 2. Sign up for Informed Delivery by USPS. This free service is a great way to monitor your incoming mail. Every morning, USPS sends you an email with scanned images of the day’s mail (this doesn’t usually include larger parcels). When you pick up your mail later in the day, you can verify if anything is missing. Scammers may prefer phone calls, but mail thieves are still very much on the prowl. 3. Sign up for an identity protection and fraud detection service . You never know who might end up with your personal information, but you can take steps to keep it safe. There are several services, like LifeLock, Identity Guard, and Intelius Identity Project, that offer comprehensive identify protection. They monitor credit cards, addresses, phone numbers, bank accounts, and more with the purpose of scoping out unusual or fraudulent behavior. Many services can be customized to fit your specific needs.

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Pharmacy. Doctors can also send prescriptions directly to Amazon. If you have insurance, you can simply type your insurance and payment information directly into the website and have medication delivered to your door. To check out Amazon Pharmacy, head to Amazon.com and click on the menu in the top left corner of the home page. Then scroll down to “Programs and Features.” All of that said, Amazon isn’t the only — or even best — option for purchasing prescription drugs online. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s BeSafeRx program offers tips and a comprehensive list of online pharmacies nationwide. Visit FDA.gov today to learn more.

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Think of it this way: If you invested in 2000 and 2008, what would your portfolio look like now? If you had only stocks and bonds, you may not have been able to buy low. The best you could have done was get out of the market or hold on and wait it out. By buying when the market is negative, you can get “back to even” faster and possibly attract more gains. And, more importantly, you can capture those gains for the future. Fast forward to today — with vaccines arriving and companies reopening in force, there is definitely pent-up purchasing power with cash sitting on the sidelines. This, coupled with small-cap and mid-cap stock still in negative territory, opens up opportunities for upward movement in late spring/early summer. Volatility will still be a part of the equation, but “volatility” should be viewed in the long term as the new norm. Holding and waiting is another thing you should keep in mind, especially going into 2021. This is something Maria Bartimono on Fox Business has stated, and I agree with her. You should hold the investing strategies that you are currently in. Until we know the direction of the new administration and Congress, we suggest a hold attitude. For now, though, get out there and enjoy the swamp! Now you know where to walk and not sink! –Gary Mattson

STRAWBERRY KISSED ALMOND BUTTER MUFFINS MARY’S

Inspired by AmbitiousKitchen.com

Enjoy this Valentine’s Day-themed muffin with your Valentine or treat yourself!

Ingredients

• •

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed 3/4 cup natural creamy almond butter (can substitute creamy peanut butter)

• • • • •

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup oat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

• •

2 large eggs

1/4 cup strawberry fruit spread, divided (we recommend Bonne Maman INTENSE)

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or honey)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 3. In a large bowl, mix bananas, almond butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. 4. Stir in oat flour, baking powder, and salt until smooth. 5. Evenly divide batter into liners. Add 1 tsp strawberry fruit spread to the top of each muffin. 6. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the spread into the batter. 7. Bake for 22–27 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 8. Transfer muffins to wire rack to cool and enjoy!

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F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S , L L C

3226 28th Street SE Kentwood, MI 49512

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 2

Diversified? Not Yet!

Amazon Launches Amazon Pharmacy

Protect Yourself From COVID-19 Scams!

3

Strawberry Kissed Almond Butter Muffins Mark Your Calendar!

4

Is Air Travel as Risky as You Think?

**Reminder: If you have any changes to your financial situation, please notify us as soon as possible.

Investment advisory services are offered through Mattson Financial Services, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor in the state of Michigan. Insurance products and services are offered through Lakeview Financial Group, LLC. Mattson Financial Services, LLC and Lakeview Financial Group, LLC are affiliated companies.

Is it Safe to Fly During the Pandemic?

Air Travel May Be Less Risky Than You Think

Passengers Wearing Masks Most airlines mandate that

Back in March, when the pandemic first started to affect our daily lives, the number of U.S. airlines’ international passengers fell by 53% from the previous year. In April, the difference was even more stark — a drop of around 96%. People didn’t trust that they would be safe from COVID-19 on airplanes, and why would they? Whether earned or not, airplanes have a reputation for being flying petri dishes. That said, flying may be safer than you think, even if there are still some risks. Here are some of the ways airlines are taking precautions to minimize those risks. Using High-Quality Air Filtration The air filtration systems on airplanes are built to stop respiratory viruses from spreading. Air quality experts recommend that air in confined spaces be replaced six times per hour. Filtration systems on planes replace the air around 20–30 times an hour. In practice, that means you risk

catching COVID-19 only if someone who’s

passengers wear a mask during boarding and while flying, though some do allow passengers to take them off to eat and drink. Masks are still the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, even on airplanes. Back at the beginning of the pandemic, a man who later tested positive for COVID-19 flew all the way from Wuhan to Toronto but wore a mask the whole time. No other passengers were infected. While the risks may be less severe than you thought, you should still exercise caution. Practice social distancing during the boarding and disembarking processes as best you can and keep up to date on any outbreaks at your destination. Just because things are safer than you thought doesn’t mean you should throw caution into the air filtration system.

infected is sitting directly next to, in

front of, or behind you. However, that doesn’t

account for people moving about the cabin on flights, so take that into consideration.

Blocking the Middle Seat Some airlines have tried to create social distancing between passengers by leaving the middle seat open on flights. According to research from Arnold Barnett, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this does seem to reduce the number of passengers contracting COVID-19. Additionally, Barnett recommends that passengers try to get the window seat, since that’s where you’ll have the fewest points of contact with other passengers. It’s not quite 6 feet, but it’s better than nothing.

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