A group of our advisors recently read The Gap and the Gain, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. It’s a short book with a simple, powerful message: Instead of focusing on how far away I am from where I want to be (The Gap), I should focus on how far I have come from where I started (The Gain).

We have seen an increasing number of our clients encounter attempts at scamming them out of money. As your team of advisors, we care deeply about your financial security. When scammers succeed, it is often by getting someone to act quickly before having the chance to think about what is being asked of them. Our hope is that promoting awareness will help our clients recognize any tricks before it’s too late.

The broad US stock market just experienced its 11th-worst 6-month period since 1971. It’s always possible that markets get worse before they get better. Yet, history has shown that stocks tend to do well following a [very] bad stretch.

It is with extraordinary joy and satisfaction that Austin Colby and The Wealth Group welcome Karie Merritt officially as an equity partner and owner of the firm!

As investors, there are always reasons to be cautious and reasons to be optimistic—often simultaneously. The bears and the bulls both have valid points. But to be a successful investor over multiple decades, it pays to remain optimistic.

I bought my trusty 2007 Toyota Yaris in October 2012 for $9,300 with 32,000 miles on it. Today, it has 114,000 miles--plenty of life left to live. While I have intended several times in the past to replace the vehicle for one that will better accommodate a family with five young children, the process has not quite gone according to plan.

There are about 253 stock market trading days per year. Over 20 years, that equates to 5,060 trading days. If you missed the 10 best days out of those 5,060, you only missed 0.2% of all the trading days (one-fifth of one percent), yet your returns would have been reduced by over 50%.

The Wealth Group team is excited to have been named on Forbes’ “Best-In-State Wealth Advisors” list for the third consecutive year.

The Colby family van (affectionately called “the Party Bus”) was recently totaled in a car accident. Thankfully, there were no major injuries to the passengers, but it was a complete wreck of an excellent motor carriage that had faithfully transported my family 130,000+ miles over the past eight years. Once the shock of the accident had worn off, I began the disheartening task of finding a replacement.

Introducing the newest team member at The Wealth Group: Jaron Kissner.

tl;dr version: Americans are very pessimistic right now. This is a contrarian indicator. Stocks have an 84% chance of being higher 12 months from now. It might take some time, but forward-looking return prospects are good when folks are discouraged. The average 12-month forward return in past instances like this is +15%.