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On Monday November 25th of 2019 Charles Schwab purchased TD Ameritrade for 26 billion dollars in an all stock deal. For some context, Schwab was started in 1971 by Charles Schwab, he is an entrepreneur from Northern California and graduated from Stanford in 1959. *It should be noted that this is different from Klaus Schwab the founder of the World Economic Forum. That's a completely different guy.* So why did Charles Schwab want to buy TD Ameritrade? Well the reasoning is fairly straightforward - it was an opportunity to almost double their customer base from 12 million customers to 23 million customers, and add over a trillion dollars in assets. To help better understand a brokerage company let's use an analogy of a grocery store. in the same way that you need to go to a grocery store in order to buy food you need to go to a brokerage company in order to buy Investments like stocks ETFs or Mutual fund. The main thing TD Ameritrade customers need to know is that they will have to create a new username and password on the Schwab website after their account has moved over. You do NOT have to create new accounts on the Schwab platform, that will automatically be done for you and the investments moved over. For more information, check out welcome.schwab.com 

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Hello!

As we approach the halfway point for 2023, I’d like to share a brief overview on the markets and help you think about your financial plan. Also, be sure to check out my short YouTube video below for additional commentary! 

Strengths:

1. Large Cap Stocks (up over 9% by the end of May ‘23) 
2. Money markets, CD’s and T-Bills, yielding approximately 5%!

Weaknesses

1. The Fed continuing to raise interest rates
2. Banks, Real Estate Investors impacted by high interest rates
3. Small Cap and International Stocks showing relatively slower growth compared to Large Cap Stocks thus far 

Opportunities

1. Investing in profitable, reasonably priced companies such as Value and Dividend paying companies 
2. Dollar Cost Averaging into the market (for those who are still working)
3. Learning from last years volatility and staying diversified (more on this in my YouTube Video) 

Threats

1. Potential for interest rates staying higher for longer than investors anticipate, which could lead to slow growth or a recession in the future

In summary, while the market was tumultuous last year, this year the market has offered a  welcomed respite. 

For now I remain optimistic that the market and economy will slowly move forward since unemployment is still low and most Americans are spending money, which helps propel stock prices. 

While anything could happen next, the most successful financial plans are those with clearly defined goals, times frames, and risk profile. That way, you can weather any storm and stay on track for financial independence. 

Want to chat more? Please feel free to reply to john.chapman@wpwm.com and we can schedule a call.

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