How Do I Prepare my Portfolio for Inflation?

Contributed by: Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®

Inflation is common in developed economies and, generally, more healthy than deflation. When consumers expect prices to rise, they go out and purchase goods and services now rather than waiting until later. While it is likely that inflation will continue to trend higher here in the U.S. in the coming months the question is “Can this harm my portfolio’s ability to help me achieve my goals?” Consider the following factors contributing to or detracting from the inflation outlook.

Our investment committee has discussed inflation at length for several years now. Here are some highlights from our discussion.

Factors influencing inflation in the short term and long term:

1. Large amount of monetary and fiscal stimulus

   There has been a record amount of stimulus being pushed into the pockets of American’s by the government. The consumer is healthier than it has ever been and demanding to purchase.

2. Supply chain disruptions

   Whether due to shipping constraints or lack of manpower, companies can’t make enough of many different products to meet current demand. Does this sound familiar? It should because a year ago all we could talk about is not having enough toilet paper and disinfectant wipes. People were paying big prices for even small bottles of hand sanitizer.

   Fast forward one year and the shelves are now overflowing with these items and prices have normalized. Once people have spent the money they accumulated over the past year, demand will likely return to normal.

3. Starting from a very low base

   The point to which we are comparing current inflation is one of the biggest influences on the calculation. Right now, for year-over-year inflation, we are comparing to an economy that had very little to no economic activity occurring. When you compare something to nothing, it looks much larger than it actually is. A year from now we will have a more normal comparison base.

4. Wage inflation

   One of the biggest factors in the lack of inflation over the past decade was a lack of wage inflation. We are now seeing wage inflation because companies can’t hire enough people to meet the current demand for their goods or services. Wages are going up trying to entice people back to work. Once government transfer payments slow or run out, many of these individuals will likely return to the workforce again causing wages to return to more normal levels (although it is possible wages settle at a new base that is higher than they were before).

5. A complete lack of velocity of money

   While banks are flush with cash, they still aren’t lending. Why? Because the banks, due to banking regulation changes over 10 years ago, only want to loan large amounts of money to someone who is creditworthy. The creditworthy consumer is so healthy that they don’t need to borrow money.

6. Technology increasing productivity

   A large portion of the country just increased productivity by reducing commute time over the past year via remote working capabilities. Companies that would never have considered allowing remote work now find themselves reducing office space and making permanent shifts in working style. This is just one example of how growth in technology can increase productivity which, over time, puts downward pressure on prices.

It is important to understand what investments could do well if we are surprised and inflation is around the corner.

First of all, your starting point is very important. Are you starting from low inflation or are your inflation levels already elevated? The answer is we are starting from a long stretch of time with very low inflation rates. So in the chart below you would reference the lower two boxes. Then you need to ask, is inflation rising or falling. Low and rising inflation is the bottom left box. You may be surprised to see the strong average performance from varying asset classes in this scenario. Inflation that is reasonable and expected can be a very positive scenario for many asset classes.

In our Second Quarter investment commentary we will dive a little deeper into the asset classes that perform well and how we think about incorporating that into your portfolios!

Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®, is a partner and Director of Investments at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® She chairs The Center Investment Committee and pens a quarterly Investment Commentary.

“Do Good at Work” A Center Book Club Discussion

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

Our Center team took on the challenge of a different kind of book with this quarter’s book club discussion, choosing to read Brea Boccalandro’s new release Do Good at Work: How Simple Acts of Social Purpose Drive Success and Wellbeing.

The general premise of the book was to offer practical advice on how to make your work life more meaningful by job purposing — making a meaningful contribution to others or a social cause as part of the workplace experience. Studies show that we work harder, longer and happier when we pursue social purpose. And it doesn’t matter what position we hold in an organization — anybody can job purpose their own job.  We can all use our own jobs for good and be proud that our job matters.

Some Center Team members share their thoughts below:

“Going forward, this book has helped me think more intentionally about connecting the work we do to a larger purpose.” — Lauren Adams, CFA®, CFP®

“My key takeaway from the book is that small acts make a huge difference. No matter what your job is you can find fulfillment.” — Kelsey Arvai, MBA

“Two things that I learned:  (1) Leave ample ‘time’ for the important things in work and life; and (2) Most people are inner givers, but some need to be taught.”  — Matthew E. Chope, CFP®

Our Center book discussion group had interesting conversations around “Do Good at Work” and these concepts and enjoyed applying them to the work we do with each other, with our clients and with the community. We have already begun to apply the concepts we discussed in our book group and have several other ideas in the works to apply in the near future.

Sandra Adams, CFP® is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Am I Spending Enough Or Saving Too Much?

Contributed by: Kali Hassinger, CFP®, CDFA®

No you didn’t read that title incorrectly.  After decades of consistent and focused saving, how do you change your mentality to feel comfortable spending what you’ve worked so hard to accumulate?  Good savers spend decades developing the discipline to save, plan, and minimize debt, all for the ultimate goal of reaching financial independence and freedom.  However, when it comes time to use those hard-earned funds to support your retirement lifestyle, it can be a difficult transition.

The Center defines financial planning as a coordinated and comprehensive approach to reaching your financial goals.  It necessitates an appropriate balance between spending now and investing for the future.  That is a difficult balance to maintain, and without truly understanding your current resources and future needs, it is easy to miss the mark.  Without professional analysis and review, many either spend too much now and jeopardize future goals or have save too aggressively and end up unnecessarily sacrificing current quality of life. 

In planning, we can quantify what it takes to meet future financial goals, and make sure that we are doing what is needed to help reach those objectives.  In some cases, that knowledge can provide the freedom to actually reduce savings.  Beyond just allowing increased spending, this can also provide the opportunity to pursue passions as opposed to income.

When finally reaching that retirement finish line, however, turning your savings into income can be a daunting task.  Pulling from a balance that you’ve worked years to accumulate and build up can be uncomfortable, especially if you don’t know how much you can safely withdrawal without jeopardizing your long term financial security.  If you’re like many of our clients, it isn’t uncommon to react to this discomfort by under-spending and unintentionally accumulating money throughout retirement. 

Life is all about balance.  In this example, it’s about protecting your financial future while also enjoying life now.  If you’re in the enviable position of having more than you need for retirement, making a meaningful plan for the excess can help to ease the reluctance to spend.  Whether it is gifting, creating a financial legacy, or granting yourself permission to indulge a bit, if it brings you joy, it is worth considering.  Of course we would not recommend spending money frivolously, but, the ultimate goal is to pursue areas of interest because they are meaningful and important to you - unconstrained by financial concerns.  Isn’t that true financial freedom?  

Kali Hassinger, CFP®, CDFA®, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® She has more than a decade of financial planning and insurance industry experience.

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Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Raymond James. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Investing involves risk and investors may incur a profit or a loss.

Post-Election Market Update

11/11/2020 - Watch for market commentary from our Director of Investments, Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®. Let's take a close look at how the presidential election impacted the stock market.

Tune in for market commentary from our Director of Investments, Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®. Let's take a close look at how the presidential election is impa...

Year-End Tax Planning

11/17/2020 - New tax law changes and the impact of Covid-19 may have left you with some questions. Kali Hassinger, CFP®, CDFA® & Bob Ingram, CFP® explain what you need to know!

2021 is an critical tax planning year. New tax law changes and the impact of Covid-19 may have left you with some questions. Kali Hassinger, CFP®, CDFA® & Bo...

How to Finish Financially Strong in 2020

No one could have predicted what 2020 had to offer. The stock market saw wild swings that hadn’t occurred since the 2008 recession. Concerns over Iranian tensions and an oil war quickly took a backseat as Covid 19 spread across the world. Many other notable things happened this year, but let’s discuss how you can end the year financially strong.

Here are the top 8 tips from our financial advisors.

1. Consider rebalancing your portfolio.

The stock market’s major recovery since March may have left your portfolio overweight in some areas or underweight in others. Be sure that you’re taking on the correct amount of risk by rebalancing your long-term asset allocation.

2. Assess your financial goals.

Starting now, assess where you are with the financial goals you’ve set for yourself. Take the necessary steps to help meet your goals before year-end so that you can begin 2021 with a clean slate.

3. Know the estate tax rules.

For those with estates over $5M, be sure to review your potential estate tax exposure under both a Republican and Democrat administration.

4. Review your employer benefits package and retirement plan.

Open enrollment runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15. Review your open enrollment benefit package and your employer retirement plan. Don’t gloss over areas such as Group Life and Disability Elections as most Americans are vastly underinsured. Many 401k plans now offer an “auto increase” feature which can increase your contribution 1% each year until the contribution level hits 15%, for example.  

5. Take advantage of tax planning opportunities.

Such as tax-loss harvesting in after-tax investment accounts or Roth IRA conversions. Many folks have a lower income in 2020 which could present an opportunity to move some money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA while in a slightly lower tax bracket.

6. Boost your cash reserves.

It’s so important to have cash savings to cover unexpected expenses or income loss. Having a solid emergency fund can prevent you from having to sell investments in a down market or from taking on high-interest debt. Ideally, families with two working spouses should have enough cash to cover at least 3 months of expenses. While single income households should have cash to cover six months. Take the opportunity to review your budget and challenge yourself to find additional savings each week through year-end.

7. Contribute more to your retirement plan.

Increase your retirement account contributions for long-term savings, great tax benefits, and free money (aka an employer match).

Contributions you make to an employer pre-tax 401k or 403b are excluded from your taxable income and can grow tax-deferred. Roth account contributions are made after-tax but can grow tax-free.

If your employer plan and financial situation allow for it, you can accelerate your savings from now until the end of the year by setting your contribution level to a high percentage of your income.  Many employers allow you to contribute up to 100% of your pay.

8. Give to charity.

Is there a charity you would like to support? Make a charitable donation! Salvation Army and Toys for Tots are popular around this time.

This material is being provided for information purposes only and is not a complete description, nor is it a recommendation. Any opinions are those of the author and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. Rebalancing a non-retirement account could be a taxable event that may increase your tax liability. Conversions from IRA to Roth may be subject to its own five-year holding period. Unless certain criteria are met, Roth IRA owners must be 59½ or older and have held the IRA for five years before tax-free withdrawals of contributions along with any earnings are permitted. Converting a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA has tax implications. Investors should consult a tax advisor before deciding to do a conversion. Matching contributions from your employer may be subject to a vesting schedule. Please consult with your financial advisor for more information. 401(k) plans are long-term retirement savings vehicles. Withdrawal of pre-tax contributions and/or earnings will be subject to ordinary income tax and, if taken prior to age 59 1/2, may be subject to a 10% federal tax penalty. Contributions to a Roth 401(k) are never tax deductible, but if certain conditions are met, distributions will be completely income tax free. Unlike Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k) participants are subject to required minimum distributions at age 72.

The Center Celebrates 35 Years In Business

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®

35 years…another milestone reached! We had big plans to host an outdoor client appreciation event, but due to the unexpected Covid 19, we were forced to adjust.

Plans shifted to holding our first-ever virtual event. Clients and friends were invited to enjoy a Detroit History Tour presentation. We chose to take a Detroit Zoos tour (out of several interesting options). While everyone knows and loves the zoo located in Royal Oak…the city wasn’t its first home. The journey began in 1895 on Belle Isle.

As many attendees have visited the zoo over the years, it was a wonderful opportunity to look back in time and feel nostalgic. We definitely learned a thing or two…like how a monkey could be purchased for just $6 and how the cost to feed the animals drove the Belle Isle zoo to bankruptcy.

The virtual experience was made possible by Detroit History Tours.

A Message From Our Managing Partner:

We are excited to celebrate 35 years and thank you all for your continued confidence and trust. Serving you is an awesome responsibility and privilege, so thank you for allowing us to be of service. I’d like to share just a few of the highlights of The Center’s journey.

The Center was founded in 1985. Many of our clients began their relationship working with one of our founders, Dan Boyce, Marilyn Gunther, and Estelle Wade.  Make no mistake, these three were financial planning pioneers. Now strategies, tactics, and yes people have changed since 1985 – but the foundation, values, and pillars such as focusing on the financial planning process, creating comprehensive plans that encompass every aspect of a client’s financial life and well-being, focusing on long term relationships, and placing clients interest first have remained the same.

One of my favorite quotes is by Vivian Greene, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”  At the risk of stating the obvious, 2020 has been quite a storm. The health and economic fallout of Covid 19 has been trying for all of us. There have been other challenging times in our 35-year history. While The Great Recession in 2008-2009 did not include a pandemic – it certainly had severe economic and financial instability; all portfolios were impacted, and it was the first time in The Center’s history in which revenues dropped significantly from the preceding year. Back then, like today, we avoided layoffs and kept our entire team intact to ensure clients were well taken care of. There will be other challenging times and fortunately, The Center has experience helping families survive and thrive during these moments. We have always placed people, clients, and team members, over profits and we will continue to do so in the years ahead.

Over the years, with proper planning, our clients prospered, we earned the right to attract new clients, and the firm continued to grow at a measured pace. This was a time when we spent considerable time planning out Marilyn and Dan’s retirement transition for 2014 and 2015. We were very intentional in crafting plans to ensure that clients would receive the same world-class service that our founders provided as many of you began working with new lead financial planners. This was also a time when we moved our office up the street to our current location – our new space reflects our values of teamwork & collaboration and real & down to earth.

So here is what the firm looks like today. We are a team of 30 dedicated, driven, competitive, and highly credentialed professionals. We serve over 800 clients and are responsible for managing assets in excess of $1.2 Billion. 

Financial planning done right has the power to improve lives. And from the beginning, The Center has been committed to building a sustainable business based upon sound fiduciary practices. That is, what is in the best interests of you, our clients, drives our decision making and service offering. Saying that we follow a fiduciary standard or place clients first is not a tag line – it is at the core of who we are.  Thank you again for allowing us to serve you and thank you for being a part of our 35th anniversary!

Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD

Managing Partner

The Center's Complete Third Quarter 2020 Investment Commentary

Contributed by: Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®

The year 2020, unlike 20/20 eyesight, has brought investors everything but clarity when it comes to stock markets and the economy.

Watch the video below or read the complete summary for a recap of our thoughts and reflections on the year and what we are paying attention to in the near future.

As if normal volatility of an election year wasn’t enough, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to linger and cases are back on the rise since early September. There is massive uncertainty over the spread of the virus, vaccine trials, business solvency, Americans’ jobs, and government stimulus that will continue to weigh on stock prices.

Despite the volatility and uncertainty surrounding investors through the first three quarters of the year, the performance of some major asset classes remain positive. Large U.S. stocks have ridden the backs of technology and consumer discretionary stocks (or should I say Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN)?) bringing the S&P 500 to +5.57% through quarter-end (since 12/31/2019). U.S. bonds represented by the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index are up almost +6.8%, and gold is having a banner year up over +24%.  Not everything is rising though. International developed, emerging markets, and small-cap stocks remain in negative territory with three months of trading to go.

Apples are in season…

Our favorite Apple IOS14 update is the new home screen widgets. It is likely tempting to add the large widget to watch updates on the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ performance with every phone notification throughout the day. We understand you watch these numbers too, particularly during the volatility of 2020. Simply watching index returns doesn’t tell the entire story though. In previous years, the largest 5 to 10 companies’ performance contributed to the S&P’s annual return much less than they have this year. As of September 30th, the top five most heavily weighted stocks within the S&P 500 year-to-date (YTD) performance was 35%, with the overall YTD S&P 500 (price return) at 4%. The 495 other companies included in the S&P 500 returned -3% collectively.

The domination in returns has come from household names such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple. Alphabet(Google) and Microsoft.  While many fear this rhymes with the technology bubble of 1999, these companies are in very different positions than they were at that time.  Heavy cash on the balance sheets and lower Price to Earnings ratios (P/E ratios) now versus then speak to some of these differences.

Politics and Pandemics too intertwined for comfort…

The headlines to watch during these final months of 2020 will be centered on two topics: the November election, and the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ll be watching both closely and constantly reviewing new information as it pertains (or doesn’t) to your financial plans.

One major source of uncertainty following the elections will be any potential new tax code, but there may be less to worry about than you’d think when it comes to potential changes. We are assuming a tight election, and, while we are not in the business of predicting elections, we can gain insight from the past when it comes to potential tax changes. If President Trump remains in office, we’d be looking at 4 more years of the same, but even if the Democratic Party sweeps the executive and legislative branches of government – it may be a tough sell to raise taxes amid a pandemic/recession. Despite a historically low tax environment, there are a lot of businesses that are already struggling and unemployment remains high. While unemployment is off of its record high near 15%, it is still sitting near a historically high measure of 7.9%. This does not favor tax increases. Looking back to when President Obama took office in ’09, we were coming out of the Great Financial Crisis and it took years before there were any significant tax hikes.

More political uncertainty: the Supreme Court justice nomination following the passing of Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Senate is currently controlled by Republicans, and they are pushing to get President Trump’s nomination, Amy Coney Barrett, sworn in before the election. The only problem is, Covid-19 may get in the way of a Senate vote as well, with several key members testing positive for Covid-19. With President and First Lady Trump testing positive for the virus, Washington D.C. is on high-alert to protect the health and safety of our government officials. Uncertainty about when the Senate will be able to meet and continue the nomination process may cause some market volatility.

As always, we urge you to check out our blog where we have wrote on many of these topics repeatedly over the years. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes, and it has told us that staying the course despite ever-looming market uncertainty has paid off time and time again. This may feel even harder during an election year, but remember that history has shown political parties have no bearing on long-term stock performance. Now stay healthy, stay invested, and go vote!

Angela Palacios, CFP®, AIF®, is a partner and Director of Investments at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® She chairs The Center Investment Committee and pens a quarterly Investment Commentary.

The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected, including diversification and asset allocation. Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction costs or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investor's results will vary. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, US dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. Any opinions are those of Angela Palacios, and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expression of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statement, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Individual investor’s results will vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Rebalancing a non-retirement account could be a taxable event that may increase your tax liability The forgoing is not a recommendation to buy or sell any individual security or any combination of securities. The companies engaged in the communications and technology industries are subject to fierce competition and their products and services may be subject to rapid obsolescence. Gold is subject to the special risks associated with investing in precious metals, including but not limited to: price may be subject to wide fluctuation; the market is relatively limited; the sources are concentrated in countries that have the potential for instability; and the market is unregulated.

How Are Fearless Billionaires On The Campaign Trail?

Contributed by: Jaclyn Jackson, CAP®

If you thought this blog was about Donald Trump, your leg was just pulled. This candidate’s name starts with a “J.B.”, that’s right – Jeff Bezos (pulled again). On August 26th, the Amazon Founder and CEO became the first person ever worth an unprecedented $200 billion. This happened just before 2020 required the best August returns since 1984 and US markets recovered from deep pandemic-facilitated lows by exceeding mid-February pre-pandemic highs. All the while in true Tale of Two Cities form, a global pandemic has millions of Americans reconciling above-average unemployment rates and highlighted a variety of social disparities through seemingly targeted infection rates. Amazon, specifically, has received unfavorable headlines during the pandemic as essential workers strike against the alleged lack of virus-related safety precautions taken by the company and unsatisfactory compensation.

Democratizing Capitalism

Although wealth inequality isn’t new, the pandemic amplified its implications. (As of writing this) Presidential elections are approaching. Like most elections, economics lead the ballot. Observing recent history’s populist-leaning politics, Pershing Square Capital founder and billionaire hedge fund manager, Bill Ackman suggests democratizing capitalism in his latest letter to investors. In the letter, he touted capitalism as the best system for maximizing the size of the economic pie. Yet, warns the lack of wage growth for most Americans facilitates Black Swan-like risks for investors as lower/middle-income Americans advocate radical change that overhauls modern capitalism. Essentially, social unrest poses a threat to investors. Ackman’s solution was creating programs that widen market participation (and subsequent gain participation) to individuals who can’t traditionally invest thereby restoring faith in capitalism. 

Aligning Interests

Which brings it back to Jeff Bezos. Many anticipate the CEO will follow Tesla and Apple’s lead, by splitting Amazon stock. On the surface, stock splits are superficial. Technically, they don’t equate to any value change for a company. However, stock splits have historically been used to signal a company’s strength or hint that something good might be on the horizon for the company. As illustrated by the latest Tesla and Apple stock splits, many investors take note and likely load up on company stock consequently boosting the company’s value.

So, what does Jeff Bezos splitting Amazon stock have to do with Bill Ackman’s thoughts on saving capitalism? Amazon is one of the few businesses to profit during the pandemic directly contrasting the experience of small business owners and the general public alike. It becomes more challenging for the average person to praise Jeff Bezos’ extraordinary wealth when their experience mirrors Amazon employees who are frustrated by the inability to work safely or receive adequate compensation. At the current stock price, many cannot join in on Amazon’s success. By lowering the individual stock price, a stock split increases access to a wider range of investors. More participants in Amazon’s meteoric rise could increase their customer base, increase customer loyalty, and even discourage (at least in public opinion) attempts to break up the company as it moves into a monopolistic stratosphere. Perhaps designing a way for Amazon’s essential workers to more easily invest in the company could solve compensation distress. Jeff Bezos wins the day by making Amazon stocks more accessible; he sets his business and himself up to potentially gain more wealth and with a wider range of investor participants, he gets buy-in from the average individual. Bezos’ success becomes the average person’s success and their interests align in capitalism; Ackman’s resolution in practice. 

No matter the political view, most Americans would agree that democracy is the blood and bone of our nation. Whether we are practicing democracy through voting or considering new ways to exercise democracy (as Bill Ackman explored), we are uplifting the country’s greatest strength.

Jaclyn Jackson, CAP® is a Portfolio Administrator at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® She manages client portfolios and performs investment research.

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The forgoing is not a recommendation to buy or sell any individual security or any combination of securities. Be sure to contact a qualified professional regarding your particular situation before making any investment or withdrawal decision. The information contained in this blog does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Jaclyn Jackson and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. Individual investor's results will vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investments mentioned may not be suitable for all investors.

"So you want to talk about race" Center Book Club Discussion

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®

Founded in the midst of quarantine, the Center team stayed connected with its first ever book club. Not only has COVID-19 changed our reality, but so has the Black Lives Matter movement. We desired to further educate ourselves on that topic by reading So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo.

Oluo is a Seattle-based writer, speaker, and (self-proclaimed) Internet Yeller. She was raised by a white single mother and became a single mother herself to two mixed-race sons at a young age.

In the book, Oluo argues that America's political, economic, and social systems are systematically racist. She provides advice for discussing race-related subjects. While published in 2018, the book received renewed attention following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020.

Some Center Team members share their thoughts below:

“A much greater appreciation for how the lived experiences of others are so often very different than my own and a better understanding and greater urgency for how to work together to make the world a better and more equitable place.” -- Lauren Adams, CFA®, CFP®

“The intention of our actions (although important) is not as important as the impact of our actions. We are all privileged in some way, whether it be our education, citizenship, having loving parents, or even food to eat. It is not necessarily a bad thing. We can use it to help others. And we learned about the theory of intersectionality which is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to any given individual or group.” -- Gerri Harmer

“I really enjoyed discussing the book! It required me to stretch myself and think about difficult topics on a personal level. This endeavor was made more comfortable by hearing from others that they were experiencing similar feelings.” -- Jeanette LoPiccolo, CFP®

“I’ve gained a much deeper awareness and understanding for those different than myself. What we say and the choices we make impact the future of those who start with disadvantages. If we work together to take action now, we can make this world a more diverse, dynamic, creative and inclusive place where we’re all on an equal playing field.” -- Sandra D. Adams, CFP®

“The 400 years of oppression that some people in our “fair and equitable” society endured….is shocking. Today, it’s still not fair or equal; there is a significant underlying bias in society that we have not yet found an appropriate remedy for.” -- Matthew E. Chope, CFP®

If you’re looking to challenge your perspective, give this a read! Well, that’s a wrap for the first Center Book Club reading. Until next time!

Any opinions are those of the professionals at Center for Financial Planning, Inc and not necessarily those of Raymond James.