Wisdom for Your
Financial Journey

Marriage can be one of life's greatest blessings – and biggest challenges. Even in the strongest of marriages, couples usually experience friction. Avoiding conflict altogether isn't realistic, but learning to address conflict in healthy ways can keep relationships strong. In a recent podcast, Blue Trust's Russ Crosson had the opportunity to talk with Brian Goins and Ed Uszynski, two facilitators from FamilyLife's popular Weekend to Remember marriage enrichment retreats.

Questioning if the U.S. dollar's future as the world's reserve currency is in jeopardy isn't new, but it's emerged again lately amid headlines relating to foreign governments trading in non-U.S. dollars, central banks diversifying currency reserves in the wake of the “weaponization” of the financial system against Russia, and the U.S.'s growing debt.

The second quarter 2023 economic review examines three potential scenarios for the U.S. economy—a soft landing that cools inflation without recession, a hard landing resulting in recession, or a no landing scenario with renewed growth. The analysis addresses banking turmoil, persistent supercore inflation, and Fed policy implications for investors navigating economic uncertainty.

In our twenty-third episode, we sit down with the chief supply chain officer of Atlanta Community Food Bank and former district manager of the Home Depot, Kenny Hill, along with Blue Trust CEO, Nick Stonestreet, and founder of Be A Peacemaker, Dr. Michael Patterson. Kenny shares his story of growing up in poverty and how God placed certain people in his life who challenged him and gave him opportunities to grow.

In this podcast, our head of investments for Blue Trust, Brian McClard, and senior investment strategist, John Pickart, provide insight into what we have been seeing in the markets. They also discuss the recent banking crisis, inflation, the Fed, and more. We believe the highest satisfaction in investment performance is really more tied to what you're invested for than what you're invested in.

Building a Portfolio that Reflects Your Values Is it possible to own an investment without compromising your beliefs and values? Investing according to issues that are important to you is sometimes called values-based or impact investing. Many shareholders are interested in investing in companies that are making a positive impact on society or want to avoid investing in businesses that support or participate in activities that are contrary to their values.

People should be more concerned with the return of their principal than the return on their principal. – Will Rogers In light of recent events surrounding the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature Banks, and concerns around First Republic and the banking system as a whole, we have received questions from clients wondering: Should I pull my money from my regional bank and move it to a bigger bank?

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest U.S. bank by assets, was forced into FDIC receivership on Friday, March 10, 2023, after a classic run on bank deposits following concerns about investment losses and its inability to raise capital. Two other banks also failed in the last few days. A common thread among these banks is their focus on technology, an industry that has slowed recently, or cryptocurrencies, which have also experienced recent volatility.

Women's History Month Each year in March, we celebrate Women's History Month as a special opportunity to honor the numerous contributions and accomplishments of women throughout history. Countless women have impacted our society by lobbying for the rights of women. One of the biggest milestones was women gaining the right to vote and therefore having a voice in the direction of our country.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) has been raising interest rates for a year in its attempt to cool inflation; but with inflation still hovering above 6%,1 it remains far from the Fed's 2% target. At first glance, it appears the Fed has a lot left to do, but the Fed believes there's only one major inflation component still of concern—supercore inflation.

Blue Trust's Winter 2023 newsletter explores how Christians can align their financial decisions with their values, featuring new resources and investment options like Access Portfolios that enable values-based investing while maintaining biblical principles of stewardship and generosity.

On January 19 the U.S. reached its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit. Since then, the U.S. Treasury has resorted to “extraordinary measures”1 to extend the U.S. government's ability to continue paying its expenses without breaching the debt limit. The Treasury will likely exhaust its options sometime between June and September, at which point it will reach the so-called “X date” when the U.S. government can no longer pay all of its obligations on time.