Wisdom for Your
Financial Journey

What's happened year to date? Despite lingering supply chain issues and growing inflation concerns, investors saw strong equity performance in 2021, both domestically and internationally, as the S&P 500 and MSCI ACWI returned 28.7% and 19.0%, respectively. In contrast, investors have experienced significant volatility and market selloffs in 2022 that have negated most, if not all, of last year's gains.

On Mother's Day, most of us head to the store to buy a greeting card and tell our mom how much we love her.  For many people, the card is more important than the flowers or gifts.  For some, what you write to them will be with them for the rest of their lives.  But not everyone knows how to write a meaningful card.

In our “Wisdom for Wealth. For Life.” podcast series, we share financial advice and wisdom from our network of wealth advisors and thought leaders in the industry, and from around our community of over 10,000 financially blessed families who apply biblical wisdom to their financial planning and giving.

By some measures, during the first quarter of 2022 bonds experienced their worst quarter in 40 years as the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index fell just under 6%. Yields on short- and medium-term U.S. Treasuries rose dramatically (prices fall when yields rise) as the two-year yield climbed at the sharpest pace since 1984 and five-year yields increased the most since 1987.

Q2 2022 brought simultaneous economic headwinds as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes to combat 40-year-high inflation created significant market volatility. This review examines the geopolitical crisis, persistent inflation concerns, rising interest rates, and how Blue Trust is positioning portfolios to navigate these interconnected challenges.

Blue Trust's senior investment strategist Mark Elam, and Marshall Stocker, vice president and co-director of emerging markets at Eaton Vance Management, discuss opportunities in emerging markets, investing in China, and some of the long-term impacts of the war in Ukraine. If you have any further questions or would like to discuss your investment strategy, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Written by Keith Kreb, Sr. Private Wealth Advisor in Blue Trust's Chicago, Illinois office You may be surprised to learn that many retirees don't enjoy retirement. They discover this new time in their life isn't made up of the happy “golden years” that they anticipated. Retirement usually means a shift from adding to investments to living from investments, adjusting to spending time in different places with different people, and sometimes includes a sense of lost identity.

Written by Ryan Anderson, Private Wealth Advisor, and Blake Mankin, Financial Planner, in Blue Trust's Houston, Texas office When stock markets are dropping, we may feel our anxiety rising. This response is common and understandable. If the stock tickers are flashing red, the headlines are screaming bad news, and the world feels particularly unstable, then it is only natural to seek safety quickly.

In our “Wisdom for Wealth. For Life.” podcast series, we share financial advice and wisdom from our network of wealth advisors and thought leaders in the industry, and from around our community of over 10,000 financially blessed families who apply biblical wisdom to their financial planning and giving.

On February 24 Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest military attack in Europe since World War II. The foremost effect of the war so far has been a humanitarian crisis. Since the war began, accurate information has been difficult to obtain, but it's estimated that over one and half million Ukrainians have fled, thousands have died, and hundreds of buildings have been destroyed.

Women are controlling more and more of the private wealth in our country each year. However, it is still common for women to feel ill-equipped or take a back seat when it comes to managing finances. What recent trends have we noticed regarding women and money management? Women today lead such busy lives that it may be difficult to prioritize staying up-to-date on financial matters and understanding topics related to personal finance.

In our “Wisdom for Wealth. For Life.” podcast series, we share financial advice and wisdom from our network of wealth advisors and thought leaders in the industry, and from around our community of 10,000 financially blessed families who apply biblical wisdom to their financial planning and giving.