Greetings Everyone,
Monday, January 17th was Martin Luther King Day, a day of service and remembrance. Sarah Berry shares the World Arts Foundation Inc. link below from their program Keep Alive The Dream. This year it was broadcasted on PBS. This historical film directed by Elijah Hasan documents African American communities in Oregon honoring the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1978, the World Arts Foundation has hosted an annual Martin Luther King tribute event.

On Sunday in Lake Oswego, Martin Luther King was honored by the city and local organizations with a silent march; the event also included speakers and music.

Financial Planning – 2022 IMPORTANT NUMBERS
Every year there are changes in retirement plan numbers. The chart below will help guide you regarding retirement plans, traditional IRA and Roth IRA contributions, Traditional IRA deductibility and education tax credit incentives. Also listed is the Uniform Lifetime Table for (RMD) calculations. Estate gift exclusions are now at $12,060,000 currently.
Health Savings Accounts can be useful preretirement as well as a great help in offsetting qualified medical expenses once retired. Ask us for a PDF of this information or a printed copy if you find it useful.

Willamette Falls – Oregon History and The Legacy Project

Linette and I took a drive south along 99E and stopped at the roadside view just south of the tunnel coming from Oregon City. This picture below was our view of Willamette Falls. Sometimes it is refreshing to pause in our day and appreciate the beauty right in front of us. This place is breathtaking, but it is also the seat of history for Oregon.

For centuries, Willamette Falls has been a significant cultural, fishing and gathering place for Native American Tribes. Can you imagine that Lewis and Clark would have met these natives who lives here in the early 1800s? There will be many changes to the river with the Willamette Falls Legacy Project building a public river walk for all to enjoy.

Did you know that this was the final destination for westward settlers, the end of the Oregon Trail? It was also the first site of the world’s first long-distance electrical power transmission line, from Oregon City to Portland. Willamette Falls is the second largest falls in the United States by volume only surpassed by Niagara Falls.

Here I discovered a historical video you might enjoy. Willamette Falls – Where the Future Began, produced by Portland General Electric

Photo by Linette Dobbins

Thank you for opening these emails and letting us share resources, community news, personal stories, and financial planning highlights. Let us know if you’ve got something special to share with us and we can include it.

Judith McGee, L.H.D., CFP®, ChFC®
Executive Vice President and Senior Lead Advisor

‍

In the Markets

LAST WEEK

Equities closed generally lower last week, with only the Global Dow ending the week in the black. Inflation, or more likely the Federal Reserve's response to rising prices, may have influenced investors. Markets are still adjusting to the anticipated tighter monetary policy from the Fed, which is planning on raising interest rates several times this year. The central bank is also considering reducing the size of its balance sheet, which means less demand for bonds. Ten-year Treasury yields ended the week flat. The dollar dipped lower, while crude oil prices rose nearly 7.0%, reaching $84.23 per barrel. Gold advanced, but remains marginally below its 2021 year-end price.
Stocks continued their slide last Monday, despite a marginal surge in tech shares. Several of the major indexes declined, with the Dow (-0.5%), the S&P 500 (-0.1%), the Russell 2000 (-0.4%), and the Global Dow (-0.2%) ending the day in the red. Only the Nasdaq was able to close ahead, but only by 0.1%. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy in response to rising inflation continued to dominate the market. Ten-year Treasury yields climbed higher as bond prices fell. Crude oil prices dropped to $78.43 per barrel. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. Health care, communication services, and information technology were the only market sectors to advance.
Last Tuesday saw stocks rebound after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the Fed would do whatever is needed to control rising inflation. Tech stocks followed Monday's increase with another strong performance, sending the Nasdaq up 1.4% on the day. The Russell 2000 jumped 1.1%, followed by the S&P 500 and the Global Dow (0.9%), and the Dow (0.5%). The dollar and 10-year Treasury yields fell, while crude oil prices rose to $81.42 per barrel. Energy, materials, communication services, and information technology led the market sectors.
Stocks closed last Wednesday generally higher, despite rising inflation. The major benchmark indexes posted gains, with the S&P 500 (0.3%) and the Nasdaq (0.2%) finishing ahead of the Dow (0.1%). Only the Russell 2000 failed to add value, closing down 0.5%. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in December, ending 2021 with its largest annual increase in nearly 40 years, increasing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will move to quell inflationary pressures. Ten-year Treasury yields dipped lower, as did the dollar. Crude oil prices rose to $82.70 per barrel.
The Nasdaq dropped 2.5% last Thursday amid tech stock losses. With the growing likelihood that interest rates will be rising soon, investors may be moving from growth shares to value stocks. Also last Thursday, investors saw an increase in weekly unemployment claims and wholesale price inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, the Russell 2000 dipped 0.8%, and the Dow slipped 0.5%. The Global Dow inched up 0.1%. Ten-year Treasury yields, the dollar, and crude oil prices slid lower. Consumer discretionary and information technology declined more than 2.0%.
Stocks were mixed last Friday, with the Nasdaq (0.6%), the Russell 2000 (0.1%), and the S&P 500 (0.1%) ending the day higher, while the Dow (-0.6%) and the Global Dow (-0.2%) closed lower. Crude oil prices, the dollar, and 10-year Treasuries climbed higher on the day. Fourth-quarter earnings reports from a few major banks were released last week, with mixed results. A slew of banks and financial companies will be reporting their fourth-quarter earnings data this week.

‍

THIS WEEK

This week's economic news focuses on the housing sector, with the December data on housing starts and existing home sales. The number of building permits rose 3.6% in November, while housing starts jumped 11.8% — both signs that new home construction is on the upswing. Sales of existing homes have also been on the rise since September 2021. November saw existing home sales increase 1.9%, another indication that the demand for housing is solid.

Source: Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc.

‍

Articles & Education

Military Benefits: A Planning Overview

The U.S. provides military service members with excellent benefits, but they are often challenging to understand and navigate.

- Read More -

Navigating the Storm

Summary Q1 growth slowed, the Fed is trying to fight inflation, but global economic growth remains positive.

- Read More -

Investment Term of the Week

Thought of the Week

Please Note: McGee Wealth Management is a tradename. All services are provided by McGee Wealth Management investment professionals are provided in their individual capacities as investment adviser representatives of Mercer Global Advisors Inc. (“Mercer Advisors”), an SEC registered investment adviser principally located in Denver, Colorado, with various branch offices throughout the United States doing business under different tradenames, including McGee Wealth Management.

Mercer Advisors Inc. and/or Mercer Global Advisors Inc. WILL NOT ACCEPT time-sensitive transactional directives via email. This includes, but is not limited to a directive to buy or sell securities, instruction regarding account allocation or any other manner of change notice affecting a client account. For your protection, please do not include your social security number, account number, or any other personal or financial information in the content of the email.

Securities offered through Lion Street Financial, LLC. (LSF), member FINRA & SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Mercer Global Advisors Inc., which owns and utilizes the McGee Wealth Management wordmark and logo in marketing its investment advisory and ancillary services. LSF is not affiliated with McGee Wealth Management or Mercer Global Advisors.

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email and any attachments are strictly confidential and may be protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this email or any attachment is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by returning it to the sender and delete this copy from your system. Thank you for your cooperation.

Investment products are: Not deposits. Not FDIC or NCUA Insured. Not guaranteed by the ﬁnancial institution. Subject to risk. May Lose Value.The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. This material is being provided for information purposes only and is not a complete description, nor is it a recommendation. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. 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. 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 Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as “The Dow” is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of the Wall Street Journal. The NASDAQ composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system. 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. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This information is not intended as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security referred to herein. Asset allocation and diversiﬁcation do not ensure a proﬁt or guarantee against loss.

Certiﬁed Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certiﬁcation marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with ﬂame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certiﬁcation requirements.

The ChFC® mark is the property of The American College, which reserves sole rights to its use, and is used by permission.

The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which represent approximately 8% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index.
The Global Dow is an equal-weighted stock index. It is composed of the stocks of 150 top companies from around the world as selected by Dow Jones editors and based on the companies' long history of success and popularity among investors.

Sector investments are companies engaged in business related to a speciﬁc sector. They are subject to ﬁerce competition and their products and services may be subject to rapid obsolescence. There are additional risks associated with investing in an individual sector, including limited diversiﬁcation. 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. Investing in the energy sector involves special risks, including the potential adverse effects of state and federal regulation and may not be suitable for all investors.

There is no guarantee that ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investment products or strategies will produce returns similar to traditional investments. ESG investment criteria exclude certain securities/products for non-financial reasons, and therefore investors may forego some market opportunities available to those who do not use such criteria.

‍

MWM Weekly Update

The Week of January 17, 2022