The Watchman Group

While writing our quarterly review this time last year, the stock market was beginning a recovery following a ferocious decline from the month before.  Going back and reading our April 2020 letter, there are two things that particularly stand out.  Number 1 – The pandemic turned out to be much worse than expected with more … Read more

For many families, helping to fund college expenses is a major financial goal. According to reports from The College Board, tuition expense is continuing to rise but at a slower pace than in the past. This is good news for prospective college students and their parents. Over the last decade, in-state public 4-year tuition increased 16% (adjusted … Read more

In 2020 we saw a new resurgence in an old investment vehicle called a SPAC. SPAC stands for Special Purpose Acquisition Company which is essentially a “blank-check company” with no operating history. Its sole purpose is to raise funds through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to finance an acquisition, merger, or facilitate the combination of private companies. While … Read more

Consumer spending is the life blood of the U.S. economy and policymakers devoted much of 2020 to bolstering future demand.  A lot of the money injected into the economy was spent, which saved jobs, but a lot was actually saved. The personal savings rate currently stands at a post-WWII high of 14%, more than double the 75-year … Read more

It seems not a day goes by without various news outlets talking about Bitcoin and digital currencies. It’s reminiscent of the strong run up and subsequent drawdown of the crypto currency in the winter of 2017. While volatility of Bitcoin is not a new development, the recent price surge masks far more interesting developments behind … Read more

In 1985 we were introduced to Doc Brown, Marty McFly and their retrofitted DeLorean time machine in the movie Back to the Future. Two sequels followed to complete the trilogy that has since become embedded in pop culture lore. In the second film, the Grey’s Sports Almanac with 50 years of professional sports results was … Read more

Not many people are talking about emerging markets (EM) lately but that may be about to change. For a long time, countries considered to be “emerging” were heavily tied to the commodity cycle and inflation. Examples included China and Brazil. This was the case in the mid 2000’s when emerging markets and commodities experienced explosive … Read more

Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money was released in early September and IT IS EXCELLENT. Housel delivers twenty chapters that can be read independently and share a commonsense approach to the behavioral aspects of money and investing. It is not a technical read. It is very well written and filled with valuable insights on how all of … Read more

We continue to hear commentary that suggests certain parts of the market look and feel a lot like the tech bubble in the late 90’s. Many people point to soaring stock prices, high valuations, large Initial Public Offerings (IPO’s), and of course the fact that so much of it is tied to technology companies. Our … Read more

Election day is finally here folks! Probably like you, we are a little bit tired of reading and talking about it. In the spirit of keeping this short and sweet, not much commentary needed with this chart. Blue or red…the direction is pretty clear. Would you agree? Happy voting!