The Lowry Letter®

The Lowry Letter® - 8/12/2021

First, our congratulations to Bea on the birth of her granddaughter several weeks ago! She visited the office for the first time yesterday and we were happy to meet her.

This summer, the Joes have visited several National Parks, including Badlands, Wind Cave, Yellowstone, & Glacier. During the most recent visit, to Wyoming & Montana, the impact of Covid-19 on a “fully open” economy was evident.

The appetite for travel is extremely high, with many restaurants and other stores telling us they had never seen higher demand. At the same time, their capacity to meet the demand remains limited. Many businesses had posted signs seeking additional employees, some with hiring bonuses of hundreds of dollars. When checking bags at the Kalispell airport, there was one agent handling 3 flights worth of baggage. She explained that Covid-related issues had 6 employees unavailable for work.

In addition to the current strain on hospitals and front-line workers, Covid continues to reduce economic capacity. We hope there is more motivation for increased vaccinations as the data shows much better outcomes when breakthrough cases occur (and which remain a very small percentage of new cases).

For a review of a turbulent July, the month-end market recap is available here and Brad McMillan’s market thoughts video is here.

The Lowry Letter® - 7/29/2021

The Lowry Letter will take a break next week before the school year begins in our county. It has been a short summer!

The Lowry Letter® - 7/22/2021

We can only speak anecdotally about what we have learned about our own community, but the surge in COVID cases is real. Hospital resources are being stretched in many places and unvaccinated persons make up the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths. There are a number of reasons why some cannot receive the COVID vaccination, and each individual must make their own informed choice. But the data shows that taking the vaccine is a safe and effective means of preventing serious illness and we hope participation rates improve.

We encourage everyone to follow the same risk-managed approach we apply to investments to other areas of our lives. 

The Lowry Letter® - 7/15/2021

We are grateful to have been spared the worst of Elsa (though the bad Frozen jokes were harder to avoid). Now is a great time to get prepared for the next storm. We speak a little more on that below.

Onto our normal programming

The Lowry Letter® - 7/7/2021

The arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa (hours away as we write this) is a reminder of the importance of planning. By the time an emergency arrives, it is usually too late to do the small and simple things that make all the difference. Emergency preparedness, like financial planning, is a process. If you haven’t yet, we recommend starting by answering some simple questions:

  • What will I do if the electricity goes off? What is my alternate light source?
  • What is my evacuation plan – WHERE and WHEN will I go?
  • Do I have a way to stay informed?
  • Do I need assistance in preparing my home or with evacuation?
  • Do I have any special medical conditions/medications to consider?

There are many things to consider, but this is a good beginning.

In the event of power loss or other storm-related issues, our responses to your requests may be slower than normal. If you can’t reach us and your need is urgent, please call our friends at Commonwealth at 800-251-0080and ask for the Service Center. Even if we cannot reach the office, we are able to check messages and email remotely.

Onto our normal programming:

The Lowry Letter® - 7/1/2021

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through 2021. In many ways, this year has been better than we might have imagined

The Covid vaccines are a tremendous success story, with the daily death rate numbers telling a very compelling story. Countries like Singapore are considering policies to “live with Covid,” treating it like other diseases, such as flu and chickenpox. This is viable now because of the efficacy of vaccines in reducing both the rate and severity of Covid cases, allowing medical resources to remain within acceptable levels.

The Lowry Letter® - 6/24/2021

First, a reminder that we will be having an off-site team meeting on June 28-29. Our office will be closed for meetings but we will be checking messages and emails at regular intervals. There may be a slight delay in processing requests and we wanted to provide plenty of notice. You can text our office number as well if you need to get in touch.

We hold periodic team meetings to make sure we meet one of our strategic directives- continuous improvement. We welcome feedback of all kinds and enjoy the opportunities for growth.

The Lowry Letter® - 6/17/2021

School is out in most of the country, and we join many parents and grandparents (and kids) who are glad to put this strange year behind them. We hope conditions continue to improve and look forward to returning to normal school patterns.

We want to make you aware that we will be having an off-site team meeting on June 28-29. Our office will be closed for meetings, but we will be checking messages and emails at regular intervals. There may be a slight delay in processing requests, and we wanted to provide plenty of notice

The Lowry Letter® - 6/10/2021

We had a great webinar with Justin Duft regarding potential tax law changes. Among the key takeaways are these:

  • The most effective estate plans are a team effort
  • Complex solutions are not always the best solutions
  • Our loved ones should know whether we have a plan in place

If you have specific estate planning questions, don’t hesitate to reach out

The Lowry Letter® - 6/3/2021

Changes to various tax laws have been proposed and are of concern to many. We’ve scheduled a webinar with Commonwealth’s Justin Duft to discuss these and other important matters related to estate planning. Justin is the director of Commonwealth’s Advanced Planning Department and has a JD with a focus on estate, trust, and tax law, as well as many relevant industry certifications.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 8th at 12pm EDT.

Please register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OwbiZrcbTYeGuDbiBNPmJg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We hope you can make it!