Gratitude Is An Attitude

November 2023 - Gratitude Is An Attitude

Gratitude flows from the heart, and we're incredibly thankful for the blessing of our clients and the Blount County community. Your trust has been and will continue to be an integral part of our journey at LeConte Wealth Management. In the spirit of gratitude, let's continue to uplift one another, remembering the strength found in unity. Let's embrace the challenge to extend love, compassion, and support to those around us. Together, we can make a profound impact, turning challenges into opportunities.

And... speaking of challenges and opportunities.

Give yourself a break.

You're not destined to repeat the poor financial decisions you've made in the past. The reality is, we've helped people bounce back from real head scratchers. 

With our 140 years of combined experience in the financial industry, we've worked with hundreds of households to achieve a future that's different from their past. Let our team coach you through the process of shedding those old habits and adopting new, strategic behaviors. It's time to rewrite your financial story!

Your future. You have a choice to define it. We can help!

Don't hesitate to contact us at (865) 379-8200 or via email at info@lecontewealth.com.

The Crowded Trade is a simple concept for investors to contemplate. As the name implies, it only requires investors to understand where dollars are flowing, what is generating popular buzz around the commentary channels and why the volume is higher on a certain investment narrative compared to others.

A well-known crowded trade in 2023 is the known as the Magnificent 7. The Mag 7 are the top (and largest) seven names in the S&P 500 stock index. Due to the cap-weighted construction of the index, the Mag 7 companies make up 26% of the whole index. Because of this overweight structure, they wield heavy influence over the performance of the index. In 2023 these seven stocks are up about 18.8% while the other 493 stocks in the index are down an average of 7.5%. Without the huge performance of these seven names the index would be creating losses for investors this year.

There are justifiable reasons for the run-up in the Mag-7, but are there other opportunities for those who don't want to take as much risk?

>Read more to make the most of these financial insights

Hoy Grimm
Managing Partner
LeConte Wealth Management

It's one of the last topics people like to discuss, but it's a necessitiy if you want to make it easier on those that are left behind. Without proper estate planning, an individual's family may face various issues, both financial and emotional.

>Learn more on some potential issues you could face

Jon Dockery, CPA

Managing Partner
LeConte Wealth Management

Recently Published On Financial Friction

 >The Price of Tulips and the Fluidity of Value

Alex Willard, EA
Client Advisor
LeConte Wealth Management

 >Practicing Gratitude This Holiday Season

Wes McNeillie, CFP®
Tax and Planning Specialist
LeConte Wealth Management

Economy In Focus

The Data: 

• 7 - The "Mag Seven"
• $1.08 trillion - 2023Q3 credit card outstanding balances
• 2% - Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker estimatation of growth in 2023Q4

Commentary:

Last month, we mentioned that recent economic developments were like "tossing a coin, uncertain and surprising."

Two months into Q4, we'd say that statement still stands.

The Magnificent 7 (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, Alphabet A, Aplhabet C, Tesla) each reported top-and-bottom-line earnings beats, with Tesla as the only outlier. Peak optimisim around these names does come at a cost of overvaluation though. As these 7 stocks continue to diverge from the rest of the market it begs the question, "Is this rally sustainable?"

Investors and consumers both have shrugged off Fed hikes, as credit card outstanding balances rose in Q3 - now, over $1.08 trillion in credit card debt outstanding - highest balance on record. We also just saw 2023 holiday sales get off to a hot start with a record $9.8 billion in U.S. online sales, up 7.5% from 2022. In store sales crept up 1.1%.

Higher prices don't seem to be slowing down the consumer, with economic growth of 5.2% (revised) in Q3, but the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker estimates a slower Q4 with only 2% growth. In addition, the Fed projects just a 1.5% U.S. GDP growth in 2024, with the potential of elevated rates staying longer than markets anticipate. We'll take a TBD approach on the projections.

The evolution of the year-long recession discussions is still uncertain, but our stance remains steadfast in advocating the principle of "control what you can control" regarding your comprehensive financial landscape. In the context of asset management, managing LWM partner, Hoy Grimm, encapsulated this sentiment in his recent blog post: "While cash yields are putting a smile on our faces, don't wait too long with the rest of the crowd. When things change, the exits get very crowded and chaotic."

LeConte In The News