Lessons from the Theranos scandal…and a new study shows around 70% of funds with an ESG mandate are inconsistent with Paris Agreement goals. These stories and other ESG news in this issue of the Sustainable Investing Highlights.

The Federal Reserve’s September meeting wrapped up on 9/22/21 with a statement followed by commentary from Chairman Powell.  After much speculation and anticipation, we are still “almost” there.  Almost ready to take the training wheels off this heavily “administered” economy.  The Fed stepped in to stabilize the economy as we faced the global pandemic last year and effectively kept the economy upright by adding training wheels for balance.  Those training wheels included low interest rates, expansion of its balance sheet and several other measures that led to purchases of investment grade and high yield corporate debt and provided a boost to global liquidity to keep markets functioning.  While the monetary turning-point we face may be ever so slight, it is a turn, and we won’t be able to rely on the training wheels anymore.  Fundamentals will matter again, and investors would be wise to consider how the investment landscape is likely to change going forward.  We will tackle this in more detail in our Quarterly Client Deck, Tactical Memo and Stress Test updates in the weeks ahead.  The remainder of this memo is included to provide the latest context from the Fed including the important data points that will affect decision making.

When we consider the health of our families, one topic that doesn’t necessarily come to mind – but should – is the health of our estate plan.  Just as we age and change over time, so do our estate planning needs. If it has been more than a few years, it is probably time to dust off those documents for a routine examination.  While life events usually remind us or trigger assessing /reassessing our planning, the mere passage of time and changing laws can unknowingly re-write and reapportion our intended outcomes.  The following highlights five common issues we encounter when working with families that might have skipped a few too many of those important estate plan check-ups.