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| Shoreline Wealth & Investment Management |
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Newsletter
August 2005 |
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The Stock & Bond Markets -
July had the biggest monthly gain in the S&P 500 since November 2004. This is especially impressive considering that oil prices reached their highest levels since 1983 and, with the change and uncertainty in the Saudi government, oil prices have continued to climb. The basis for the stock market's increase has been earnings driven, a welcome and rational basis for determining the direction of stock prices. With productivity and manufacturing activity increasing, the recent uptrend may be the beginning of a longer-term trend. As for bonds, prices have been declining and yields rising due to the increasing economic activity and Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan's recent comments to congress that he expects to continue raising interest rates.
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS
Since 1980, I have been providing financial advice to investors and I'm proud to say that our service and performance (see "Bottom Line" section on the right) continue to be superior to the market and our peers. Thanks for your support.
Real Estate Bubble? -
National sales of new and existing homes have set records in each of the past 4 years and 2005 looks likely to set a fifth consecutive record increase. For the past 12 months ending in June, existing home prices increased at 14.7% for a national median home price of $219,000 which represented the biggest increase since November 1980. "Just when you think sales will settle into a more sustainable pace, the housing market continues to surprise" according to David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors.
Selective markets around the country, however, are beginning to cool including Denver, Washington DC and Santa Barbara with inventory increasing, homes staying on the market longer and prices being lowered to motivate buyers. While New England (like the west) still remains a very hot market, one real estate expert recently reminded investors about the 25% annual increase of property values in Boston from 1982 to 1989 only to be followed by an 87% decline in 1990. The moral is to not be the last one to leave the real estate party.
| Selecting an Advisor |
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 Warren Buffet, the most successful investor of the 20th century learned his craft from Benjamin Graham, author of several books including the legendary "Intelligent Investor." This has been recently updated by Jason Zweig who includes 16 key questions to ask your advisor and 11 an advisor might ask...
Read on... »
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| Understanding Exchange Funds |
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 An exchange fund is a private investment fund that offers you a way to dispose of a low-basis stock and diversify your portfolio without immediately incurring capital gains tax liability. To diversify your investment portfolio, you can contribute stock on a tax-free basis and receive an interest in a limited partnership known as the exchange fund.
Full Story »
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| Valuation Discounts: Disinheriting Uncle Sam |
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 Valuation discounting techniques can be effective tools to transfer wealth between generations and minimize estate taxes. A professional appraiser will determine the value of the business, stock portfolio, real estate, or other assets subject to the proposed transaction based on such factors as closing stock prices, anticipated future earnings, marketability, and the value of underlying tangible assets - and then determine a specific discount percentage.
Learn More »
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| Looking for a Speaker for Your Event? |
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 Shoreline Wealth & Investment Management has given presentations to Fortune 500 companies as well as many local groups and organizations. If you are looking for a professional presentation on topics ranging from investments to estate taxes to business or tax law, please contact us
Click here for more details »
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| The Bottom Line |
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| This is where we provide the performance of our conservative, moderate and aggressive portfolios and compare these to the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Indexes. While they are an important consideration, performance is only a portion of the evaluation investors should consider when evaluating investment management. Other considerations include the risk taken to generate the returns, the quality of the service, the reasonableness of the fees and, more important now than ever, the integrity of the investment manager.
Find out more.... |
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email: cbloom@cfiemail.com
voice: 805.886.3624
web: http://www.swimllc.com/
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Shoreline Wealth & Investment Management · 3905 State Street Suite 7173 · Santa Barbara · CA · 93105
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