4 August 2023

Moore County Economic Update - August 2023

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Key topicsFaith, Finance, and the Courage to Take the Next StepA deep faith and a serious career often get treated as rivals when the stakes rise. A professional can pray for direction, run the numbers, and still not see the whole route ahead. What does courage look like when you can see the next step but not the destination? 44% of Christians say their faith shapes their financial decisions. Theodore learned that faith can guide a career and careful evidence still shapes each decision. Write down the one decision you are dreading, then test it against your values and the facts. Move forward with faith and facts both in hand, and the rest of the path will follow.Protecting wealth requires guardrails before growthMost wealth management plans get judged by their best years, but one bad loss late in life can undo everything. A retiree who loses a third of savings in the first year cannot simply wait for the market to recover. In 2008 the S&P 500 fell 38.49 percent, its worst yearly percentage loss. Would you rather keep your savings safe in a downturn or chase one more gain? Helping clients protect a lifetime of savings made Theodore certain that protection comes before growth. Set the loss limit first, then let growth happen inside it. Put guardrails in place first, and you can grow money without fearing the next crash.Starting My Career in a Market That Kept Proving the Textbooks WrongMost new financial planners trust standard advice to protect clients, until a market downturn proves it wrong. Before the crash the plan looked sound on paper, and within a year the same portfolios were bleeding money. Markets delivered three consecutive years of losses during the dot com crash. What happens when the rules you were taught stop protecting the people who trust you? Starting out as a financial planner in hard markets taught Theodore that a textbook is only a starting point. Ask whether each rule you follow still holds up when markets fall. Let real market evidence have the final word on the advice you were given.View all topics →

About Theodore Hicks

Theodore Hicks, podcast guest

Wealth Management Author, Financial Planner and Market Strategist

20+ years Financial planning and portfolio management2 awards Winner for Evidence-Based Investing3 credentials CFP®, CKA® & CMT®MoneyShow Masters Symposium Industry speaker

Theodore Hicks is a financial planner, author and speaker whose approach to wealth management was shaped by experiencing some of the most difficult market periods of the past three decades.

He entered the profession determined to help people build thoughtful financial plans, only to begin his career during the dot-com crash and later guide clients through the global financial crisis. Despite following the established guidance promoted by major firms and academic theory, Theodore saw how quickly even a well-constructed financial plan could be undermined by severe market losses at the wrong stage of an investor’s life. That experience led him to question the industry’s default assumptions and develop a more defensive, evidence-based approach to portfolio management.

Today, Theodore helps investors navigate the point at which accumulated wealth brings greater complexity, higher stakes and less room for error. His work is particularly relevant to business owners, senior executives, professionals and retirees who have spent years building their assets but no longer want the responsibility of managing every investment decision themselves. He challenges the idea that investors must simply accept major losses, ride out every downturn and trust that markets will recover on a timetable that suits their lives.

Theodore is also the author of a highly regarded book written for both experienced investors and the next generation of financial professionals.

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