The Domino Effect
Recent social action has prompted corporate commitments for greater workplace equity. Investment managers will hold them accountable. This continued engagement will give investors confidence that their asset allocation choices make a difference.
The Changing Seasons
January brings the annual tradition of envisioning the year ahead. In financial markets, this means attempting to predict what can not be controlled.
A Market Christmas Carol
Visited by three spirits representing the arc of his past, present, and future, Scrooge was given the gift of perspective. It is a tale that holds valuable lessons for investors.
Planning While the World is in Flux
Plans rarely come with a guaranteed outcome. However, the process of planning reduces uncertainty and increases the likelihood that you will arrive at an outcome that aligns with your values and priorities.
Familiar Unknowns
While the emergence of the Omicron variant is troubling as a public health issue, it is familiar territory for the economy. As we face new variants and risks, we believe a long-term strategy will continue to serve our clients well.
Giving with Intention
It feels good to give, but getting started can be difficult. Affirming your values and identifying aligned organizations can make the experience more intentional and meaningful.
The Employment Migration
Will the economy sustain growth if employment hasn’t fully recovered? The current wave of resignations and employment migration clouds the picture.
Tender Offers: The New IPO
Tender offers provide employees of pre-IPO companies the opportunity to sell some shares while a company is still private. It's a strategy the benefits both the company and its employees.
The Power of Disclosure
Impact Highlight Report
Disclosures help investors evaluate companies. Increasingly, investors are demanding more than just financials, they want insight into a companies environmental and social performance.
Past, Present, and Future Pricing
Each quarter during "earnings season" analysts and investors reconcile past speculation about price and profitability against companies' actual earnings.
Bank On Your Community
Our choice of banks is an essential, though often unexamined, financial relationship. Choosing a bank can be a way to create positive alignment between your values and your finances.
Inflation and All That Jazz
Should we consider the current inflation as temporary or real? There are real price increases impacting consumers today, but we're also unlikely to see the long-term inflation experienced in the 1970s.
Firewise Planning
Fire season is now an annual concern for Californians. Having a plan for the risk of fire can better protect your family's financial resources.
Noisy Normalization
Q3 2021 Market Commentary
Investor sentiment is slowly shifting from the optimism of early-2021 when investors believed ‘when this pandemic is over, things will be better,’ to a more pragmatic outlook that acknowledges the pandemic is not over and may linger.
How Data and Disclosure Drive Impact Investing Decisions
Evaluation of risk and the ability for investors to align their decisions with social values depend on the availability of relevant metrics and data transparency.
The Snarled Supply Chain
We often take for granted how products arrive at our doorsteps or on store shelves. The pandemic has caused a snarled supply chain, and the resulting scarcity is driving up product prices.
Taking Control of ‘Losing Control’
Addressing our mortality, and the gradual lack of capacity that often precedes it doesn't rank on our favorite things to do. Starting conversations early paves the way for specific problem solving when issues arise and can create peace of mind.
Lessons from Fukushima
Transitory disruptions to the global supply chain persist and the impact on long-term valuations grow as investors question how companies will recover and protect their profits against future disruptions.
Investing in a Changing Climate
Response to our worsening climate crisis is complex and gradual. For clients interested in climate friendly investing, we focus on a number of ways they can choose financial security while having an impact with their investments.
The Callous Market
History offers many examples of war and tragedy that can be used to analyze how markets make sense of the potential financial impacts during a crisis.
Back to School
There are four primary avenues to paying for college: scholarships, student loans, work-study, and savings. Many families' college cash flow plans include several of these options, and each has different lessons for parents and children.
We Welcome Two New Advisors to Our Team
North Berkeley is excited to announce the addition of two new advisors to our team! Joining us are associate advisor, Carmetta Joyner, and lead advisor, Krystal Fortner, CFP®.
Mixed Messages
The prevailing story in the markets over the past year has been economic recovery, pandemic progress, and Fed support. The story has supported price growth but hinges on a “just right” middle path to keep those three pillars in balance.
From Idea to Reality
Response to our worsening climate crisis is complex and gradual. A chorus of voices from investors and consumers can accelerate the process for all stakeholders in the global ecosystem.
Olympic Trials & Tribulations
The Olympics reliably provide great drama. Whether it’s enough to justify the cognitive dissonance of hammering forward with the Games amid a health crisis is another question