October 2019

“Race to Zero” is over!

Just a few items to share with you as we dig into this 4th quarter…

The “Race to Zero” is over. Commissions at TD Ameritrade have always been very low relative to its competitors in the industry. I’m happy to report they have now been reduced to $0.00 on all TD Ameritrade stock and ETF trades effective immediately! This is beneficial to everyone, but it is particularly beneficial to those adding regular contributions incrementally to fund Roth IRAs, Traditional IRA’s, SIMPLE IRA’s and SEP IRA’s. The race to zero is over, and investors win!

We’ve added to our team! I’m pleased to notify you that we’ve added two more investment advisors – Matt Johnson and Randall Sidener – to our Future Bright advisory team. Both are longtime friends of mine. Matt joined the firm earlier this year and brings over fourteen years of industry advisory experience along with him. He’ll continue to operate out of Detroit Lakes. Randall will join be joining in mid-October. He is an industry veteran in the mutual fund wholesaling business, having spent the last thirteen years with Integrity Viking Funds out of Minot. Randall will be joining me at our office in Moorhead.

Ross Almlie“Race to Zero” is over!
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What a Difference!

Wow, what a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, there was a fear that the economy was overheating and in need of continued interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note had just hit 3.25% and the service sector strength as measured by the ISM (Institute for Supply Management) measured its highest read in history.

Fast forward one year, and here we sit with the 10-year note sitting at 1.54% and growing fears of a recession. With a yield curve inversion, a trade war with China and other countries, and overall investor exhaustion from the daily deluge of news that moves markets some days and falls on deaf ears on others, it’s pretty remarkable that the market has maintained these levels.

Ross AlmlieWhat a Difference!
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