Coronavirus Update from Andy

I know Joel has been giving you very consistent and timely updates on the markets and actions we have taken to try to protect your portfolios in the past two months.  I also wanted to pass along some thoughts and give you some information on our contingency plans should we see a serious outbreak of the virus here in Colorado.

1. When the S&P 500 closed on Thursday, March 5^th, it was down 6.4% on the year.  It was down 10.35% from its all-time high on February 20^th.
2. We have seen 9 of these types of pullbacks (close to 10% or more) since 2008.
3. We are keeping a close eye on the leading economic indicators – as a reminder, we have not seen a recession without the indicators being negative first.  As of the last report, they are still positive.
4. The spread of the virus is of great concern to us – not only from an economic standpoint but from a human standpoint as well.
5. Over the next few days, we will take further measures to shift portfolios more conservatively.

We are all seeing and reading about this horrible virus as it spreads throughout the world.  We are seeing global supply chains be disrupted and are fairly certain this will begin to show up in the economic numbers in the weeks and months to come.

One of the reasons I have created the team you all have at Aspen is specifically for times like these.  I believe that having people focused on the individual pieces of our relationship, whether it’s client service, planning, or investments, gives us the opportunity to provide the best service we possibly can.  I have full faith in my team, and I hope you do as well.

Contingency Plan

With all of that in mind, we wanted to assure you that we have contingency plans in place here as Aspen if for some reason we would need to close our office due to the coronavirus. We always talk about the pride we take in our tools and technology, and it is those items that will allow work to continue seamlessly even if we are not physically present in the office.

We have these in place to ensure that there will never be an interruption, or disruption, to the service we provide to you. This also means that Joel and Cade would be able to continue to monitor your accounts (and trade, if needed) even if they are working remotely.

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 303-421-1113.