Equities in August saw many peaks and valleys throughout the month, finally rallying at the end of the month. Strong second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures, steady job gains, and increased consumer spending sent stocks higher, despite stagnant inflation and heavy personal and financial losses caused by Hurricane Harvey. The large caps of the S&P 500 and Dow posted marginal monthly gains with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way closing August up 1.27%. The small caps of the Russell 2000 continued to lag, falling 1.39% from its July closing value. The Global Dow inched down 0.32% for the month, but is still strong year-to-date, up over 12.50%. The prices of 10-year Treasuries climbed, sending yields lower.

By the close of trading on August 31, the price of crude oil (WTI) was $47.07 per barrel, down from the July 31 price of $50.18 per barrel. The national average retail regular gasoline price was $2.399 per gallon on August 28, up from the July 31 selling price of $2.352 and $0.162 more than a year ago. The price of gold increased by the end of August, closing at $1,327.20 on the last trading day of the month, up $51.60 from its July 31 price of $1,275.60.

These are exciting times for Beacon and our advisors. Our investment philosophy and approach to portfolio management has been gaining increasing momentum. We recently crossed $2.5 billion under management as of June 2017—with a goal of hitting $3 billion AUM by the end of the year! We wanted to take a moment to thank you for your critical part in reaching these new company milestones. Our success is due to your success, and for that we thank you.

The Right Mix
In reflecting upon our business model and goals for the future, it’s not just the numbers that matter. We believe identifying the right advisors has been a cornerstone of our success. At Beacon, we take pride in not working with all advisors; we only want to work with the best—those who believe in mechanical investing strategies, who aren’t driven by emotion, hunches or “hot tips” when advising their clients’ financial futures. We have and will continue to seek out advisors who embrace strong diversification, continuously improving the science of investing and above all who are serving their clients’ needs and objectives rather than their own. They are not a number to you, and you are not a number to us. We want to form relationships with our advisors just as you want to form them with your clients—over the long term with a dedicated commitment to serving your success.

Honors and Awards
Because of all the work both from the team in-house and that you are doing out in the field, Beacon has received several notable awards in recent years, including:

• Wealth Management Magazine – Ten fastest-growing U.S.-based RIA firms in 2017
• Inc. Magazine’s 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in 2017
• Forbes and RIA Channel’s 2016 Top 100 RIAs by 10 Years of Growth List
• Financial Times – FT300 Top Registered Investment Advisers 2016

These are great conversation starters and credibility boosters to share with your clients, and we encourage you to leverage these for your continued success and new business opportunities.

Another topic of discussion is the publication of Chris Cook’s new book, Slash Your Retirement Risk. The book offers a step-by-step look at a simplified version of Beacon’s investment philosophies known as the New ROI (Reliability of Income!); this is a great teaching tool that advisors can use with their clients to help put complex financial disciplines into easy-to-understand terms. Released on September 18, Slash Your Retirement Risk has already hit the best-seller list on Amazon.com in the portfolio management, retirement planning and introduction to investing categories. It’s not every day that an advisor can offer their clients a book that provides complete transparency of the types of strategies implemented on their behalf. We suggest you use the books with clients and prospects alike to build clarity, confidence and credibility in the types of quality services and recommendations you provide.

This is Just the Beginning
At Beacon, we believe the future is even brighter. We have continued to evolve with consumers’ needs and your requests to deliver three unique portfolio lines; each designed to meet the long-term needs of the clients you serve. Whether you work with conservative investors in retirement or aggressive investors at the peak of their earning years, we believe that we have something of value to offer. We thank you for your loyalty to our philosophy and your professionalism in helping clients understand how these investments can work to help them reach their financial goals. For more information on how you can connect with clients and educate them on our services, keep an eye on your inbox for new resources over the coming weeks, or contact your wholesaler today!