Welcome to the inaugural edition of Perspectives + Prospects, a weekly newsletter for clients and friends of The Milwaukee Company. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide you, the individual investor, with information that will help you invest more wisely and with greater success. In each issue we’ll share our views on key aspects of economics, financial markets, and policy decisions in Washington and elsewhere that are informing our thinking on investment strategy and risk management. I hope you find Perspectives + Prospects to be interesting and useful. I would greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Andrew J. Willms, …

Announcement: Please Note:  As of next week, The Market Commentator will be adopting a newsletter format.  We hope you will like the new look and feel. Option contracts can help investors can hedge downside risk when the potential for market loss is elevated. The expense associated with using options to establish a hedge can also be a drag on portfolio performance if the market subsequently heads higher. Whether option-based portfolio insurance makes sense for you depends on your investment objectives and market conditions. “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another”  —…

The U.S. stock market ended the week largely higher amid the Federal Reserve unveiling a $2.3 trillion lending program and post-pandemic optimism.  Interest rates also moved higher on this optimism as the 10-year treasury yield rose from 0.62% last week to 0.73% today.  Meanwhile, the spread between the 10-year treasury yield and the 2-year treasury yield continues to widen as the short end of the curve is virtually unchanged and currently sits at 0.50%.  Despite the optimism, the price of safe-haven gold still rose over 4.0% to $1,715 an ounce as monetary stimulus bolsters the metal and hinders the U.S….

Recent legislation has relaxed some of the restrictions and taxes on IRA distributions. For example, working persons may make contributions to an IRA regardless of age, and required minimum distributions have been suspended for 2020. Now may just be the very best time ever to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth. “The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.” –George Foreman, former World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion As I’m sure you already know, an individual retirement account (IRA) is a tax-deferred (and in some cases tax-free) retirement account that allows individuals to save…