Hicks & Associates Wealth Management

10/01/2026

If you know your market history, 1999 was the last year of the great 1990s bull market run. Then, in March of 2000, the Dot Com bubble burst. Back then, we had the Dot Com stocks pushing the cap-weighted market indices higher while the...

If you know your market history, 1999 was the last year of the great 1990s bull market run. Then, in March of 2000, the Dot Com bubble burst.

10/01/2026

If you know your market history, 1999 was the last year of the great 1990s bull market run. Then, in March of 2000, the Dot Com bubble burst. Back then, we had the Dot Com stocks pushing the cap-weighted market indices higher while the...

09/25/2026

Do you want your doctor to receive a commission when they prescribe you certain medications or procedures?

A pet peeve of ours:
lots of financial "professionals" are just salesmen. That's not a knock on salesmen, that's a knock on the industry.

There's so much about this industry that is still very much a sales focused industry.

We do not have a problem with salesmen.
We do not have a problem with salesmen getting commissions.

But we do have a problem with professionals getting commissions.

We do not believe it's ethical for medical professionals to earn more money because they've prescribed some medication or some procedure.

We're willing to bet you would be shocked if you learned your doctor had a financial incentive to prescribe something to their patients.

The same is true for financial professionals.
If a commission is earned, was it really advice?

Or was it just a sales pitch.

This is a short clip from Fredrik Sandvall's podcast Invest In You. You can watch the full episode on YouTube here:

https://lnkd.in/e-vnJ4D4

09/23/2026

Only 5 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors are out-performing a money market YTD. Three of the 11 sectors are actually negative YTD.

One could easily argue that this is further proof of a K-Shaped economy, a K-Shaped stock market.

What does that mean?

It means some are thriving - that's the upper part of that K -
some are definitely NOT thriving - that's the lower part of that K.

Measure the risk in the environment.
Measure the risk in your portfolio.
Make adjustments as appropriate.

Our approach isn't right for everyone, that's for sure.

But if you're at that stage where a meaningful market decline,
means a strong possibility of a meaningful deterioration in your wealth,

Well, "risk" is riskier.
And bonds are not necessarily "safe" either.

[email protected]
if you'd like a Guardrails & Growth Discovery Call.

09/21/2026

When you measure inflation over an 18-month rate of change instead of the typical 12-month period, we are dangerously close to a very important level. When inflation is persistently above this level, the stock market typically struggles.

When you measure inflation over an 18-month rate of change instead of the typical 12-month time period, we are dangerously close to a very important level. When inflation is persistently above this level, the stock market typically struggles.

08/31/2026

September is coming tomorrow. And September is always bad. Right?
Another headwind for the Stock Market is the Fed Funds rate. One rate hike in September is largely already baked into the cake. So that's not really the question. What is?

September is coming tomorrow. And September is always bad. Right? Another headwind for the Stock Market is the Fed Funds rate. One rate hike in September is largely already baked into the cake. So that's not really the question. What is?

08/17/2026

We recently got a question from a client about rising Treasury Yields and whether or not we should take off some risk and buy Treasuries. So, what does the evidence suggest? Does the evidence suggest we should decrease our exposure to risk?

06/22/2026

Late last week, I learned that my book was a finalist in an international book competition. Unfortunately, the book came in second place - still quite the honor! I am humbled that the book has done as well as it has. To that end, ...

06/15/2026

This past week, we saw broadening strength in the United States stock market. But, this video blog is intended to help our clients better understand one step of our investment management process: WHY we buy WHEN we buy.

06/09/2026

The Initial Public Offering for SpaceX is blowing up. Well, it's blowing up the news feed. But will the stock follow through? Or will it blow up after it hits the secondary markets?