Quote for Today

“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.”

– James W. Frick

(Source)

I might quote “regular” financial sources often enough here on this blog, but that hardly means I don’t have my stack of deeper analysis and insider information I pour over too.

Some of it’s really pretty dry and boring, I’ll admit, while other parts and pieces would take far too long to include in such a short space. I use both of these to form my general analysis and guide my actions instead of dumping it all on you in one disorganized pile.

But this next bit from integrated wealth managers Kingswood can be summed up easily enough. Considering how the markets are currently looking to end the week on a less enthusiastic note, I want to make sure everyone is feeling appropriately optimistic about the future instead of discouraged.

Note I put the word “appropriately” before “optimistic.” Don’t go overboard. Considering how it’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday, I’ll even say to KISS it: Keep it simple, “sweetheart.”

(I believe that “stupid” is the common word to put in that saying, but my readers are hardly stupid. So I like to change it up to fit my audience.)

Stick with your principles. Stay focused on quality, value, and your personal parameters. And don’t get distracted by short-term dips or even dives. We’re still looking at a bigger-picture recovery in the end.

Kingswood, like so many elite and mainstream analysts alike, admits that, “The global economic recovery has, as anticipated, slowed significantly in the last few months following the sharp rebound seen in the third quarter last year. However, the extent of the slowdown has varied considerably between the major regions.”

The eurozone, and the U.K. especially, have been suffering under new rounds of lockdowns. But, “The U.S. economy has proved rather more resilient and will also now have the benefit of a major fiscal boost.”

By that, of course, it means the $900 billion stimulus package amounting to 4.5% of GDP, that lawmakers passed a few months ago.

The publication also mentions how:

“China has fared relatively well as a result of its success in containing the virus, with the economy already all but back to normal. Unlike all the other major economies, which saw significant falls in GDP last year, China saw positive growth of 2.3%.

“Looking forward, the prospect is for a burst of strong global growth starting in the second quarter. The key here is a rapid rollout of vaccines…

“This is encouraging and means a major relaxation of social distancing measures is likely to be underway by mid-year. This, in turn, should fuel a burst of pent-up demand, financed in part by a rundown of the high levels of household savings built up during the past year.”

So hang tight a little longer on your undervalued portfolio positions. And as I’ve said before, use the continuing wait to scope out other less-loved picks that should shoot up just as soon as the economy really turns around.

Many of the REITs and other stocks my team and I recommend are trading at optimal buying prices. How much longer that will last though?

Well, ultimately, nobody knows.

The World According to Commercial Real Estate

It really is interesting watching some of the moves individual REITs are making these days.

Though I’m going to take at least some credit for Alpine Income Property (PINE) considering how I published a positive article on it on Seeking Alpha just the other day.

(The Daily REITBeat)

That larger summary above is clearly marked as being compiled by the REITBeat, as is the following information:

• RBC downgraded CatchMark Timber Trust (CTT) from Outperform to Sector Perform while maintaining its $11 price target.
• Morningstar downgraded Equity Residential (EQR) from a Hold to a Sell, though it still maintains its previous $72 price target.
• UDR Inc. (UDR) priced $300 million worth of 2.10% senior unsecured medium-term notes that are due 2033. It intends to use some of the proceeds from this offering to repay debt, including redeeming the $300 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.00% medium-term notes due October 1, 2025.