Thanks to the decision of liquidating investments during December, we were not affected by the current market turmoil we are facing. By no means I have a crystal ball and my actions to liquidate overvalued investments while I looked for undervalued investment options could have led me to under perform in 2020. Prior to this crash, I believe stocks were not trading at low levels and even so today, but this market decline has made it easier to find investments compare to three months ago.

It can be overwhelming and hard to know where to begin. Fortunately, a lot of financial planning comes down to simply knowing what your goals are and what you need to do to get there. Here are some helpful tips by Sara Bailey, our guest article writer!

You’ve worked your entire life so that you can enjoy your retirement. Making smart financial decisions now can help you do just that. Guest article by Michael Longsdon

In this regard the yield curve is an indicator which is held in high esteem in financial circles. It is not only investors who are concerned about the yield curve because even Federal Reserve officials will frequently bring up the topic.

This article is written by a guest writer Jim McKinley. Jim is a retired banker who likes to help his fellow baby boomers. He runs a website called Money with Jim. Happy to see others willingness to offer help in the community. Hope you like it and if you have any questions feel free reach out to us or Jim. Thanks Jim!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

When business valuation is carried out, it is not enough to just know the worth of an organization. It is equally important to know the dynamics involved and the suitability of each valuation method. Our last statement suggests that the method you use in evaluating your business will determine to a large extent, the result you will get. How then can you carry out efficient business valuation? What methods are used for business valuation and which is best?

It is very vital to understand how to invest and plan in such a way to make sure that your assets uphold its purchasing power. Below are approaches you should take into serious consideration as ways of protecting against inflation.

Remembering those who served

The creation of the exchange houses have allowed for faster buying and selling of securities. Read below a brief history about who were the creators, their forms of communication, market crashes and how technology has dramatically granted access to the stock market around the world

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The oldest account under Sonoman Investments LLC is my own with over two and a half years, which is still considered, in my book, a very short-term performance, but still a good one. Newer accounts were created within just a few months. We are confident your money, alongside mine, will grow exponentially at an adequate compound rate.

Our portfolio ranges within many industries such as consumer staples, discretionary, retail/wholesale, basic materials, industrial products, multi-sector conglomerates, computer/technology, finance, business services, construction, and oil & related. This brings us to our next subject.

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If you are self-employed then an SEP-IRA is a great way to save for your future without worrying about record keeping, filling out loads of forms and having to keep track of everything. There is also the added advantage of being able to contribute more than you would with a normal retirement plan

There will be ups and downs just as in any investment opportunity; the important thing is to determine your investment horizon and ultimate goal. Remember, the maniac Mr. Market should not dominate your investment strategy.

How often should you do it? daily? weekly? monthly?yearly? Read more to find out...

Things to bear in mind when assessing your risk tolerance are to remain completely honest – even if this means admitting you don’t know something. Remember, when you go see your doctor, you are not expected to know human anatomy or chemistry. Your doctor analyzes your personal information and makes a decision based on this. A financial advisor, should listen to your concerns and act accordingly regardless of your level of knowledge. Both doctor and financial adviser are more than capable to explain how and why an action plan is suited for you.

Basically, women are more patient and thus are better suited for long-term plans, whereas men are more suited to a short-term investment plan.

When choosing a financial adviser, take your time and do your research. Most people will do more research buying a new television than they spend investigating the person they are trusting with their life savings

When you’re running your own business you still need to ensure you have a robust retirement plan in place for your employees. It offers them great incentive to stay with you and is a much more attractive prospect, especially with people these days becoming more conscious of their futures and how far their money can stretch. It might seem like a two minute job but if you’re going to get the best out of it for everyone involved then you’ll need to look a bit further than the first thing that pops up. Luckily for you we’ve put together a few of the basics to help make your life that much easier.

The securities market isn’t for those faint of heart. The foremost illustrious example used to explain diversification is the proverb, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. If you do not engage in stock picking or, perhaps, have a poor track record, then, diversification should be done by all means.

Credit card level is reaching new levels in the United States. You can factor incentives such as low APR and/or points to use for travel, shopping and cash backs among many other perks. Credit card interest rates can range from 12-25% and higher.

There is a pretty famous example detailing valuation. It involves a "dollar machine" handing out one dollar every year for ten years. Pause for a moment and think, how much would you pay for this machine? See the answer at the end and measure how you did!

When buying a business or a piece of it (stock/ share), you are investing in the net worth of the company and future cash the company can generate. From a quick glance, the numbers point to a promising growing company, but when you look deeper in their financials, their numbers start to reveal weaknesses in the business structure.

The above are average numbers; many of them, like Defense, have decreased below 5%. Ultimately, though, the numbers add up to 100%. If you want to increase spending in one area, you must sacrifice another.

Find out if your investment professional or advisor is registered with the state or the SEC. Most fraudulent practices involve unregistered individuals. Regardless of your relationship with the advisor, always check their registration status. You can visit FINRA’s

In the graph below you will find our overall performance from 2014-2016 period. This performance only reflects accounts operating for a full year.

Then, who gets granted a visa? There are many types of visas, H-1B, E-2, EB-5, L-1, O-1, and Student Entrepreneurs.

The Federal Reserve Bank is not a governmental institution. It is privately owned, and it pays an annual dividend decreed by law of six percent annually to its stockholders. The officials of the bank are appointed by the bank’s board of directors, not the President. So, why is it so important? Why the epicenter?

The number one rule when investing is not entirely a high IQ but control of your emotions, especially fear.

Capital Gains Tax: Every time you have a capital gain, they are taxed at two rates, all depending on how long you owned this asset for. The longer the asset is held, the less taxes you pay, but for how long is it held to pay less tax?

Most Americans are so behind on retirement without realizing the damage done to their future. Saving trends are getting worse, even when companies have been pushing for retirement plans, such as 401(k). But what are Americans doing?

In today's market, 500 points reflects a 3% change. (highest point $18,351- lowest $16,950). This is not an alarming number. In the words of West & Anthony, "Only the media should be concerned about 100-200 point moves in the market" and sometimes even more.

It sounds easy but the strategy behind this is to buy back shares at a market rate below the company's intrinsic value (NOT market cap). If bought over intrinsic value, you might want to question management’s decisions when it comes to allocating capital.

"Imagine that in some private business you own a small share that cost you $1,000. One of your partners, named Mr. Market, is very obliging indeed. Every day he tells you what he thinks your interest is worth and furthermore offers either to buy you out or to sell you an additional interest on that basis. Sometimes his idea of value appears plausible and justified by business developments and prospects as you know them. Often, on the other hand

There is an interesting article by Charlie Munger on the subject of natural resources in the U.S., mainly U.S. oil, "Should we consume oil first or save it for last".

News headlines every day draw audiences to tune in for these results. Millions of investors draw conclusions from this, but why?

Long ago, the financial instrument we know today as a 401(k) did not exist. Companies opted out by offering pensions of managed large pools. These pensions demanded good money managers. The incentive was simple; you had a fiduciary duty to the clients. If the managers of the funds did not perform, they would lose the multi-million dollar account of those companies.

AFTER YOU FIND YOUR INCOME BRACKET: How are you doing percentage wise? This is important to know and calculate since it will guide you as to where your money is going. As Warren Buffett says, “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”

When recessions are set in motion, no matter how diverse your portfolio is, losses are imminent. Still, great investments will sustain themselves, and opportunities will open.

By calculating the net worth of a company at a certain point in time, you should be able to estimate, with a margin of error, the future cash flows that a business will have. These figures will structure the value of the business at hand. Again, you have to consider that your valuation cannot be certain but only a rough estimate; hence, in the words of Ben Graham, you need a margin of safety.

Much of what you have been taught has been incorrect; especially the notion and definition of risk in the business field. What do you think is risk? A higher risk level means higher reward and lower risk means lower reward?

The stock market or equity market is a multitude of transactions between buyers and sellers (such as you and me) of stocks/shares. Stocks may be publicly listed, like Coca-Cola Company or Apple on a stock exchange, or traded privately. But what are shares or stocks? As mentioned in the book of Jason Kelly, which I believe he explains in a terrific, clean and simple explanation:

Below is our performance since the inauguration of our portfolio, SI Portfolio on August 19th, 2014. SI stands for Sonoman Investments and has achieved a return of 5.55%

A bull market is a period of general rise in prices. Bear markets follow bull markets and vice-versa; defined as periods of decline in prices. A bear market is usually defined as a 20% decline or more from a previous peak.

If someone ever told you it is very hard to reach a million dollars, they were not reading this. You don't believe me? Here are the numbers: A recent study by the US Government Accountability Office reveals more than 630,000 IRAs with balances of over $1,000,000.

Our system could not be SIMPLER. If you don't believe us, see for yourself: http://www.sonomaninvestments.com We pride our service in the phrase "we eat our own cooking". Your money will not go anywhere where ours is not going.

If we invest with you, where will the money be invested?

Let’s say you have $25 billion in your bank account, would you buy Alibaba just on this news, just because a bunch of brokers are promoting the sale? I don’t know about you, but I would not be willing to gamble $25 Billion on a business I don’t know generates enough cash for operations

Money was not always used as the medium of exchange for any asset. It evolved after years of barter transactions (meaning, a physical exchange of one good for another). The problems arrived when some goods were harder to value, not easily accessible, divisible, counterfeited, etc.

Now, you can consider this critical aspect when financial advisors and credit agencies among others, introduce you with financial instruments that carry interest rates.