Above the Fold

Retirees: Now’s the Time to Check Your Portfolio Weight

It’s a good idea to have regular periodic contact with a financial professional to ensure that your assets are appropriately allocated for current market conditions, your employment situation, changes in lifestyle and obviously your age. But 2022 is an especially unique time as we’ve just experienced a life-changing pandemic and a record-long period of outperforming equities and ultra-low rates. The latter two forces have made most of us, especially those on a fixed income, seek returns and/or yield in stocks. A good portion of this money could also be sitting in your 401(k) or rollover IRA. Data from Fidelity Investments revealed that almost 40% of 401(k) investors aged 60 to 69 hold about 67% or more of their portfolios in stocks. Other large 401(k) administrators showed similar trends with some retirement-age investors holding nearly 100% of their investments in stock-only funds or equivalents. 

With interest rates changing and volatility likely on the rise, it might be a good time to ensure that your portfolio weighting matches your risk tolerance and your goals. It’s also important to keep in mind that not all stocks are created equal. A stock-centric fund may be acceptable, so long as its investment objectives are aligned with yours. 

Three Things 

1. Wal-Contractors Coming – Partnering with in-home services provider Angi (NASDAQ: ANGI), Walmart will now offer a new pro service to help install your favorite tech items and even assemble furniture. The new offering will span nearly 4,000 Walmart stores and offer more than 150 fixed-cost, common home projects and services ranging in cost from $45 to $80 on average. Bigger jobs, like flooring installation and painting, will require custom quotes. Walmart will also leverage other installers for more advanced tech tasks, but this is Angi’s first large partnership with a major retailer. 
2. “Insta” Losing Its Cool Factor – While social apps TikTok and Instagram can grow to viral levels quickly, they are in a constant battle to remain relevant with the ever-shortening attention spans of young people. And with Instagram nearing its 12th birthday, it’s doing all it can to stay relevant … and not succeeding. After pulling its controversial child-focused app, the selfie- and video-sharing platform is employing a myriad of features and ideas to stop (and hopefully reverse) a declining trend in teen usage seen since fall 2019. Owned by Facebook parent Meta, Instagram could get a dramatic makeover as the company evolves to Web3 (what techies are calling the next version of our digital experience).
3. Aluminum Prices Dictate Production – Soaring energy costs have rippled through aluminum markets, pushing prices of  the lightweight metal up nearly 25% in the last six months. But in this market, in which China and Russia absolutely dominate, prices have not risen enough to keep many producers online. With natural gas prices nearly five times higher than they were last year, plants in Europe and China are having to halt production because they simply can’t make money. A supply drop off in the normally free-flowing aluminum market could fuel not only higher prices, but also supply chain issues for companies like automakers, which are already behind the 8-ball. 

Did You Know? 

Positive News Around Omicron

Omicron, the fast-spreading variant first detected in Southern Africa, seems to be plateauing in the region where vaccinations were less prevalent. Omicron is the fourth wave of infection in Africa and the data so far shows it to be the quickest passing and least deadly. Scientists are crediting herd immunity, increased immunizations and more knowledgeable providers for what seems to be an improving outlook for much of the continent. North Africa is the only region that continued to see a rise in cases last week. Experts hope that these positive data continue and emerge as larger trends globally.