2022 - A Year In Review

Greetings!

I hope this note finds you and your family well and that you enjoyed your holidays. Wow, 2022 was quite the year. I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on the year that we had and share with you a few updates.

2022 started off a bit rocky as we were still in the midst of the first Omicron wave of COVID-19. We also entered the bear market in equities, which has persisted longer than most people anticipated. By the end of the first quarter, it also became clear that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had escalated to the point of an armed military engagement.

Inflation was the hot topic of 2022. Prices rose faster this past year than they had over any single year over the past 40 years¹. The federal reserve took measures to dampen inflation by raising interest rates. The impact of these rate increases rippled through the economy. For example, 30-year fixed mortgage rates in early 2022 were in the 3% range. 12 months later, they are in the 6% range².

The good news is that you can now expect to earn some money on your bank deposits, with Money Market and short-term CD / T-Bill rates climbing to over 3%³ and 4.5%⁴, respectively. This puts those who have purchased a home or refinanced pre-2022 in a unique position. This is the first time where "risk free" interest is higher than mortgage debt. For many, the old adage of paying your mortgage off faster, might not be a good idea if you could earn more at the bank.

The stock market has also had its ups and downs too. We started 2022 coming off the tails of a renewed Bull market post-COVID, but later learned the Bear came out of hibernation. The downturn felt worse than normal due to the depth and breadth of the impact. The S&P 500 Index ended the year down about 18%⁵, the Nasdaq was down about 32%⁶, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average was only down about 7%⁷. What made matters worse was that downturn wasn't just in stocks. Bonds were down the most in over 50 years with the iShares Aggregate Bond Index down just over 13%⁸. This certainly didn't help the diversified investor. While years like 2022 can happen from time to time, it doesn't mean we should abandon our investment philosophy. The world is changing, but a diversified investment portfolio generally is the right move.

Click here for a more thorough explanation of the current market cycle and outlook going forward.

2022 was quite the year for the world, but there were also some other major changes closer to home that I'd like to share with you.

Expansion of the Silverberg Financial Team

As many of you know, my practice has been growing over the years. We added Jeanie to the team in 2019 to help with administration. But more recently, we've added a new Junior Advisor to the team, Mike Thompson. Mike joins us with 3 years of experience with Lincoln Financial and began his career with us in September. My goal has always been to help as many people as we can live a life of financial freedom and the addition of Mike to the team will continue to help us achieve this. He will also be building out new value-added services that I'm excited to share with you in the near future. Stay tuned for more information on this!

Office Move

I am happy to share with you that our office location has moved! We have said goodbye to 1803 Research Blvd. Suite 401 and have upgraded and expanded to 2101 Gaither Rd. Suite 600 (just 2 short miles down the street). I have to admit that this hit me in a way that I did not expect. I have been working at this location since I graduated college in 2005. It is certainly the end of an era, yet I am very pleased with the change as well as excited to share our new space with each of you. We are welcoming back face-to-face meetings too. Jeanie will now provide you with the option to either meet at our new office location or meet virtually. Please let her know which you prefer.

Holiday Gift Giving

This past holiday season our FAA Team once again helped to provide some holiday cheer to those in need. We signed up to be paired with local households that could use support providing a holiday celebration for their families, here in the local Montgomery County Community. KINDH (Kids In Need During Holidays), is a non-profit organization that for 20 years has provided underprivileged children with a memorable holiday experience. It was such a great experience to see my kids hand-deliver the gifts and see firsthand the holiday spirit in full effect.

2023 and Beyond

While nobody knows what the future holds, I see 2023 as a new start. I see fresh energy and enthusiasm to grow and become the best versions of ourselves. To live a life on purpose and congruent with our values. To achieve life goals and bucket list items. To truly make an impact on the world. We all have a lot to be grateful for and I continue to stay humbled and thankful for the trust that you have placed in us with your continued business and referrals.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

All the best,

Jason

Jason Silverberg, CFP^®, RICP^®, CLU^®, ChFC^®

Financial Advantage Associates, Inc.

301-610-0071

jason@finadvinc.com

Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through Securian Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Financial Advantage Associates, Inc. is independently owned and operated. 2101 Gaither Rd. Suite 600, Rockville, MD 20850

DISCLOSURES:

Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through Securian Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC

Financial Advantage Associates, Inc., is independently owned and operated

5402207 DOFU 1/2023

1 - https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/economy/may-inflation-gas-prices/index.html

2 - https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates

3 - https://www.bankrate.com/banking/mma/jumbo-money-market-accounts/

4 - https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US6M

5 - https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/products/239726/ishares-core-sp-500-etf

6 - https://www.ssga.com/us/en/institutional/etfs/funds/spdr-dow-jones-industrial-average-etf-trust-dia

7 - https://www.invesco.com/us/financial-products/etfs/product-detail?audienceType=Investor&productId=ETF-QQQ

8 - https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239458/ishares-core-total-us-bond-market-etf

The S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of 500 stocks that is generally representative of the performance of larger companies in the U.S. Please note an investor cannot invest directly in an index.​

The DJIA is a widely followed measurement of the stock market. The average is comprised of 30 stocks that represent leading companies in major industries. These stocks, widely held by both individual and institutional investors, are considered to be all blue-chip companies. 

The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of the total U.S. investment-grade bond market.