Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Lessons Learned from the 2008 Crisis

January 10, 2019 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we’ll interview Dan Hamilton on real estate lessons learned from the crisis of 2008. During this episode, we discuss the value of diversification, and how this strategy kept Dan’s business alive. Our previous podcasts with Dan highlighted Real Estate Tips For Successful Professionals and Reasons for Entering The Real Estate Profession.

If you are interested in learning more about diversification and how this can minimize risk, you can read about Intelligent Investing’s “Wealth Management Philosophy” here.

We’ll be interviewing Dan on several podcasts regarding the Greenville market and on real estate in general, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.

Dan is a founding partner and the Operating Principal of Keller Williams Realty Greenville-Upstate, one of the largest and fastest-growing real estate brokerages in the Upstate. He is also the founder and Team Leader of Hamilton and Co. of Keller Williams Realty.

Dan Hamilton Bio

A longtime member of the Greenville community, Dan is passionate about serving and improving our community, and, to that end, he currently serves, or has served, in the following capacities:

South Carolina House of Representatives District 20
Board Member, Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency
Vice Chairman, Greenville County Redevelopment Authority
Director & Secretary/Treasurer, Greater Greenville Association of REALTORS
Co-Chair, Greenville Workforce Housing Trust Fund Task Force
Chairman, Greenville Housing Fund

On November 4, 2008, Dan was elected to serve his community in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was elected Vice-Chairman of the Freshman Caucus and Chairman of the Upstate Caucus. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee.

2 Useful Tips When Buying a New Home

December 21, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Thinking about buying a new home? On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we’ll interview Dan Hamilton on tips to consider when entering the buyer market. Our previous podcasts with Dan highlighted Tips for Downsizing Your Home in the Next Decade and Greenville Hotspots and Where Greenville is Trending. Dan suggests the following tips:

Make sure you’re ready and have a plan.
Be patient and non-emotional.

We’ll be interviewing Dan on several podcasts regarding the Greenville market and on real estate in general, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.

Dan is a founding partner and the Operating Principal of Keller Williams Realty Greenville-Upstate, one of the largest and fastest growing real estate brokerages in the Upstate. He is also the founder and Team Leader of Hamilton and Co. of Keller Williams Realty.

Dan Hamilton Bio

A longtime member of the Greenville community, Dan is passionate about serving and improving our community and to that end, he currently serves or has served in the following capacities:

South Carolina House of Representatives District 20
Board Member, Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency
Vice Chairman, Greenville County Redevelopment Authority
Director & Secretary/Treasurer, Greater Greenville Association of REALTORS
Co-Chair, Greenville Workforce Housing Trust Fund Task Force
Chairman, Greenville Housing Fund

5 Thoughts on Oil (In Under 1 Minute)

December 10, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Reading Time: 1 minute

Oil prices have dropped about 22% last month (or 33% from the Oct. 3rd peak to around $51/barrel for U.S. crude oil futures)
The benefit is that consumers don’t have to pay as much at the pump. Average prices at the pump are falling at the fastest rate in 3 years, according to fuel tracker GasBuddy. (down about 31 cents a gallon compared to a month ago)
Falling oil prices used to be a bigger boon to the U.S. consumers but are not as effective today. (I.e., in 1972, it took 1.1 barrels of oil to produce ~ $1k of GDP, and now it only takes 0.4 barrels)
Extraction techniques have changed from using large debt-free companies (Exxon, BP) who didn’t have much debt, to now using smaller debt-laden companies. Therefore, the lower oil costs may drive these smaller companies into bankruptcy, or prevent them from wanting to make further investments into energy, which can hurt the economy.
The trend in net export levels has been declining for over a decade so domestic demand is waning and putting downward pressure on global prices (in addition to the most obvious, that the global economy is hovering at below-trend growth ever since the Great Recession.)

Tips for Downsizing Your Home in the Next Decade

November 7, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, I’ll interview Dan Hamilton on some tips for downsizing your home in the next decade. Our previous podcasts with Dan highlighted the Greenville Hotspots and Where Greenville May be Trending and Where we May Be in the Greenville Real Estate Cycle. Dan suggests the following tips:

The longer you stay in your home, the better.
Prepare for aging in place- consider master bedroom on the main level.
Properly maintain your home.- check a/c units and roofs
Keep your home updated to get top dollar.

I’ll be interviewing Dan on several podcasts regarding the Greenville market and on real estate in general, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.

Dan Hamilton Bio

A longtime member of the Greenville community, Dan is passionate about serving and improving our community and to that end, he currently serves or has served in the following capacities:

South Carolina House of Representatives District 20
Board Member, Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency
Vice Chairman, Greenville County Redevelopment Authority
Director & Secretary/Treasurer, Greater Greenville Association of REALTORS
Co-Chair, Greenville Workforce Housing Trust Fund Task Force
Chairman, Greenville Housing Fund

4 Reasons to Not Worry About a Trade War

October 12, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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In this latest podcast, we interview Dr. Jeff Roach, our director of research, on 4 Reasons Not to Worry About a Trade War. But first, a little backstory:

What Happened This Week?

On Wednesday and Thursday this week, the Dow dropped nearly 1,380 points. While 1,300 points sounds like a lot, the Dow Jones Industrial Average began Wednesday at more than 26,400. So the decline ultimately represented a loss of just over 5%. In other words, the U.S. stock market is back where it was in roughly mid-July. Keep in mind, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), or simply the Dow, shows how 30 large, publicly owned companies based in the United States have traded during a standard trading session in the stock market. It only represents 30 large companies and is a relatively small sample of companies compared to the broad U.S. market and an even smaller sample when comparing to the global markets.

Why do stock markets increase or decrease?

A stock moves up or down in price because of investor sentiment. If investors believe a stock is worth more than its current price, it moves up. If they believe it’s worth less, it moves down. Stock markets are immediately responsive to what investors believe. These beliefs generally are formed more in response to investor emotion – how they feel about the stock price – than directly from an analysis of the stock’s metrics –such as improved or declining earnings, the price-to-earnings ratio or earnings per share.

So Why Did the Stock Market Drop?

As often occurs after a big market move, traders, news media, and taxi cab drivers offer up several explanations for what happened to the stock market. Here are two possibilities:

Possibility #1

One has to do with President Trump’s trade war with China. While the Trump administration has been talking about China for months, it upped the ante in late September by slapping a 10% duty on $200 billion worth of Chinese consumer goods. The China tariffs are expected to jump to 25% in January. The trade stand-off could hurt both the U.S. and Chinese companies, by raising production costs and crimping consumer spending, which could affect GDP.

Possibility #2

Also in late September, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time this year. Those moves are meant to reduce the risk of inflation, which has been finally beginning to tick up as the U.S. economy gains steam. Higher interest rates hurt stocks by making bonds a comparatively more attractive investment, and by making it more expensive for companies to borrow and invest.

So what can you do?

First, make sure your portfolio is prepared to weather the next storm. Second, ensure it is aligned with your risk tolerance and goals, and third, have a sound investment philosophy. We would be honored to serve you and your family and may provide a complementary portfolio review if you are concerned.

What is the Purpose of the Federal Reserve?

September 28, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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The Federal Reserve ‘s Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, announced the third rate hike of 2018 this week, a move that was widely expected. But you may be wondering, why did they increase the Federal Reserve’s Fund rate, and what is the purpose of the Federal Reserve, anyway. On this podcast, I’ll interview Dr. Jeff Roach, our Director of Research on the purpose of the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve System, often referred to as the Federal Reserve or simply “the Fed,” is the central bank of the United States. It was created by the Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law.

Since 1977, the Federal Reserve has operated under a mandate from Congress to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long term interest rates” — what is now commonly referred to as the Fed’s “dual mandate.”

How to START Planning for a Successful Retirement

September 25, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Reading Time: 2 minutes

South Carolina Business Review Interview

With baby-boomers comprising one of the largest groups of our population, it should come as no surprise that another large group is made up of those that are in retirement mode. I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Mike Switzer on the South Carolina Business Review on this topic.

The South Carolina Business Review focuses on news from South Carolina’s business community with interviews of many small business owners and business leaders from around the state. To hear the full five minute interview, click to go to the South Carolina Public Radio website.

5 Things to Know Before you START Retirement

Spending

How much is needed to meet your needs, wants, and wishes. In what order should you distribute from the accounts. What if I retire and we have an extended bear market?

Time Horizon

How soon can I retire? What if I get laid off before I want? When should I take Social Security? How long do we need the assets to last? What about the next generation?

Asset Allocation

What mix of assets is appropriate to meet long-term goals and legacy wishes? What asset mix lines up with my risk tolerance preferences? Will my asset mix have a good chance to beat inflation?

Risk Alignment

Are my risks balanced so that I have aligned my ability to take on risk, my willingness to take on risk, and my actual portfolio risk.

Tax Avoidance

Proper tax planning and tax location of assets is important as well as knowing which buckets are the most tax-efficient to pull from and in what order should they be distributed.

In order to properly plan for your retirement, you need to START.

If we can help you get more confident that you are prepared and ready to land your “retirement plane,” please let us know. We would be honored to serve you and your family.

Where Are We in the Credit Cycle?

September 21, 2018 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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On this podcast, I’ll interview Dr. Jeff Roach, our Director of Research on where we may be in the credit cycle. This is important to understand as the Federal Reserve’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25-26.

Credit Cycle

The credit cycle is the expansion and contraction of access to credit over time.

During an expansion of credit, asset prices are bid up by those with access to leveraged capital. This asset price inflation can then cause an unsustainable speculative price “bubble” to develop. The upswing in new money creation also increases the money supply for real goods and services, thereby stimulating economic activity and fostering growth in national income and employment.

When buyers’ funds are exhausted, an asset price decline can occur in the markets which had benefited from the credit expansion. This can then cause insolvency, bankruptcy, and foreclosure for those borrowers who came late to that market. This, in turn, can threaten the solvency and profitability of the banking system itself, resulting in a general contraction of credit as lenders attempt to protect themselves from losses.

Sources: Article