Mark Brown and the Brown and Company team attended a luncheon with Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in Denver on November 28th.  Dr. Bernanke is now an advisor to PIMCO, one of the largest fixed income managers in the world.  The lunch was a forum put on by PIMCO in order to better understand Chairman Bernanke’s current insights on the markets.  It was

Crude oil has officially entered into a bear market, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices down over 20% from their highs in early October.  The selloff in oil was as drastic as it was sudden.  Prices have approached $50 per barrel of WTI, the lowest price since November of 2017.  What happened to oil and why did the move occur so suddenly? Source:

Smart Year-End Charitable Giving We are a nation of procrastinators, at least with respect to charitable giving.  Indeed, a very large percentage of charitable giving occurs According to the National Philanthropic Trust, 30% of all charitable gifts in the United States are given in December.  Further, more than 10% of giving is done in the last two days of each calendar year.  So

The IRS has announced its updates to income tax brackets for 2019, reflecting slightly higher limits to this year’s tax brackets to account for inflation.  The announcement is merely a slight tweak to the current marginal income tax brackets that were established by Congress.  As you may know, personal income taxes changed quite markedly in 2018 due to the tax cut passed by

The midterm elections are now largely behind us, save for a few close races that have yet to be decided.  The outcome was what had been predicted by most experts: Democrats took back control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans kept control of the Senate.  Democrats added approximately 40 house seats, depending on several races that are still counting votes.  It appears

Most signals coming from the U.S. economy have been extraordinarily strong over the past year.  Unemployment has neared all-time record lows, GPD growth is tracking to be close to 3% in 2018 and inflation has remained subdued.  It is no wonder that the past few years have been a good time for stocks and the broader financial markets. But what is out there

Recently, we have made a point to highlight the non-profits with whom we work most closely in our community.  We can think of no organization more important to us than Rotary International.  Indeed, Mark Brown is a multi-decade member of the Rotary Club of Denver Southeast.  Mark has also been a past President of the club.  You can find a link to the

The Conference Board released its latest monthly update to its “Leading Economic Index” on October 18.  The Index is a composite of many different data points in the U.S. economy, providing a window into the pace of growth in the U.S. economy.  Happily, the latest report that covers the month of September was positive once again, increasing by 0.5%.  The Index now stands

Those receiving Social Security benefits experienced a bit of good news this past week, as the government announced a 2.8% bump in benefits for 2019.  This 2.8% increase reflects a cost of living adjustment, as inflation in the U.S. has risen over the past year.  The benefit bump is the largest since 2012 for retirees. While Social Security typically comprises just a small

A common question that we get from our clients is how to invest in bonds in today’s market, given the trend of rising interest rates.  It has been one of our more difficult investment challenges over the past five years.  The heart of the problem is simple: during a period of rising rates, the value of existing bonds (with comparatively lower interest rates)

It is no secret that housing prices in the U.S. have recovered substantially since the 2008 financial crisis.  In the Denver metro area, and across many metro areas, housing prices are now well above their prior 2007 peak.   And this is largely a good thing, as a robust real estate recovery has created jobs, strengthened consumer balance sheets and improved the lending portfolio

We have been blessed with an extended economic expansion in the U.S. that has come with relatively little inflation.  Since the financial crisis of 2008, inflation in the U.S. has been very low, averaging well below 2%.  Indeed, the Federal Reserve’s stated inflation target of 2% per year has rarely been met over the past decade. Our country’s low inflation rate has been

In the U.S., we have lived through a period of unusually low interest rates over the past decade.  In response to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut short term interest rates close to 0% for almost a full decade.  Moreover, the Fed engaged in quantitative easing as well, buying bonds from the market in an attempt to lower

For the 12th year in a row, Mark R. Brown of Brown and Company, Inc. in Denver, Colorado was recently named one of the Top Financial Advisors in America by Barron’s, a leading financial magazine. The advisors included in America’s Top Advisor Rankings represent the top one percent of professionals in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Mark ranked #10 among recognized

Oil prices rose to their highest levels since 2014 this week.  U.S. crude, measured by the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), climbed to $75 per barrel.  Brent crude, the international measure of oil prices, is now at more than $84 per barrel.  There are several reasons for the increase in energy prices in 2018, both from the supply and the demand side.