We did it! We made it through. Now that 2020 is rapidly approaching the rearview mirror, it is time to look forward and begin to plan for what 2021 might bring. The reality is that as your trusted advisors we have already been looking forward to what the 1st quarter will mean for the economy and your investments.
As we write this letter, a fresh round of stimulus checks is hitting bank accounts and for many this is a welcome sigh of relief. Temporary as it may be, this will help many families pay rent and put food on the table. President-Elect Biden has already promised a more “robust” plan for stimulus and other measures in the coming weeks, but that reality will lie with the outcome of the Georgia Senate runoff. We have also been monitoring what appears to be a painful and slow rollout of the vaccine. The current Administration’s goal of 20 million shots by the end of December will fall well short. This appears to be a logistics issue more than anything while the political talking heads play the blame game. The reality of it all is simple, some States are better prepared than others to handle the distribution in an orderly and rapid manner. These issues will get resolved sooner rather than later. Let’s just hope that the post-Christmas infection rate is lower than projected.
We continue to remain very optimistic on the outlook, financially and economically, for 2021. The “bulls” far outweigh the “bears” at this early stage. There is the potential for the waters to calm in Washington, the distribution of the vaccine to accelerate, businesses to re-open, and life as we now know it, to return to a more sense of normal. While this is a big “wish-list”, it is certainly an attainable one. Stimulus in many forms should continue into 2021 on the back of a vaccinated population. As these pieces fall into place, spending in other ways will resume and the pent-up demand will start to be fed. It may be hard to see the skies clearing now, but the opportunity does exist. While the thoughts of 2020 will sit in our memories for a lifetime, the prospects of what 2021 may have to offer make me feel equally energized. Even though we typically do not like change in our lives, change is exactly what we need. Keep the faith!
Our best for a healthy and happy New Year!
Your local Towson Financial Advisors