As cities around the world continue to move forward at their own pace, the demand for goods and services continues to look different. While many are pricing in deflation in the near term, we think ALL investors should consider the implications of an inflationary environment going forward. But, let's dive in and understand perhaps why and how this may impact you.

On February 12, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high of 29,551. At that time, the economy was humming, corporate earnings were rising and unemployment was at lows last seen during the mid-1950s.

Last week, we saw market movements that signaled a low-yield environment. Since then, rates have continued to fall. Currently, the 10-year treasury is trading close to 50bps and the entire yield curve is pricing at below 1% for the first time in history.

It seems investor sentiment has quickly changed since the beginning of the year, not to mention from just about 10 days ago as witnessed by the recent stock market decline. Many argue "why" this has happened and here's a quick look at the potential reasons:

Everyone has a different value of a dollar. Regardless of how we view our investments, manage our liabilities, claim our social security benefit, and many other financial decisions, the illusion of wealth is real.

Many investors in retirement have certain goals in common: more money rather than less, minimal wealth volatility, and enough financial cushion to cover the extra costs of, hopefully, living a very long life.

It was in this letter exactly a year ago that we sought to provide some perspective about the steep decline stocks had just experienced in the fourth quarter of 2018.