Monarch Updates

The Fed’s Next Chapter Kevin Warsh was confirmed as Chairman of the Federal Reserve on May 20, 2026.  He is a very bright guy – undergraduate degree from Stanford, law degree from Harvard, and post-graduate work in economics from MIT and Harvard.  He has worked at Morgan Stanley, taught at the Stanford School of Business,

Wisdom may be gained from many sources  –  including people who disagree with us. Most successful investors we have known became wealthy by holding their portfolios through thick and thin.  Their example has strongly influenced our own aversion to “market timing” – wholesale dumping of stocks because we expect a market decline, which can be

2-5-2026 I feel like it needs to at least be mentioned at the outset, even though this post is supposedly about the financial markets, that we are in the camp of wanting some warmer weather.  For those of us who are “wintering in place” in the Fort, it’s been a rough 3 weeks.  We know,

Preferences “There are many paths to the top of a mountain.” – Chinese Proverb As a younger individual, I never really grasped the profound meaning behind that simple saying. In a discussion, I would pick a side and pound the table, trying to illustrate how “my way or my belief” was right. As I have

Is it a Glossary?  A Tutorial?  A Crash Course? Have you ever found yourself reading a newsletter that contained a bunch of jargon and acronyms that read like a foreign language?  Surely, we are not talking about a Monarch newsletter here; we’re just asking for a friend.  When faced with unfamiliar content, do you try

We had the opportunity to break bread with a large group of clients at our Fall Seminar last week, and thanks for everyone who made it a great night at Fort Wayne Country Club.  If you weren’t able to make it, and wish you had, we’ll catch you up. Adam took the mic first and

Have We Climbed the Wall of Worry? “The key to a happy marriage is low expectations” – Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s sidekick How many times have you purchased a stock that seemingly could not miss?  Only to be disappointed when the overhyped rocket crashed to the ground.  On the other hand, you have that old

Uh oh.  Monarch is writing a blog post…things must have really gone south in the stock market.  Hopefully this isn’t new information for folks, that the stock market has been…mmm…volatile.  So where is the market headed next? This is a good time to haul out the predictions made by the “best and brightest” strategists and

Stock Shares are Partial Ownership in a Business Some people never get started with investing because they believe stocks are too risky.  They see the market as a gambling casino, with equity shares merely tokens or lottery tickets, and success just a matter of chance or lucky timing.   That might be the case if one’s

Last week we bid farewell to Vicki Bandor Braun, who joined Monarch in 2019 as Chief Compliance Officer, as she is retiring.  She has been a treat and a joy to work with for 6 years.  We will miss not only her vast wisdom in the realm of compliance, but also her rich life experiences,