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Matthew Walker Named to Five Star Wealth Manager’s 2023 List
Annual award is given to wealth management professionals demonstrating a commitment to client services and strong industry credentials
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Fortitude Family Offices, LLC, a fully-integrated team of investment, wealth management, tax, accounting, and business operations professionals, proudly announces that Founder and CEO Matt Walker, CPA, CGMA®, has been named a recipient of the 2023 Five Star Wealth Manager award by Five Star Professional.
The 2023 Five Star Wealth Manager award is given to wealth managers who satisfy 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria focused on the delivery of high-quality services to clients. These criteria include factors such as client retention rates, client assets under administration, firm reviews, and a favorable regulatory and complaint history.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized alongside so many other accomplished peers. I’d like to express my deep appreciation for our team and their continued dedication to our clients. This was truly a group effort, and it wouldn’t have been possible without them” said Matt Walker, CPA, CGMA®, Founder and CEO of Fortitude Family Office. “As trusted advisors, we feel privileged to guide individuals through sensitive financial issues and find profound reward in delivering value and witnessing the impactful outcomes of our work, which continually fuels our motivation to positively influence our clients.”
Recipients will be featured in special sections of The Wall Street Journal for January 31, 2024, and Fortune magazine for December 2023/January 2024.
To view the full list of 2023 Five Star Wealth Manager award recipients from the Phoenix area, please visit FiveStarProfessional.com/AwardWinners/PHOWM.
To learn more about Fortitude Family Office, please visit FortitudeFO.com.
Fortitude Focus – January 2024: When Safe Havens Turn Stormy
Explore the impact of Fed rate hikes in our blog post ‘Bond Volatility: Safe Havens Turn Stormy,’ revealing hidden risks in ‘low risk’ bonds amid the 2022 market collapse.
JANUARY 202 4 – MONTHLY UPDATE
FORTITUDE FOCUS
Investment Department Fortitude Family Office | fortitudefo.com
THE STORY
Historic Crash In Treasuries
10Y Roller Coaster To Nowhere
Amplified Treasury Volatility
*Sources: Charts produced internally using historical
price data from Morningstar Direct as of 1/2/2024,
BOND VOLATILITY:
WHEN SAFE HAVENS
TURN STORMY.
The bond market pain induced by
the Fed’s recent rate hiking cycle
raises an important question: Just
how risky are “low risk” bonds?
We often think of bonds as stable,
predictable components of a
portfolio (which is generally true
when held to maturity) but the
principal collapse which debt
assets experienced in 2022, serves
as a poignant reminder that even
“risk-free” assets can carry
considerable near-term risks.
While we all know it’s been a
bumpy ride for fixed income over
the last two years, the seismic
magnitude of the moves is historic
and should not be easily dismissed.
For example, treasury valuations
were so inflated by central banks’
zero interest rate policies in
2021, that a normalization of
rates to the 5% range caused the
Bloomberg Agg Treasury Index to
realize a drawdown several times
larger than any loss it had
experienced in the last 50 years.
Ultimately, fixed income’s
tumultuous journey illustrates an
important lesson: portfolio risks
cannot be measured simply
based on recent price stability.
Instead, effective risk
management requires that we go
beyond strict empirical analysis
to also think critically about the
fundamental risks present in the
market – including those which
we have yet to witness in the
historical record.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monthly CPI – 1/11
MLK Day (Closed) – 1/15
FOMC Meeting – 1/31
“The Market Is
Filled With People
Who Know The
Price Of Everything,
But The Value Of
Nothing.”
- Philip Fisher
6.64%
9.93%
Last 10Y Last 2Y
10Y Treasuries Realized Volatility
1.5X
-20.00%
-18.00%
-16.00%
-14.00%
-12.00%
-10.00%
-8.00%
-6.00%
-4.00%
-2.00%
0.00%
2/1/1973 1/31/1983 1/31/1993 1/31/2003 1/31/2013 1/31/2023
Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Treasury TR USD
2.50%
3.00%
3.50%
4.00%
4.50%
5.00%
5.50%
10Y Treasury Rate In 2023
FORTITUDE
FLASHBACK
Gold Prices Reached An All-Time
High: London’s LBMA Gold Price
benchmark hit an all-time high of
$2,069.4 per ounce in December
rising 12.7% for the year amidst
increased expectations for Fed rate
cuts in 2024. (Reuters)
Alaska Airlines To Acquire
Hawaiian Airlines: Alaska Airlines
will pay $18 a share, roughly $1.9B,
for Hawaiian Airlines. If approved,
the brands will still operate under
their respective brands. (CNBC)
Coal Usage Expected To Reach
Record High: The IEA forecasts that
global coal consumption is expected
to reach a record high this year,
surpassing 8.5B tons, as demand in
emerging and developing economies
remains strong. (Reuters)
Toshiba Delisted After 74 Years:
After 74 years on the Tokyo
Exchange, one of Japan’s biggest
conglomerates is being taken
private by private equity firm Japan
Industrial Partners (JIP). (Reuters)
WHAT
HAPPENED?
EQUITIES JUMPED
US equity markets rose in December
with the S&P 500 up 4.5%. Global exUS equity markets also rallied with
the MSCI World ex-US Index up 5.7%.
FUND MONTH* YTD*
US Large 4.5% 26.3%
US Mid 8.7% 16.4%
US Small 12.8% 16.0%
Global
ex-USA 5.7% 16.9%
Int’l Dev 5.3% 18.2%
Emerging 3.9% 9.8%
FIXED INCOME
BOUNCED
Fixed income markets continued to
rally in December as the market
priced in expectations for Fed rate
cuts pushing the Bloomberg Agg
Index up over 3.8% in the period.
FUND MONTH* YTD*
Ultra-Short 0.4% 5.3%
Short 1.1% 4.2%
Core 3.8% 5.5%
Long-Term 8.6% 2.2%
HY 3.7% 13.4%
US TIPS 2.5% 3.7%
Intl Bonds 4.2% 5.7%
EM Bonds 4.3% 9.0%
ALTERNATIVES
GAINED
Alternatives continued to produce
stable returns and income amidst the
rise in other risk-on asset classes.
1Due to reporting lags, some data represents the latest
return as of the month prior to this period.