Amazing Charity -- Your Weekly Update

Though we are in business to help create, grow, and preserve fortunes for our clients and their families, the vast amount of good that can be done when those same folks routinely give large chunks of it away is astonishing to us.

We know some real heroes in that regard.

This week’s Update contains some compelling information about today’s philanthopists--the biggest givers of all time. The breathtaking amounts they are contributing have the capacity to massively improve the world.

We’ll also take a quick look at the recent uptick in the markets which is helping our clients to prosper. But the real message this week is one of charity, which is a message that so many of our friends and clients already take so seriously with their actions.

Enjoy!

Best always,
Lee and Jeremy


This Week’s Quote:

“The truth is I have never given a penny away that had any utility to me.”
― Warren Buffett

JL Davis Thoughts This Week:

With the stroke of a pen, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, became the most generous Americans of 2013 when they donated some 18 million shares of Facebook stock, then valued at more than $970 million. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2013’s gifts from living donors total about the same amount as the last two previous years combined. Remarkable.

America has long produced the world’s biggest philanthropists, but the sheer size of gifts has never been bigger than it is today. The Forbes “Philanthropic 50” is again led by the world’s richest people, Bill and Melinda Gates, as well as Warren Buffett. Each put almost $2 billion to work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012 and while the 2013 numbers are likely even larger, the magazine estimates the total lifetime gifts from Buffett and Gates to be more than $50 billion. Fifty billion dollars! And they’re not done.

As founders of The Giving Pledge, which requires its members to donate half of their fortunes during their lifetime, Gates and Buffett lead by example. Buffett is accelerating his gifting of late. The octogenarian, currently worth some $58 billion, intends to give away the vast majority of his fortune, much of it while he is alive.

So what are the rest of us to do? Likewise, perhaps with a few less zeroes.

When Mr. Buffett delivered an award acceptance address at the United Nations Delegates Dining Room last year to 150 billionaires and near billionaires, he put things in perspective. He said, “…The truth is I have never given a penny away that had any utility to me…I’d like to accept this award not only for myself, but for those millions of people who really give away money that’s important to them because they see somebody else where they can do more good.”

We’re certainly in awe of gifts that the richest among us are able to contribute to society, but like Mr. Buffett, we are more in awe of the day-to-day unnoticed amounts that are given with sincere hearts to those who are in need. Because of our profession, it is our honor to see these gifts perhaps more often than some in other occupations.

Perhaps like you, it gives us pause to consider giving away half our estates someday. It’s somehow easier to get our arms around giving along the way. While we are far, far from the wealthy stratosphere Gates and Buffett live in, we do believe everyone can and should give back. The
constant examples we see in the selfless acts of our great clients serve as a reminder that many share that view. Happy giving!**


Market Week: February 18, 2014

The Markets

Stability ball: A congressional accord on the debt ceiling plus fresh reassurance about Fed policy seemed to outweigh lackluster economic news, helping domestic equities follow through on the previous week's late rally. The Nasdaq's week was its best since late October, while the Russell 2000's gain was the best for any of the four domestic indices listed below so far this year. Meanwhile, the Dow edged above 16,000 once again.

Last Week's Headlines

o The contentious issue of the debt ceiling was resolved (at least until March 2015) after President Obama signed the bill passed by both the House and Senate, which contained none of the additional provisions that had created conflict in recent years.
o Many Americans apparently spent much of January shoveling instead of shopping. Though retail sales were 2.6% ahead of January 2013, the Commerce Department said sales for the month fell 0.4%, with a 2.1% drop in auto-related sales a major factor. However, severe weather couldn't account for the downward revision in December sales, which went from a 0.2% gain to a 0.1% loss, and January sales outside brick-and-mortar stores also fell 0.6%.
o Weather also was a factor in a 0.8% drop in U.S. industrial production in January, according to the Federal Reserve. Construction took the biggest hit with a 1% decline.
o A report by China's exports administration showed that Chinese exports accelerated in January, rising
o 10.6% compared to January 2013. The data from China's official General Administration of Customs contradicted earlier private reports showing manufacturing slowing in January and raised questions about the true state of the world's second largest economy.
o Steady as she goes: New Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress that absent any unexpected economic downturns, the Fed will continue to wind down its bond purchases while maintaining its target interest rate at its current low level.
o Eurozone countries experienced slightly higher growth in Q4 2013 as the region's gross domestic product rose 0.3%. That would represent annualized growth of 1.1% and an improvement from Q3's
o 0.1%. However, the official European Union statistical agency said actual eurozone GDP for all of 2013 shrank 0.4%. German GDP, which rose at an annualized 1.5%, was responsible for almost one-third of the quarter's total growth. Meanwhile, Q4 growth in the 28-member European Union was slightly higher at 0.4%.
o The largest cable provider in the United States (Comcast Corp.) signed an agreement to acquire the second largest cable provider (Time Warner Cable). However, the deal must receive regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission and could face antitrust scrutiny by the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission.
o Two of the world's largest exchanges of bitcoins--the five-year-old virtual currency created entirely on computers--temporarily halted withdrawals in the wake of hack attacks on their systems. The attacks followed the announcement of similar problems at a third major exchange, which had also frozen customer accounts after being hit with fraudulent transaction requests

Eye on the Week Ahead

With the bulk of earnings season largely in the rear-view mirror, investors will have to dig their way through a blizzard of economic data.

Key Dates/Data Releases
2/18: Empire State manufacturing, international capital flows
2/19: Housing starts, FOMC
minutes, wholesale inflation
2/20: Consumer inflation, Philadelphia Fed manufacturing
2/21: Home re-sales, options expiration

Data sources: Economic: Based on data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (unemployment, inflation); U.S. Department of Commerce (GDP, corporate profits, retail sales, housing); S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index (home prices); Institute for Supply Management (manufacturing/services). Performance: Based on data reported in WSJ Market Data Center (indexes); U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields); U.S. Energy Information Administration/Bloomberg.com Market Data (oil spot price, WTI Cushing, OK); www.goldprice.org (spot gold/silver); Oanda/FX Street (currency exchange rates). All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2,000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. Market indices listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

Prepared by Lee Davis** and Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2014