Get the pdf version: Northwest faring better financially
by Charity Thompson, Vancouver Business Journal, Interview of Bill Roller, CFA, CFP®
This company is going to do very well this year. We’re reasonably new and looking to add more advisers.
The Northwest looks better compared to places like Detroit or the Midwest where there has been a huge decline in manufacturing. Southwest Washington has a different kind of economy.
We’re seeing more interest rate volatility than usual. Rates have decreased, but there is concern about inflation on things like 30-year mortgages. Part of the problem is that during the ’90s, the United States got used to a very high rate of growth and we’ve been lulled into it. Since the ’80s, the recessions have been getting shallower because of the Fed, so we haven’t seen a real dramatic downturn since then.
But it is not going to be sweetness and light all the time.
The time to be alarmed is when things are going so well, stock brokers and real estate agents are treated like heroes. Now is not the time to be alarmed – now is the time to look for assets that are undervalued.