With Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden recently releasing his proposed tax plan, we thought it would be good to compare what Biden is proposing to our current tax law. Here is a simple side-by-side comparison of some of the major differences. What does this mean for clients of Hill Investment Group? At this point, not much. While Biden’s proposed plan is certainly different from current law, and in some cases significantly different, we are planning for the future, but aren’t making any changes to clients’ plans (at least not yet). As always, if you have specific questions about your specific situation, please call or email us to set up a time to talk.

“Gold is stupid. But selling stocks to buy gold is beyond stupid; it’s historically insane.”

While we would be hard-pressed to call anyone stupid, we do share in the general sentiments of author and speaker, Nick Murray: that the recent gold rush may be over-extended and not the most logical move for investors playing the long game.

Let us share some context to help explain.

Fiscal and monetary policies that were enacted this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have sparked a growing concern with how these large amounts of debt will ultimately be repaid. A rise in tax rates is certainly possible, but a more prominent fear we hear among investors is an uptick in inflationary pressure. This is leaving many to seek a safe haven beyond the traditional stock market.

This year alone gold has seen an increase of 30%, but as recency bias would show us, many seem to have forgotten the dismal performance of the 80s and 90s. During this 20-year stretch gold had returned -2.8% per year while inflation rose at a steady 4%. Not much of an inflation hedge especially when compared to the S&P 500 Index that returned almost 18% per year over the same period. When we look at even longer periods of time we find that by participating in the stock market an investor would have earned almost 3 times as much as gold.* How’s that for an inflation hedge?

Maybe Nick’s words are a little harsh for some, but you can see why we’re not ready to abandon our philosophy for the hot investment du jour.

*From January 1970 – June 2020

This week we celebrated Abby Crimmins’ second year with HIG and Scott Krajacic’s first. Abby, a huge asset to our team, has taken the reins from John Reagan and now leads the Client Service team. Millennials often get a bad rep for being lazy – but Abby continues to disprove that stereotype every day. Her standard of excellence, can-do attitude, and friendly demeanor have quickly earned the trust of our clients and her teammates alike. Scott is the leader of our Investment Policy Committee and by far the most in-shape member of our team! He has helped improve client relationships by providing clarity to complex questions through technical analysis.

In addition to celebrating anniversaries, we also said farewell to our summer intern, William Bartnett. He was a natural fit on the team and a positive energy source. We immerse our interns in important projects, gaining from their fresh perspective and ideas. William described his experience as “being surrounded by positive focus, growth mindset, and relentless agitation towards excellence.” William gifted our team a signed copy of William Danforth’s I Dare You for our HIG book collection. A quote from Danforth’s book: “I dare you, whoever you are, to share with others the fruits of your daring. Catch a passion for helping others, and a richer life will come back to you.” William will be missed.

To learn more about our internship opportunities, email jobs@hillinvestmentgroup.com and visit our Careers page.