Love is the Only Unifier

July 28, 2025

“Sometimes the break in your heart is like the hole in the flute. Sometimes it’s the place where the music comes through.” - Andrea Gibson

Practicing what I preach

Regular readers of these pages will know that I suggest limiting phone, social media, and news in general. Although I separate myself from my technology when going to sleep at night, because I must stay abreast of news impacting financial markets, there is constant distraction from my phone most days. Texts, emails, and news consume my energy, and it takes something away from life. So, I decided (as I did last summer) that I would put my phone away for 5 days while on holiday with my family. The August Wealth team can only reach me by calling one of my family members (fortunately, there was no need).

Without the distraction of a phone, I experienced new perspectives, deeper engagement with nature and family, and a greater recognition of the gifts around me. We live in polarizing times politically, and I will argue that does not matter. What does matter is how we approach others.

Jeremy M’s wedding in Newport, RI

Jeremy and my oldest son, Augustus, grew up together. He became like another son to us over the years, sleepovers, family holidays together, and many fond memories. It was a great joy to see him get married in such a beautiful setting.

While in Newport, I decided to attend church at St. Mary’s where JFK and Jaquie Kennedy were married. This Sunday mass was the inspiration for this piece.

It wasn’t the history that inspired me, nor was it the priest’s message about kindness and inclusivity (many different people from various religions and all over the world come to attend mass at St. Mary’s).

Even “God” is polarizing

It occurred to me that even “God” can be polarizing. The word “god” is a human construct. It can unify or divide, and it has done so throughout history and today. But not even “God” whom I believe in, but you may not, is that relevant. Some people regard organized religion or “God” in general to be silly, and others will defend their religion with fervor or even violence. What does it matter? I’m not sure either side’s argument is all that relevant. I’m a catholic attending the wedding of a non-practicing Jew. Jeremy is like a son to me; I’m not sure what my religion has to do with it. The point is to always act out of love. If you do that, you don’t need to worry about God or religion.

A question inspired me

The priest told the excruciatingly painful story of two children who perished in the Texas floods while holding each other’s hand. He admitted that he has doubts about his faith, doubts about God, and questions as to how and why this could happen to innocent children. He mentioned that maybe someday he will get his answer.

Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. But I argue that not even that matters.

The only thing that matters is that those two girls were holding hands. Despite being helpless and scared, they demonstrated the only thing that matters and the only thing that lasts forever. Love.

They taught us to love despite any hope of life. No matter how bad things seem, how much you disagree, how angry you are, how victimized or abused you are, it doesn’t matter as much as your ability to continue to love. Love is the only unifier. If you lose that ability, you are indeed lost.

Sickness, losing a loved one, losing a child, that isn’t the center nor the end of things. Your ability to continue to love is all that matters.

Without Love, there is no August Wealth

August Wealth was born out of love, and our team was built on the loving service of others. We have certain skills in finance and investment, and we use those skills in service to others.

Why do I feel it necessary to continue with a similar theme for most months in my writing? Because we lose sight of this. I lose sight of this too! I work at reminding myself, and hopefully this work rubs off on some of my readers. If we are clear eyed in our objectives, we are less susceptible to the noise!

Markets and Financial Planning

It feels like summertime financial markets to me. It’s all a bit slow; and that is okay.

If you didn’t pay much attention to the news this year, you would probably think not much happened thus far in 2025. There hasn’t been too much change in the S+P500 index, and interest rates haven’t changed that much either.

We continue to explore lots of new opportunities in markets because they are ever present, and it’s what we love to do. We continue to implement our methodical approach to investment and helping you achieve your goals.

I have been thinking, perhaps because of the chatter in the news of potentially allowing 401k plans to invest in private equity investments, about the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare”. We are slow and boring, but I am confident August Wealth can win the race.

Low fees, less excitement, more liquid, and lower risk makes sense to me. But I understand how people love excitement. In any case, I think the private equity industry would welcome 401k money, and it would help them considerably. I am less confident that it would help the unwitting investor retire early.

Not that I want to rant about private equity further, but are they acting out of service to others or are they mainly motivated by money? Well, here are some areas I feel are not serving people well:

• I do not particularly enjoy dealing with medical providers that sell their practice to private equity.

• I lament the way children’s sports seem to take families away from spending time together (Sunday’s, Mother’s Day, other holidays). Are we asking why we do these things? What is the objective of concentrating in one sport for little Johnny? I’ve raised three children, I’ve coached multiple sports teams over the years, and I am pretty sure that all this money in travel sports programs is not serving families well nor is it teaching life lessons well.

• Sports betting and getting young men hooked on gambling is unlikely to serve them nor their families well.

There is nothing wrong with making money; I’m in the money business. However, I think society would benefit more if we focused on serving others and getting fairly compensated for time and expertise. I think partnerships and long-term relationships that are mutually beneficial make more sense for everyone.

Why is the US stock market performing so well with such uncertainty?

As you know, we have been positive on the opportunities in the United States and globally despite the changes that the Trump administration has brought about. This isn’t just about “buying the dip”. That doesn’t necessarily always work. It’s about many positives that people have a hard time seeing because of focus on noise instead of signals.

The Financial Times article below needs a subscription to access, but I think Rick Reider, Chief Investment Officer of fixed income at Blackrock, does a good job of pointing out why the markets haven’t reacted as negatively as many expected from tariff disruption (summary of his points below):

• In 2025, the louder the headlines, the quieter the market gauges of risk have become.

• US Services now generate 81% of US GDP; this is up from 38% in the 1940’s. Real services consumption has only contracted twice year over year (2009 and 2020).

• Household balance sheets are much stronger (as I have mentioned many times). Debt to net worth is near all-time lows, 50 percent below the highs of 2008. Total household interest costs are under 10% of income. The average mortgage rate outstanding is 4.05% which keeps interest payments at 4% of income, and Americans have more equity in their homes than ever before.

• Corporate Balance Sheets are strong. Household and business leverage is more than 30% below the Great Financial Crisis highs, and profit margins sit at 13.8% which is higher than any pre-pandemic reading on record.

• Households hold financial assets worth $129 Trillion! Half of that is sitting in assets paying above 4%. Positive real yields because of cooling inflation is the highest for 15 years.

• Breakthroughs in AI, cloud, robotics, and other productivity enhancing technology create unique opportunities.

• Record amounts of cash in money market funds.

I agree with Mr. Reider. The markets are not ignoring the risks; they are pricing in a highly resilient US Economy and its dominance globally. This is why we have been positive and remain positive this year.

Thank You

Thank you and congratulations to our friends AM and MM for including us at your boy’s wedding. Without your friendship, August Wealth may not even have been born! The wedding event embodied all that matters, Love.

FT Article:

*The Volatility paradox: why markets stay calm despite the noise

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