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October 1, 2021

Dear Client: Year-to-date returns for the major stock indices and the current bond and money market yields are as follows: Index         YTDDow Jones Industrial Average   10.57%S&P 500   14.68% Fixed Income Yields        1 year5 year10 year30 yearMunicipals0.18%0.56%1.13%1.73%US Treasuries0.07%0.98%1.52%2.08% Fidelity Government Cash Reserves Money Market Fund0.01% The markets have continued to grind upward in 2021.  The year-to-date performance numbers frankly speak for themselves.  This bull market continues to reward long-term investors as the climb has been steady over the past year.  Despite the healthy market rally, we continue to grapple with the effects from Covid and the imbalances that have been caused in its wake.  We continue to believe Americans are learning to live with the new normal and the worst of the economic disruptions seem to be behind us.  Despite some areas of the market being overvalued and a market correction overdue, the market has remained resilient, and we remain optimistic. Inflation continues to be at the forefront of concerns facing investors.  Inflation means rising prices or too many dollars chasing too few goods and services, and currently is the symptom of underlying reproachable issues; some will self-correct in the short run, while others will take more time.  The most notable causes are: supply problems, labor shortages, massive fiscal stimulus packages, seemingly endless manufactured low interest rates, and asset purchases (the Fed balances sheet).  Each of these is its own discussion, but all are contributing to rising prices.  Once again, the question is where to go from here?  For starters, we believe the labor shortages and supply problems are temporary and have begun correcting back to normal levels as the...