News Archives - Inlet Private Wealth

What’s in a Meme?

February 8, 2022/in Articles, News, Quarterly Market Commentary/by Ted E. Furniss, CFA

“Meme” conceptually originated with Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book “The Selfish Gene.” Its initial genetic connotation has since evolved into a form of symbolism that spreads by imitation from person to person. During 2021, “meme stocks” became synonymous with companies having arguably dubious long-term business prospects and a cult-like following of stock traders that created buying frenzies through social media resulting in sky-high share price increases. It was not uncommon for video game retailers with physical locations (GameStop) or movie theaters (AMC Entertainment Holdings) to quickly double or triple in price. The intrinsic value of an investment is irrelevant, all that matters to a meme trader is if there will be someone willing to pay more than them (minutes) later. However, just as “a rose with any other name would smell as sweet,” a meme stock is effectively just another name for an illegal “pump and dump” scheme.

The advent of commission free trades may have helped to “democratize investing” but it has also aided and abetted meme schemes. Coupled with Robinhood’s gamification of investing, commission free trading has also significantly shortened investment time horizons and effectively turned some financial markets into giant casinos. According to the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange), options trading, which can be riskier than stock trading, surpassed stock trading activity during 2021 for the first time in history (based on notional value). There are now over 8,000 cryptocurrencies to choose from, more than all the stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, combined. However, unlike sports gambling and casino games, there is a time value associated with most investments and its outcomes are rarely instant and/or binary. Alcohol has also played a role with 59% of Generation Z traders claiming in a recent survey by MagnifyMoney to have bought or sold an investment while inebriated. This “greater fool” approach to investing can work extremely well, until like water, a highly overvalued stock seeks the level of its intrinsic value. Or, to paraphrase the philosopher Homer Simpson, alcohol can be both the cause of and the solution to all of life’s problems.

2021 was the third straight year of double-digit gains for the S&P 500. During the year, this index made 70 new all-time highs. However, in addition to the extraordinary returns from “meme trading,” most of 2021’s stock market performance was concentrated among relatively few large cap stocks with the ten largest experiencing an average total return of 49.6%. These ten companies are selling with an average price to earnings multiple of 70 while the index as a whole is selling for 21 times earnings. As a result, the valuation of the S&P 500 Index has become “top heavy.” On average, US stocks finished the year down 28% from their peaks and 38% of NASDAQ stocks have fallen 50% or more from their highs during the year. Tech stocks equally weighted were up only about 14% for the year and two thirds of the companies that went public via initial public offerings during 2021 are now trading below their IPO prices. Diversification is often referred to as the only “free lunch” in investing but the returns from international markets were unpalatable with the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US index finishing up just 6.3% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index down -4.8%. China was down -22% and bonds were certainly not a safe haven with the US Aggregate Bond Index finishing the year down -1.6%.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index is currently running at 7.0%, well above the Fed’s target rate of 2.0%. Gas prices are over $3 per gallon for the first time in over six years, prices for used cars have increased 42% year-over-year and standard Medicare Part B premiums will be increased by 15%, one of the largest annual hikes in the history of the program. The unemployment rate is currently just 3.9% but 2021 will be remembered as the year of “The Great Resignation” with over 38 million quitting their jobs. While many switched jobs, employers are still trying to fill 11 million openings with just 6.9 million unemployed actively searching for work. According to the Labor Department, 3 million workers retired early because Covid changed attitudes toward work at a time when stock and housing market gains made doing so feasible. 2022 is a mid-term election year which historically have been referendums on the party in power. Inflation currently polls as the key issue for consumers and by extension voters as their after-tax, after-inflation income is underwater. According to Strategas, midterm election years have been the most volatile for the S&P 500 during the four-year presidential cycle with the market correcting an average of 19.0%. With Washington D.C. more divided than ever, the era of the open check book seems over. Monetary and fiscal policy will likely be noticeably tighter in 2022 and the returns of the equity market indexes will likely be modest. Dividends are likely to be a more important component of total returns during the new year and with 45% of the companies in the S&P 500 yielding more than the US 10-Year Note, there are seemingly a lot more stocks to like under the market’s surface for 2022 than toward the top of the S&P 500 Index. As such, the current environment for financial markets seemingly favors active managers like Inlet Private Wealth.

Ted E. Furniss, CFA – February 2022

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Inlet Private Wealth^®, LLC (“Inlet Private Wealth^®” or the “Firm”) is a SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in Jupiter, Florida. Unless otherwise noted, all data has been obtained via Bloomberg^®. Inlet Private Wealth and its representatives are in compliance with the current registration and notice filing requirements imposed upon SEC registered investment advisers by those states in which Inlet Private Wealth maintains clients. Investing involves the risk of loss and investors should be prepared to bear potential losses. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. The data contained in this report was gathered from what we believe to be reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. For information about Inlet Private Wealth’s registration status and business operations, please consult the Firm’s Form ADV disclosure documents, the most recent versions of which are available on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov).

Third Quarter 2021 – Not So Grande

October 7, 2021/in Articles, News, Quarterly Market Commentary/by Mackenzie Edwards

The surge of a new COVID variant, a global supply chain struggling to keep up with demand, inflation on the rise, a major debt crisis in China, and the looming threat of another government shutdown here in the US made the third quarter anything but ordinary. Despite all this uncertainty, the US equity markets did their best to hang in there. For the quarter, the S&P500 was essentially flat with a -0.29% return and the Dow Jones was down -2.28%.

Global supply chain update: Still broken. The queue of container ships waiting to enter neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach hit an all-time high of 65 vessels in the past couple weeks, and they’ll wait an average of 8.7 days to deliver their cargo. The average transit time from China to the US is now 71 days, compared to 40 days in 2019. This matters because these California ports are the busiest in the US, and they accept more than a quarter of all American imports. Nike and Costco are two victims of these supply chain issues who have recently cut their revenue forecasts for the year. Nike also said that 80% of its shoe factories in Vietnam are currently closed. Be prepared to hear this more and more during the upcoming earnings season. Of all the goods caught up in these bottlenecks, semiconductors and other chips used in electronics may be the most in demand. The global chip shortage will cost the auto industry $210 billion in revenue, according to consulting firm AlixPartners. Automakers are estimated to lose 7.7 million units of production this year because of the chip shortage.

As a result of these bottlenecks and the Federal Reserve’s purchase program of $120 billion of bonds every month, inflation has kicked in and is on the rise. In fact, Dollar Tree (a store that sells a majority of their items for only one dollar) announced that they will be boosting their prices above $1 as their costs continue to rise. To avoid being accused of false advertising, they may soon have to change their name to the “Dollar Tree Plus.” As of August, the U.S. Consumer Price Index, the most widely used measure of inflation, read a 5.3% increase in prices compared to August of 2020. While the Federal Reserve has signaled that they believe this inflation is only “transitory,” these lingering bottlenecks threaten to limit supply and keep inflation elevated. The economic experts at Strategas suggest inflation will likely not be sticky at 5%, but it remains an open question as to whether price changes will remain closer to 3% in years to come. The Federal Reserve has given us more transparency about when they will begin slowing down their bond purchases and, in response, treasury yields are back on the rise. Rising yields don’t necessarily spell doom for stocks. They actually appear to be signaling that a more “normal” economy, one that doesn’t require unprecedented government stimulus, is arriving.

In China, a company called Evergrande promised to deliver apartments to some 1.5 million buyers, who are still waiting for their keys. Some of them have started protesting. They want Evergrande (oxymoron?), the world’s most indebted property developer, to resume construction of the apartments they were promised, or give back their money. On September 23rd, Evergrande seemed to have missed their deadline on interest payments of $83.5 million to offshore bondholders, according to sources quoted in several media reports. The group is now entering a 30-day grace period during which it can still make good with its creditors, but fears have increased about the company’s capacity to manage its $305 billion total debt load. It remains to be seen if and how Chinese authorities will react- whether they will allow Evergrande to collapse, facilitate a restructuring, or bail out the battered group. If that wasn’t already enough Chinese drama for you, President Xi has also been cracking down on industries as he tries to center the country around the ideal of “common prosperity.” During the last three months he has 1) stopped Didi, the Uber of China, from signing up new customers 2) announced plans to break up Alipay, China’s largest digital payments platform 3) expanded a ban on crypto-related transactions 4) limited the amount of time young children can play videogames 5) banned “effeminate” men from appearing on TV and 6) blocked tutoring companies from taking profits.

Although, the media loves to bombard us with negative news, it’s important to remember that there are still positive events happening in the world. The oldest living World War II veteran, Lawrence Brooks, just celebrated his 112th birthday in September. Commercial space flight is officially a reality. In July, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos separately blasted off into space in their own respective rockets before safely landing back down to Earth. The percent of people in the U.S. who have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine is now over 65%. Drugmaker Merck just released a study that its antiviral pill, molnupiravir, slashed the risk of hospitalization or death in subjects with mild to moderate Covid-19 by 50%. If approved by the FDA, this treatment could be a huge help to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed. After growing at an annual rate of +6.7% in the second quarter of 2021, forecasters from the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia expect U.S. GDP to grow 6.1% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022. The net worth of U.S. households rose to a record $141.7 trillion as of June 30th, up 19.6% from a year ago. Of the $5.85 trillion increase in net worth, stocks accounted for $3.5 trillion, and real estate appreciation was responsible for $1.2 trillion. Personal savings in the US is also up more than $700 billion compared to the 10-year average before the pandemic, per Strategas.

With all that’s going on in the world, the fourth quarter promises to be another volatile one. Though volatility may create short term worries, it also typically creates long-term buying opportunities. We will stay tuned.

Mackenzie C. Edwards September 30, 2021

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Inlet Private Wealth, LLC (“Inlet Private Wealth” or the “Firm”) is a SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in Jupiter, Florida. Inlet Private Wealth and its representatives are in compliance with the current registration and notice filing requirements imposed upon SEC registered investment advisers by those states in which Inlet Private Wealth maintains clients. Investing involves the risk of loss and investors should be prepared to bear potential losses. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. The data contained in this report was gathered from what we believe to be reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. For information about Inlet Private Wealth’s registration status and business operations, please consult the Firm’s Form ADV disclosure documents, the most recent versions of which are available on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov).

Halftime 2021

July 6, 2021/in Articles, News, Quarterly Market Commentary/by Ted E. Furniss, CFA

On May 25^th, the number of restaurant reservations made on OpenTable returned to pre-pandemic levels and during June, the average number of video streaming services utilized per U.S. user declined for the first time. “Cord-cutting” is rising again and the number of Costco memberships is now higher than the number of U.S. households that pay for cable TV (Bloomberg). TSA check-ins are now at 2.2 million per day, more than tripling from 600,000 a year ago and nearing their pre-pandemic level of 2.5 million. GasBuddy, an app to find the cheapest gas stations nearby, reports that gasoline demand is 40% higher than a year ago and Hilton Hotels’ CEO highlighted that 93% of its rooms were occupied over the Memorial Day weekend. Despite a pandemic, the Financial Times reported that more than 5 million people worldwide became U.S. Dollar millionaires last year.

Many countries continue to struggle with Covid and the risk from new variants remains. However, the above metrics reflect a collective vibe in the U.S. that the end of the Covid-19 crisis is in sight and the financial markets have responded accordingly. The S&P 500 Index has returned 15.2% year-to-date and there are now five companies with equity market capitalizations exceeding $1 trillion. This highly exclusive club includes Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Facebook but this year’s returns have been driven mostly by a rotation from “growth” and “stay at home” stocks into “value” and “economic reopening” stocks. Financial and energy stocks have been leading the way while Tesla’s shares have fallen by a third and a 33% decline in toilet paper sales and softening demand for bleach have turned Kimberly Clark and Clorox from outperformers into regulars on the Wall Street Journal’s 52-week low list.

Disruptions to supply chains, extraordinary monetary and fiscal stimulus and pent-up demand have contributed to an inflation rate of 5.9% for the 12 months ending in May. U.S. gasoline prices now average above $3 per gallon for the first time in more than six years. Lumber prices have nearly tripled since the start of the pandemic. The median home price has advanced 23.6% from a year earlier to just over $350,000 while the number of licensed realtors (1.45 million) noticeably exceeds the supply of homes for sale (1.04 million). The average used-vehicle price was up more than 30% in May from a year earlier even though the average vehicle age on U.S. roadways has increased to 12.1 years – the oldest level recorded. The Fed suggests these consumer price increases are transitory but also recently stated that they will likely raise rates twice during 2023. The need to raise rates seems inconsistent with their use of the word “transitory” but to date, the financial markets have shrugged this off.

Recently released U.S. census data suggests that about half of its population was born after 1981 which was the last time consumer prices moved upwards meaningfully. As such, 50% of consumers are experiencing material price increases for the first time. It will be interesting to observe how consumers respond but with Levi’s CEO suggesting that 25% of shoppers have a different size today than before the pandemic, suggesting that many consumers are spending because of genuine demand. The census data also highlighted how the U.S. population is starting to collectively age with the number of people over 65 now outnumbering children under the age of 5 for the first time in its history. While it seems that sheltering in place during Covid-19 should have helped foster procreation, just over 9 months after Covid-19 related lockdowns in the U.S., the birth rate plummeted by 8% and 25 states have been reporting a greater number of deaths than births. Many other countries are aging more rapidly – in Japan, the number of adult diapers sold is now greater than for babies. However, there have been some areas experiencing noticeable growth with Utah (18.4%), Idaho (17.3%) and Texas (15.9%) leading the way. Florida, often cynically referred to as the “sixth borough,” now has a population that is larger than all of New York State’s and the number of West Palm Beach area luxury home sales increased 116% year-over-year (Redfin), the largest gain of any major U.S. metro area. U-Haul’s pricing has responded accordingly with the cost to move from New York City to West Palm Beach costing 60% more than moving in the opposite direction. Demographics may or may not be destiny, but the most recent census data highlights many trends that may provide attractive long-term investment opportunities.

Inlet Private Wealth just celebrated its third anniversary! The past three years have passed much faster than seems possible and while much has changed in the world during this time, our clients and the financial, investment and legal professionals we work with have remained extremely loyal and tremendously supportive. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with such wonderful people and for the confidence and trust they have placed in us.

Ted E. Furniss, CFA – July 2021

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Inlet Private Wealth^®, LLC (“Inlet Private Wealth^®” or the “Firm”) is a SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in Jupiter, Florida. Unless otherwise noted, all data has been obtained via Bloomberg^®. Inlet Private Wealth and its representatives are in compliance with the current registration and notice filing requirements imposed upon SEC registered investment advisers by those states in which Inlet Private Wealth maintains clients. Investing involves the risk of loss and investors should be prepared to bear potential losses. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. The data contained in this report was gathered from what we believe to be reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. For information about Inlet Private Wealth’s registration status and business operations, please consult the Firm’s Form ADV disclosure documents, the most recent versions of which are available on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov).

Unprecedented – January 2021

January 12, 2021/in News, Quarterly Market Commentary/by Ted E. Furniss, CFA

One of our wittier clients recently commented that on midnight January 1^st, it was the first time in history we all had hindsight that was 2020. Even Nostradamus could not have had the foresight to predict the magnitude of the Covid-19 pandemic, that oil prices would fall below zero, that shares of Hertz would significantly appreciate after declaring bankruptcy, or that pharmaceutical companies could develop multiple vaccines in less than one tenth of the time it has historically taken them to create just one. There were so many “unprecedented” events during 2020 that the use of this word now feels trite.

Financial markets behaved capriciously during the year with the S&P 500 surprisingly finishing up nearly 18% while concurrently the global economy noticeably declined. With the benefit of 2020’s hindsight, the large outperformance of the S&P 500 versus the economy last year was primarily due to the difference in the composition of the S&P 500 compared to the US economy. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook combined comprise 21% of the S&P 500 but collectively generated 66% of its returns. However, compared to the US economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), the collective net income of these five stocks during the year represented only 1% of GDP. The S&P 500 is arguably now “top heavy” from the appreciation of its largest constituents. For example, Apple, the world’s largest publicly traded company based on its market capitalization, is valued at $2+ trillion making it worth more than all the constituents of the Russell 2000 Index, combined.

As we enter 2021, many remain cautious or understandably, afraid. There is currently $500 billion more in money market funds compared to pre-pandemic levels. 79% of the more than 500 institutional investors recently surveyed by Natixis SA do not expect GDP to recover to pre-Covid levels before 2022. Handgun sales increased year-over-year by 81% and personal savings rates are at decade highs. However, there have also been increasing signs of what John Maynard Keynes referred to as “animal spirits.” Margin loans or the use of debt to buy publicly traded securities is at all-time highs. Individual investors opened more than 10 million new brokerage accounts during 2020, a record. The volume of traded option contracts, risky securities that are levered to the change in price of an underlying security, were 48% higher than during 2019. Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have started to party unlike any time since 1999 with more than half of these new issues being speculative, special purpose acquisition companies or SPACs. At the start of last year, Berkshire Hathaway held enough cash to buy Tesla, twice. Enthusiasm from Robinhood’s investment community and Elon’s Musketeers helped to drive Tesla’s share price up so much that at the end of the year it was the 5^th largest publicly traded company in the US, making it larger than all of Berkshire Hathaway. Bitcoin, once referred to as “a charlatan attracting delusion that is likely rat poison squared” by Warren Buffett, arguably one of the greatest investors of all time, recently sold for more than $40,000, up from $7,000 at the time of his statement.

It is challenging to describe the current prices of most investable assets as inexpensive. The S&P 500’s price to earnings ratio is currently 31x. In 1990, a $5 million portfolio of investment grade municipal bonds could generate $362,500 of tax-exempt income annually; today, it takes $36 million to generate this much income. As a result, many investors that would like to buy bonds are no longer able to “afford” them. Technology now represents 38% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization but accounts for just 6% of US GDP and 2% of employment. However, the collective optimism of investors that is being reflected in asset prices has some merit. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates near zero until 2023 and to continue purchasing $120 billion worth of bonds each month until the economy is near full employment. The money supply has been growing at an annualized rate of 25% and while this would typically stoke broad inflationary pressures, to date, an historically high savings rate has resulted in the inflation of asset prices, not the real economy. During a time of extreme political polarization, Republicans and Democrats have worked together to pass multiple fiscal relief bills. With a so called “unified government” in 2021 and interest rates hovering near zero, these levels of fiscal and monetary stimulus are likely to continue unabated.

John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” Having provided this disclaimer, the 2021 consensus forecasts are for GDP growth of 4% and for the S&P 500 to gain 7.4% and there do seemly remain some areas of potential opportunity for investors. As the pace of vaccinations improve and fiscal & monetary stimuli increasingly flow into the economy, small and medium sized companies should start to noticeably recover and with interest rates close to zero and likely to stay there for some time, quality dividend paying stocks seem relatively attractive. It is likely the New Year will present more than its fair share of challenges but the mere changing of the calendar to 2021 does makes it seem likely that it will be an improvement over an unprecedented 2020.

Ted E. Furniss, CFA – January 2021

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Inlet Private Wealth^®, LLC (“Inlet Private Wealth^®” or the “Firm”) is a SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in Jupiter, Florida. Unless otherwise noted, all data has been obtained via Bloomberg^®. Inlet Private Wealth and its representatives are in compliance with the current registration and notice filing requirements imposed upon SEC registered investment advisers by those states in which Inlet Private Wealth maintains clients. Investing involves the risk of loss and investors should be prepared to bear potential losses. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. The data contained in this report was gathered from what we believe to be reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. For information about Inlet Private Wealth’s registration status and business operations, please consult the Firm’s Form ADV disclosure documents, the most recent versions of which are available on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov).

Ted Furniss – Leader of Inlet Private Wealth^®

August 28, 2019/in News/by Inlet Private Wealth Team Inlet

As recently published by Gulfstream Media,

Chief Investment Officer Ted Furniss is an independent thinker who enjoys the intellectual stimulation of analyzing investments. His firm, Inlet Private Wealth^®, differentiates itself from the rest by customizing the investments it manages for clients to meet specific financial objectives. The company caters primarily to those with $5 million or more to invest whose objectives are too complex to properly be addressed by a generic asset allocation strategy.

Mackenzie Edwards has joined our firm as an Investment Advisor

April 24, 2019/in News/by Inlet Private Wealth Team Inlet

Mackenzie Edwards serves as an Investment Advisor at Inlet Private Wealth^®. He is an honors graduate from the University of Florida, earning a Bachelors Degree in Finance and a Masters Degree in International Business. Mackenzie brings a fresh perspective to the Inlet team. He is passionate about investments and in helping others. While at the University of Florida, Mackenzie was involved in many investment clubs and was one of the co-founders of the University of Florida Club Golf Team. In his free time, Mackenzie enjoys playing golf and traveling with family and friends.

Halsey Smith has joined our firm as Marketing Director

April 24, 2019/in News/by Inlet Private Wealth Team Inlet

Inlet Private Wealth^® is pleased to announce that Halsey Smith has joined our firm as Marketing Director. Halsey Smith brings a wealth of knowledge specializing in personal financial planning and estate planning. With years of financial services experience, Mr. Smith brings a depth of knowledge to work closely with clients to provide personalized wealth solutions.

Inlet Private Wealth was founded to serve individuals and families that desire customized solutions tailored to help best meet their financial objectives. Mr. Smith and the Inlet team provide independent, customized wealth management solution to address the investment, trust and estate needs of each individual client.

Inlet Private Wealth^® Launches Inlet Private Wealth & Trust

April 24, 2019/in News/by Inlet Private Wealth Team Inlet

New service offering enhances scope of trust solutions available to the firm’s clientele

Jupiter, FL (February 1, 2019) – Inlet Private Wealth^®, a boutique wealth management firm serving high net worth individuals, families and institutions, announced the formation and launch of Inlet Private Wealth & Trust to provide comprehensive, personalized trust services to its clients.

Inlet Private Wealth & Trust is a Trust Representative Office of National Advisors Trust Company (NATC), an independent trust company with a national charter providing trust services in all 50 states. Inlet Private Wealth & Trust delivers a full range of trust and trustee services with administrative trust services provided by NATC.

“Adding trust services brings additional breadth to our already comprehensive wealth management services, allowing us to provide personalized trust and estate planning solutions to our clients and their families over generations,” said Victoria Peaper, Chief Executive Officer of Inlet Private Wealth. “Trusts are a regular feature in the highly customized solutions we plan and implement for our clients. Like wealth management, estate planning is a deeply personal process based on each client’s unique goals. No two clients are alike, and we pride ourselves on working closely with clients to tailor solutions to meet their individual needs.”

Distinguished for being conservative with capital and creative with solutions, the combination of Inlet Private Wealth & Trust and Inlet Private Wealth creates a holistic investment management, trust and estate planning offering to serve individuals and families with comprehensive lifetime solutions.

Inlet Private Wealth researched and evaluated several trust services options before selecting NATC. “We considered many options for trust services, but NATC and its private label Brand Advantage program was the best fit,” said Ted Furniss, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Inlet Private Wealth. “NATC was created by and for advisors, and is owned by advisors; they understand our business. The company’s business model is advisor friendly, with non-competing services. Their corporate directed trustee model allows us to remain in charge of investment management and be named in our clients’ trust documents as the investment advisor. The private label program allows us to market branded trust services, and includes trust education programs and marketing support. It’s really a tremendous partnership with great synergies, helping us further strengthen the lifelong bonds we build with our client families.”

About Inlet Private Wealth
Inlet Private Wealth was founded to serve individuals and families that desire customized wealth management solutions tailored to help best meet their financial objectives, challenges and aspirations. As a boutique firm, Inlet Private Wealth caters to the needs of each client by working collaboratively with them to help achieve their unique financial objectives. The firm develops personalized financial solutions without pressure on clients to employ a style box or proprietary products. It provides clients with a comprehensive approach that is mindful of their preferences, income needs, existing investments, taxes and expenses. For more information visit www.inletprivatewealth.com.

About National Advisors
National Advisors is a family of companies providing expert nationwide trust, custody and concierge services to trusted advisors and the families they serve. National Advisors is comprised of the following entities: National Advisors Trust Company; National Advisors Trust of South Dakota, Inc.; National Advisors Concierge Services; and National Advisors Holdings, Inc. Enriching Lifelong Relationships unites and unifies the professional staff of National Advisors. We embrace our clients with this common purpose, delivering a seamless, consistent experience across our family of companies. More information is available at www.natrustco.com, www.natrustsd.com, www.natctro.com.

For more information contact:

Inlet Private Wealth
Victoria W. Peaper
561-781-0400
vpeaper@inletprivatewealth.com

National Advisors Trust
Corrine Smith
913-234-8247
csmith@natrustco.com

Inlet Private Wealth^® Launches With the Help of TruClarity

July 2, 2018/in News/by Inlet Private Wealth Team Inlet

With TruClarity’s support, Florida-based RIA Inlet Private Wealth^® launches wealth management practice serving affluent families and individuals.

JUPITER, Fla., July 2, 2018 – Inlet Private Wealth, an independent SEC-registered investment advisor, today announces the launch of its wealth management practice serving affluent families and individuals across southern Florida and nationwide. Based in Jupiter, Florida, Inlet Private Wealth aims to protect and grow their clients’ wealth while preserving legacies, offering straightforward solutions to complex investment, trust and estate issues.

Ted E. Furniss and Victoria W. Peaper co-founded Inlet Private Wealth with the belief that advisory clients deserve flexible, tailored solutions designed with their best interests in mind. Furniss and Peaper previously served as Managing Directors at Wilmington Trust, a subsidiary of M&T Bank Corporation. Peaper now serves as Inlet Private Wealth’s Chief Executive Officer and Furniss as the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer.

“Inlet’s mission is to give our clients greater control over their legacies in order to best preserve, grow and pass on their wealth,” said Furniss. “We want to be a safe harbor; a place where our clients can receive personal, highly-engaged advice.”

Inlet Private Wealth’s core services, founded on comprehensive and personal advice, include investment management, trust and estate planning, philanthropic planning, tax planning and family education and governance. On the backend, in addition to transition support, TruClarity will guide the firm’s human resources, real estate, legal, compliance, payroll, billing and marketing functions going forward.

“Aligning with TruClarity has made this launch process more seamless than we could have imagined,” said Peaper. “It allowed us to remain focused on our clients while TruClarity worked behind the scenes to ensure a successful transition.”

TruClarity offers financial advisors a proven solution to the challenges of becoming an independent advisor and business owner, assisting them through every step from the initial financial analysis and forecasting to full transition support and comprehensive ongoing back office services after the leap to independence.

“From our very first meetings with Ted and Vicki, their passion and drive were very apparent,” said Pamela Stross, CEO at TruClarity. “I can speak for our entire team in saying we all look forward to the coming years of working with as them as they live their dream and grow their practice.”

For media inquiries, please contact Brian Hart of Flackable at (866) 225-0920 ext. 101 or brian@flackable.com.

About Inlet Private Wealth
Inlet Private Wealth is an independently owned and operated, fee-based SEC-registered investment advisor located in Jupiter, Florida. Through Inlet’s goals-based service approach, the firm is committed to offering customized wealth management solutions to achieve the planning and investment objectives of affluent families and individuals, one investment at a time. Learn more at www.inletprivatewealth.com.

About TruClarity
TruClarity is a trusted solution for financial advisor independence and life beyond the leap. Offering a totally comprehensive transition solution, TruClarity equips advisors with a robust, turnkey platform to support their firm’s day-to-day activities. Learn more at www.MyTruClarity.com.

New service offering enhances scope of trust solutions available to the firm’s clientele

With TruClarity’s support, Florida-based RIA Inlet Private Wealth® launches wealth management practice serving affluent families and individuals.

With TruClarity’s support, Florida-based RIA Inlet Private Wealth^® launches wealth management practice serving affluent families and individuals.