America has become a refuge for those seeking safety & opportunity. This is also applicable for foreign investors' capital. In today's economy, a strong dollar can present both benefits and challenges for U.S. investors.

A strong dollar occurs when the U.S. dollar (USD) can purchase more of a foreign currency than normal, generally measured by a historical range. Typically, during these times the United States is seen as a safe haven for capital, given the stability of its monetary system and economic growth potential.   When the USD can purchase more of that currency, imports become more affordable.  The downside is that exports also become more expensive.

There are also other risks, especially with conditions such as:

• unemployment & underemployment still above historical norms, leading to muted consumer spending;
• fewer exports, which certainly would affect large, multi-national corporations such as those found in the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500;
• tight lending markets, as  banks are still adjusting capital reserves because of the financial crisis & subsequent regulations;
  
• foreign economies that are currently somewhat fragile, as central banks are pumping money into circulation (remember "quantitative easing?").

Another concern that Jack Lew, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, will have is that as the USD becomes stronger, it will reduce US exports even further, which could hurt the bottom line and pace of hiring, resulting in slowing an already sluggish economy.  We'll need to watch how this catch-22 plays out, as weakening the dollar could help exports (corporations)  and the expense of imports (consumers), while strengthening the dollar would have the reverse effect.In the meantime, it may be worth reviewing your portfolio to determine how sensitive your investments are to these risks.  For a complimentary review, you can contact Locker Wealth Management at 708-960-0520, or by visiting the " Contact " section of our website .

Let me start by saying   Thank You   to all of my readers, clients, and business partners for our relationship. Like many people, it is a sentiment that I believe and feel but don't say enough.

Have you noticed all of the advertisements that essentially say, "We know the answer... the one way you should invest"?  It's a good line for selling something, but could be questionable if you dig deeper.

Baseball legend Yogi Berra was as famous for the things he said as what he did on the field. Many of his quotes don't make sense on one level, and yet they may on another.  For example:

"It ain't over till it's over."

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

"This is like deja vu all over again."

"You can observe a lot just by watching."

Berra came to mind recently as I thought of the many conversations over the years with people who think they don't pay any fees on their investments.  On one level, they don't see any cost on their statements, so it must not exist, right?  On another, one man's revenue is another's expense.  If you're not paying anything, then they're not making anything, and I highly doubt businesses function on goodwill alone.  Ignoring the possible types of relationships momentarily (see my previous post,   Form Follows Function ), it's clear that many people don't understand that they are paying fees one way or the other.

To simplify things, I like to break down costs into the following three areas when I'm comparing competing options.

Types of Costs

Architecture is one area that makes Chicago a world-class city.  One lasting principle of architecture & design that many are familiar with is "Form follows function."  In other words, as Wikipedia puts it, " that the shape of a building or object should be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose."

So, let's talk about this mantra in the context of a four-letter "F" word - fees- as it pertains to both brokerage accounts and advisory relationships.

Brokerage Accounts

A broker is an entity that arranges a transaction between parties and receives a commission for the transaction.  In this scenario, brokers are often motivated to encourage a transaction, as long as it is "suitable."  However,   a broker's obligation is primarily to their employer .  Brokers also have lesser requirements for disclosing conflicts of interest that investment advisors.  You may or may not know the costs of a transaction beforehand.  Some firms offer fixed rate transactions (ex., $15 per trade), others may charge based on the number of shares and liquidity of the investment.  In other cases, costs are layered inside the expense ratio of the investment product.

Advisory Relationships