Club Meeting Recap--August 17, 2015
Posted
on Aug 20, 2015
Robert Hartig, from American Funds,
Addresses the Club on the Stock Market
President Terri Rickel opened the meeting and invited all to attend the annual “Taste of the Gardens” event supporting the Wellfield Botanical Gardens this Saturday, August 22nd. Volunteers are still needed, she said.
Dean Hupp gave the Rotary Foundation minute discussing the Foundation’s support of local club pet projects like the Wellfield or our new speaker series “Strengthening Communities through Healthy Lifestyles.”
Merritt Dilts was the Sergeant. Money raised by the Sergeant’s Committee is given to local charities at the end of the year.
The speaker was Robert Hartig from the American Funds office in Indianapolis who came to discuss the stock market. He started by saying the market has grown by 20% over the last 6 years. He also said that growth rate would not continue indefinitely. He thought a 10-15% correction would be likely, but said the US Stock Market would continue to be a great investment as interest would likely stay low, as would commodities like oil as America enjoyed an energy renaissance.
In a new era of global innovation, Robert discussed how the majority of the world’s population would move to the middle class with disposable income (later defined as earning over $6,000 per year). They will create a global consumer economy, which has driven the US since the 1930s. He mentioned one consumer innovation coming would be driverless cars mostly because they are so much safer.
He concluded his talk by focusing on long term stock market investing. Even in down economies, buying and holding stock along with dollar cost averaging has been the most lucrative way to make money long term including guys like Warren Buffett. Patience is indeed the best virtue as $10,000 buying the original American Fund mutual funds in 1934 would be worth $109 million today.
For more information, visit: https://www.americanfunds.com/individual/#
Future speakers:
August 24th – Rob Stahley, CEO, The Crossing (Meet at Wellfield Botanic Gardens)
August 31st – Evening Meeting: "Eating Vegan"
Sept. 7th – Labor Day, NO MEETING
Sept. 14th – Beverlly Kitson: David Kitson Library in Nosara, Costa Rica