MAY 2020 NEWSLETTER: Take What You Need And Leave The Rest, A Covid Mantra
Hello friends,
It's an emotionally confusing time.
Spring is in full bloom in Portland, bringing beauty and hope with blooming flowers and verdant trees. We're also experiencing very natural grief for ways of living we miss: hugs, hangouts, the ease of popping in to the grocery store.
We're taking care of ourselves with art and music, quiet and friends. We're keeping connected with clients, the press, and (of course) the markets.
From our virtual turntable to yours,
Georgia & Team Modernist
Invest In People: #Sharemycheck
We fully endorse the #ShareMyCheck movement. Whether you’re able to donate $1 or $1200, we invite you to participate in this redistribution of funds. Check out Resource Generation’s list of organizations in need.
To read more on Modernist's recommendations on giving, check out recent commentary in The Cut or our Covid-19 Resources.
INVESTMENT INSIGHTS: remember the long game
We knew the market was ripe for a correction, we just didn’t think it would be quite this...dramatic. But, volatility is normal and we're finally experiencing the correction we've been waiting for.
Looking at the chart above, we see that our portfolio positions are behaving about how we expected. Our belovedly boring (aka evidence-based) bond positions held steady and even increased in value during Q1. Meanwhile, global growth investments declined during the quarter.
If you want to read more, on our blog we’ve weighed in on several Q1 investing factors, the basics of the CARES Act and 2019 Tax & IRS FAQs, and much more.
MODERNIST TAKES IT OUTSIDE
We can now check The New York Times off our bucket list!
That's right, Georgia was featured in last weekend's NYT Sunday Business section, in My Retirement Plan is You, talking with Charlotte Cowles about how the retirement crisis is driving parents to move in with their kids (aka the reverse boomerang effect).
Georgia joined Farnoosh Torabi for another episode of the So Money podcast so this dream team could talk about which businesses should take the PPP, answer listener questions on retiring early, and how to manage your budget when you're spending less than usual.
Meanwhile, on the Vital Voices podcast, hosts Julie and Casey chatted with Georgia about money stories, “punk damage”, and building yourself into your budget.
#FUNDYOURHEROES
As part of #FundYourHeroes, our philanthropy plan, we donate at least 1.5% of our gross revenue to organizations helping to move the needle on wealth inequality. Although we normally make large gifts for our birthday in July, we’re starting these donations NOW, because so many are in urgent need.
Check out some of the heroes we’ve supported. Modernist is leaning into local philanthropic leadership by gifting to community foundations. These organizations are often on the front lines of the non-profit world's needs. If you're able, we encourage you to consider joining us.
We gave to Oregon Community Foundation's three new COVID response funds: the Oregon Community Recovery Fund, the Oregon Small Business Stabilization Fund, and the Oregon Arts & Culture Recovery Fund.
We also gave to McKenzie River Gathering Foundation’s Worker Relief Fund which replaces wages for Oregonians who, due to immigration status, are disqualified from receiving Unemployment Insurance or stimulus benefits.
Art Break: Rewriting the History of Modernism
"Before Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Klee made a name for abstraction in visual art, another artist had already beat them to their discovery. But until very recently, her name was absent from the history books. Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) painted her first abstract canvas in 1906, four years before Wassily Kandinsky, originally thought to be the movement’s pioneer. It would be more than a century before she would receive the same acknowledgment and acclaim as her male peers."
Now playing in the US at a virtual cinema near you, check out this extraordinary documentary about the pioneer of Modernism in painting, Hilma af Klint.
A SONG THAT IS REALLY ABOUT PANDEMIC
We’re officially obsessed with Fiona Apple’s new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, universally called the album of the pandemic (and the year). As she sings: Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long. Indeed, Fiona. Indeed.
Check out her interview with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, about the album's land acknowledgement, her effort to “make a life commitment to be listening and to be able to be a friend (to indigenous people) in whatever way I can...We must remember that we are not living on land that was ceded to us."
The interview continues with Eryn Wise, organizer of Seeding Sovereignty, explaining more about land and water acknowledgements.
We encourage you to support Seeding Sovereignty’s Indigenous Impact Rapid Response Initiative, focused on the pandemic's disproportionate impact on the Navajo Nation.