Business

ON THE MONEY: When it comes to assets, it’s all about preparation

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — It’s worth noting that on a per capita basis, more Americans became millionaires after the Great Depression than any other time in history

Published

8 years ago

January 11, 2019

John Grace Contributing Columnist

By John L. Grace

About four years before the 2000-02 “tech wreck” where the NASDAQ dropped 80 percent, according to Yahoo Finance, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned of “irrational exuberance” at a dinner speech.

In an interview with CNN Dec. 17, Greenspan said, “It would be very surprising to see [markets] sort of stabilize here and then take off.”

Greenspan went on to say leading stock indexes may have a little upside left. But that’s only going to make the inevitable drop more painful. So, “at the end of that run, run for cover,” he said.

Now I don’t know if Greenspan is correct, nor do I offer an opinion as to how much time there might be before a major downturn. But I do know that no one needs to foresee the future to prepare for it.

Who told us in 2007 that credit default swaps and sub-prime mortgages could ruin the world as we knew it? So if no one told you about the last crisis, who do you think will alert you in advance of the next one?

Nearly half (48.6 percent) of chief financial officers in the U.S. believe this country will be in recession by the end of next year, according to the Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey released on Dec. 12. The Duke survey also found that 82 percent of CFOs believe that a recession will begin by the end of 2020.

It seems like just a minute ago the CFOs were embracing the mistaken notion that this country could enjoy 4 percent gross domestic product growth. We’ve been saying for some time now what former Fed Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that, “quite high” levels of corporate debt are “a danger.”

Yellen is absolutely correct with her observation, “High levels of corporate leverage could prolong the downturn and lead to lots of bankruptcies,” she said on CNBC, Dec. 10.

According to me, it’s not about the prediction, it’s all about the preparation. We put far more emphasis on the work necessary to keep client assets intact than attempting to predict what might happen or when it might happen.

I was asked to speak to 100 of my peers recently. I started by asking, how do you think that two-story white house in Mexico Beach, Florida survived Hurricane Michael?

The first answer was, “It was God,” and the second answer offered was, “It’s a miracle.”

I said you can believe what you want to believe, but the third response is the correct answer, “They built it for the big one.”

The point I was making is that just as most houses are built in the same pattern, most portfolios are going to do the same thing at the same time. Like ordinary houses after a Category 4 hurricane, assets could be devastated.

As we see one of the few houses left standing after Hurricane Michael, I did everything I could to inspire my colleagues to approach the task as those homeowners did.

“It’s the first house that either one of us had ever built,” said Dr. Lebron Lackey, one of the homeowners.

The house was built with concrete walls. The foundation included 40-foot pilings. Rebar was placed through all of the walls to increase stability. The additions added about 15 to 20 percent more expense than usual.

In the investment world, cost is king. The lower the cost the better. But that answer addresses a different question. To “run for cover” by keeping your assets intact begin by determining how much loss you can accept. Followed by how active management strategies can be applied on behalf of your personalized goals.

Then look to see what asset classes outside of cash, bonds and stocks can be added to your portfolio. I count eight asset classes at Yale Endowment, for example. A stool with eight legs is simply stronger than a two- or three-legged stool to hold up the weight. Even in a hurricane.

When it comes to cost, it is often the case that you get what you pay for.

Suppose the CFOs are wrong about the severity and the timing. Just suppose it’s not another recession around the corner, because it could turn out to be a worldwide Great Depression II.

Something astrophysicist Michio Kaku said at a 2014 conference I attended should have happened 10 years ago. Act as if another depression is in the cards. If it doesn’t happen, who cares? If it does happen, prepared investors may be able to take advantage of opportunities they never saw coming.

It’s worth noting that on a per capita basis, more Americans became millionaires after the Great Depression than any other time in history. As I wrote just before Thanksgiving: Be thankful for cash. And get ready. Winter is coming.

John L. Grace is president of Investor’s Advantage Corp, a Los Angeles-area financial planning firm that has been helping investors manage wealth and prepare for a more prosperous future since 1979.

His On the Money column runs monthly in The Wave.

John Grace Contributing Columnist

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Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

Published

4 days ago

September 7, 2026

Oakland Post

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Business

Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board. Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on

Published

2 weeks ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Post Co-Publisher Gay Plair Cobb with Brendalynn Goodall. Courtesy photo.

By California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.

Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.

“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.

“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”

CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.

According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.

BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.

“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.

Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.

Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.

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Black History

Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions

As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Jackie Wright of Wright Enterprises. Photo courtesy of Wright Enterprises.

By Carla Thomas

Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.

As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling.

Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.

The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.

“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.

That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.

Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.

“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.