Announcer:
It’s time now on KROS for Financial Focus, brought to you by NelsonCorp Wealth Management. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representative securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member of FINRA, SIPC, investment advisor representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated. A registered investment advisor, Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. Now, here’s today’s Financial Focus program.
Gary Determan:
Well, a real pleasure to have in studio Dave Nelson always, but he just got back from Canada.
David Nelson:
Yeah, a little fly-in fishing trip. We had a great time, Gary. We haven’t done it in a number of years. It became a little bit of a tradition back years ago. And when my sons, I think they were about 10 years old, and I ran into a gentleman at a conference that I was attending and he was from Minnesota and I just, how do you make conversation? And I said, “You’re in Minnesota, do you fish?” And he says, “Oh yeah, I fish.” I said, “Oh, really?” Because we’d gone up there a couple different times with the kids when they were younger. And he said, “But not in Minnesota.” “Not in Minnesota? What’s wrong with you?” This is what I’m thinking. He says, “Once you’ve done these fly-in fishing trips back, I mean, you never want to go back. I mean, it’s just not a…”
So about that point in time, my wife is at the table with us and under the table I get kicked in the shins because she knows right then and there when I heard this fly-in fishing trip up to Canada that it’s probably going to happen. And she made a point of saying, “You are not taking my kids.”
To give you a grasp of this, and this goes back 20 plus years ago, you’re flying into a place, they drop you off. Red Lake Canada is kind of the starting spot. So then you get driven from there to Ear Falls, Canada. And we’re in Ontario and you board a float plane and the float plane brings you out to whatever. So the entity that we work with, they have like 15 different lakes. There’s one little cabin as far as on it. There’s all kinds of wildlife as far as around you. And you’re out there and good luck. I mean, if you can catch fish, you’re going to eat. If you can’t, you better brought along enough supplies because it’s going to be a long week otherwise. So anyway, it’s just really, really cool. You catch your own fish, you figure out where they are, you clean your fish. It’s just a real thrill. Something I really, really enjoyed. We did it probably about 10 consecutive years. We stopped when the grandchildren came into the world.
And so this was the first year back since James’s oldest was two years old. So again, give or take about 10 years that we haven’t been up there. And I brought my brother Ken, who’s never made this journey. And I brought along Emma, my number three child who loves this type of stuff. She hasn’t been up there in a long, long time. She went with the first one, which was give or take 20 years ago. And now this is her first time back as far as being able to get off work and what have you.
So it was a thrill. It was a thrill. Walleye on one lake, then they picked us up and they dumped us on another lake. And the other lake was lake trout. And as I tell people, if you’ve never fished lake trout, you need to. It’s just thrilling. It’s difficult. But when you land one of these dudes, it’s something special. You drop down to the bottom, you’re down about 200 feet. You start reeling up, reeling up, reeling up. And if you’re lucky enough, all of a sudden your line just stops. You can’t reel because you’ve got this strong, really strong fish on the other end. And so anyway, so we were able to get a lot of them up and it was exciting.
Gary Determan:
How long does it take to land that then? You mean like 15, 20 minutes or what?
David Nelson:
Yeah, it can. It can, yes. I had one the last year that we went up there and it was a 26-pounder. And that one, literally my fishing pole, I tell people, I said, the fishing pole looks like a telephone pole. I mean, it’s a big thick one that you’d need to handle it. And I’m holding this pole with the nose up after this thing hits and with no control whatsoever over it, the point of the pole makes its way down into the water. I mean, I just couldn’t stop it. And so anyway, so that one took a long time. That was probably 45 minutes as far as to get that one in. A typical one you probably bring in three to five minutes.
So yeah, it’s exciting, Gary. It really is. Lake trout are terrific. I mean, if you’ve never eaten them, I mean, people talk about how much they love walleye as far as the taste. I said, “I love walleye a lot. But once you’ve had lake trouts, you have nothing quite like it.” So it’s absolutely fantastic.
Gary Determan:
So you got to bring some of these back. So when is the big fish fry?
David Nelson:
That’s what we don’t know yet. I haven’t figured it out yet, but a lake trout doesn’t keep very well as far as frozen. A few years back when we did bring some home and we kind of forgot about it. And give or take a month, maybe it’s even two months later, we’d, “Oh, geez.” And we made it up and it tasted horrible. I mean, they’re real oily fish, living that deep, what have you, as far as in the water. And it’s so delicious. We had two meals in a week that didn’t have fish on the menu. So we were eating walleye, I don’t know, 15 meals, something like that. And we had lake trout because it was less because that’s what we fished second.
But anyway, so yeah, it was exciting. I would certainly, if anybody had any interest in something like that, it’s tough. You got to put together your own supply list. You got to make sure you have enough equipment. I mean, basically you get to the camp, they pick you up, you get your license, they fly you out, they drop you off. And again, you’re on your own. But I take a lot of pride in being disciplined. I take a lot of pride in being able to take care of myself, what have you. And so if you’re in that category and you love fishing, yeah, this is something really special.
Gary Determan:
So something new though. There’s a little more technology up there now.
David Nelson:
Yeah. That was so weird about it. I mean, in years past when they would drop us off, that’s it. You have no communication as far as with the outside world. So you go a week or whatever, how many days you’re there with no feedback. And even towards the end, the last go around 10 years or so ago, your cell phones, as far as just getting at a distance, wouldn’t really work. This is a whole different level because you’re out in the middle of nowhere and there’s no wires. I mean, on the floatplane you’re going, oh, it’s probably an hour, hour and a half depending on what lake you go to. So you’re going 125 miles per hour. So you’re way out there is I guess the point. But now with Starlink, you can communicate. And so that really helped as far as the young fathers that were on this trip.
My twin boys, they had the little kids back home and were able to communicate, FaceTime. They could kind of see the lake from afar. So that was pretty cool too. And so anyway, it was a good time. I’d certainly encourage people to look into something like that.
Gary Determan:
So you have been out of touch.
David Nelson:
Yes, totally.
Gary Determan:
You did not get in on that GenTech markets or anything like that?
David Nelson:
That’s correct. Exactly. And not until we got in the car driving home as far as from up there. It’s about a 15-hour drive. So we left yesterday morning, give or take. We were able to get off the lake at about 6:00 and jumped into a car and we got home after midnight last night. So yeah. So it wasn’t until then and saw that things have been okay. It’s been a pretty good week. Maybe I need to go away again.
Gary Determan:
They don’t want you going away. So second half of the show, we’re going to talk some markets and things like that. So how are things? I mean, a little bit of time that you’ve had to check things out this morning. I would imagine you did check some things out.
David Nelson:
Yeah, definitely. It’s one of those items, I guess, looking at the market, what have you that… And I’ve had two people as far as email me as far as while I was gone. I started shuffling through 800 and I think 36 emails since I left. But two of them, “Hey, get a little nervous as far as what do you think,” type request. And I keep going back to, if my gut would’ve been the decision maker, we would’ve been sitting in cash for the last two or three years. So I don’t want my gut and I don’t want my client’s gut making the decision as far as on investing, staying invested or not. And as I think folks probably know, we don’t buy and hold that thing and just ride out 30 and 40 and 50% drops. We’re basically going to be proactive and try to minimize as far as best we can as far as some of those moves.
So my response to them was our tools basically are still in the mode of saying stay the course. And subsequently we’re staying the course. And these tools have been quite accurate over the last 15 years as far as that we’ve been using them.
Gary Determan:
A break for the weather nowadays being brought to you by Electronic.
James Zahara:
Then another cluster of rain and thunder likely later Wednesday with a high of 75. With your Storm Track eight Weather Impact Forecast, I’m chief meteorologist James Zahara.
Gary Determan:
Thanks, James. Right now, overcast skies, 71 degrees. Light northeast winds, maybe some light rain out there. Our update brought to you by Electronics.
Commercial:
Electronics Incorporated, the area’s largest communications and alarm systems company where their number one goal is customer service. Their quality work in a timely manner keeps you connected to the world. Electronics technicians realize that communication is the key to your company’s productivity and profit. Their professional team has decades of experience that bring you the best possible service. Electronics Incorporated, 522 North 2nd Street, Clinton, or go to electronicsinc.com.
Gary Determan:
Dave Nelson in studio, just back from Canada. Totally relaxed.
David Nelson:
Yes. Oh, yes. Absolutely tired, but relaxed.
Gary Determan:
So how long does it take you to get relaxed when you first arrive there?
David Nelson:
Yeah, it does. I mean, again, I’m kind of wired, to say the least. I try to, again, mentally prepare as far as for going out and not having access as far as to stuff. So you’re frantic as far as making sure you get the latest and greatest data. You jump in bed at night that first night and it’s kind of still running through your head as far as stuff to do, what have you. But I think day two, day three, it was, I’m ready to have some fun and whatever and relax. And we’ve had a few clients through the years that say, “Do you ever get away?” and, “You need to get away,” and the importance of that. And just like I do as far as you work out, I work out. But part of that, in order to have it really be effective, is you’ve got to get good rest. And that’s needless to say for many people in this world, that’s really rough. And I fall in that category.
Now having said that, there was probably two or three nights that I slept really well. So I was tired out from being out in the water and the sun beating on you and whatever. And the temperatures were… We had 80 degrees, I think two days. So it was a little toasty and there’s no air conditioning or anything like that. So you just suck it up. But yeah, it was a couple good days of rest. Yeah. It felt really, really good and couldn’t wait to get back honestly. A day before we left, I’m kind of ready to wind this thing down and get back, but the floatplane isn’t here, so you’re not leaving. So you’re not driving, you’re not walking here. You got to wait.
So anyway, but yeah, we had a great time and it’s terrific to get back. And markets again have had a pretty good week to say the very least.
Gary Determan:
So I asked you how long does it take you to relax? How long does it take you to get wound up and back into this sort of thing?
David Nelson:
Instantaneous. Yeah. Yeah. It really is. And once I knew that my phone, I had access, you fire it up and you’re looking at what happened.
Gary Determan:
So you didn’t wait until even you got back?
David Nelson:
No, no, no, no. It happened in the car, the 15-hour drive. Fortunately, my sons rotate as far as the driving. And so I’m sitting in the back seat along with my daughter and my brother. And so anyway, we’re hard at it as far as the phones came out. But again, don’t want to make my job sound like it’s real taxing physically. As you could probably imagine, you’re sitting around a whole bunch. So you don’t have that. But the mental part of this, when you stop and think that you’ve got a billion dollars in assets that people have entrusted to you to do and make the right decisions as far as on their behalf, yeah, there’s a little bit of pressure as far as on that. The great news as far as with this is through the years, we’ve learned a lot. And what we’ve learned as far as helping people make good rational decisions has basically led to better and better performance and results and what have you.
So we have very few, as I brought up, I think I said earlier, I had two basically emails that came saying, “Hey, what do you think as far as what’s taking place?” Now we have roughly 3,000 clients. So two isn’t bad out of 3,000 clients. So our clients do get it that we haven’t fallen asleep at the wheel. We’re keeping an eye on things, making sure that what we’ve shared with people basically takes place. And at the end of the day, it’s not predicting markets by any stretch of the imagination. It’s basically telling them as far as here’s the roadmap, here’s what’s going to probably take place. And then basically keeping a close eye on things that when you start veering off the path that what’s the game plan now as far as should we buy more or should we sell? And so all that needs to be discussed in advance. It can’t take place after the fact when things start coming unglued and people are potentially looking to panic. We have to have the pieces already in place.
Gary Determan:
Now Dave, you did not always have that technology.
David Nelson:
No.
Gary Determan:
When did that really come on board besides just you making the decision?
David Nelson:
Probably about 20 years ago. And then you test drive this stuff before you actually put it into play. When Jake Woodcock, as far as my son-in-law came aboard, it really expanded as far as the usage as far as of it, as far as for clients. Back in the day, I would tinker with a few of these things and put it in with a little piece, but we didn’t have the conviction as far as in the tools. And again, it’s not just the tools making the decisions. It’s the tool and basically three people in the office that are making those joint decisions as far as here’s what we’re doing or here’s what we’re not doing.
And so yeah, it’s been really, really good. My prior entity that I worked through, it’s fancy name Broker Dealer, I was first exposed to it. And very few people actually went forward as far as using it because of the massive expense. I mean, we’re going back again 20 plus years ago and we’re talking six figure type stuff. For an office our size, that’s a lopping sum of money. And it’s even more expensive now, but now we don’t have 500 clients. We’ve got give or take 3000 clients. And so it’s certainly justified as far as in the world that we exist in today.
Gary Determan:
You brought up something interesting. Talk about bouncing things off each other. I mean, just sounding boards for each other.
David Nelson:
Gene and I, going back, Gene Kerr and myself, basically we, back in 1981, started down this road as far as trying to help people as far as with their financing and… Or not financing, but finances, I should say. And back then it was a really important piece as far as to have somebody to bounce ideas off of. We’ve said, he and I both said we never would’ve made it had we not had that other person there. Sometimes things don’t go your way and you’re crying in your soup or whatever the term is as far as that. But at the end of the day, you had that other person basically to kind of prop you up to some degree. That was two people back then. Now essentially that management organization as far as that we have, there’s pretty much six people that exist in that unit. And so we bounce around ideas all the time.
Now we’re in the neighborhood of 25 employees as far as overall. The employers are taking on various functions so we don’t have to think about. So it’s just a really good team that we have now. And I know I’ve said it before, this is the best team I’ve ever had, but nothing even close as far as to what we have here. We’ve got a gentleman down in Kansas that’s a really important piece of the puzzle. He’s a full-time employee working with us, for us, as far as from Kansas. And we’ve got offices as far as from Honolulu to Des Moines to Chicago area as far as that are people that are in the field per se, that are interfacing as far as with clients. And then we have other people behind the scenes that are running the organization.
So we’re doing a lot of things right, I guess is the conclusion. Not sitting here pounding my chest, but we’re pretty unique as far as the way that we run our operation. We’re pretty unique from the standpoint of how we manage money. And we are not afraid to move to the sidelines. And I think that’s what probably separates us. And I think as far as the part of the growth that we’ve seen, I think it stems from that as much as anything because we’re in an industry that obsesses over, “Just buy and hold and over time you’re going to be fine.” And when you look at the realities, if you have a pretty heavy stock portfolio, 30 and 40 and 50 and 80% corrections have happened. And they don’t happen just once every hundred years. They happen every six to eight years pretty much on average.
And so we tell clients it doesn’t make a lot of sense to sit there and watch half your money disappear and then have to wait five, six, seven, eight years as far as to get it back. That’s a pretty idiotic mindset as far as if you ask me.
Gary Determan:
I would imagine you have clients who kind of know their way around the market a little bit. Then you have other clients probably like myself who don’t know the market all that well, but they’re concerned about the economy more than they are the market.
David Nelson:
Yes. So what’s interesting I think to most people is they say, “Well, look what’s happening out there.” And again, they’re talking about the economy. They’re not talking necessarily about the market as far as in that context. And I said, “What’s interesting is the market basically historically is trying to anticipate what’s going to happen, not what already has happened.” I brought this up I think a few months back pertaining to the crises in Iran that’s taking place right now. And once you have that initial drop, which we did as far as in that situation, and then things quieted down and markets started coming back a little bit. Then we had another big push as far as over there. And people are saying, “Now what’s going to happen?” I said, “After the initial oomph as far as downward movement, generally speaking, that’s the extent of it. The market’s kind of factored that into the equation.”
And you wouldn’t think that that’s the case, but if you look at what’s happening now, Iran still isn’t done and it’s probably not going to be done as far as in the foreseeable future. We can talk about we’re going to negotiate this and that, but there’s going to be problems as far as going forward. But the market as a whole has been able to look through that. And so that’s the shocker as far as to most people. What we’re most concerned with is do we have inflation issues that have been cropping up and continue to crop up? That is a big, big load for the market to carry. And if it looks like realistically the market is going to continue to price in as far as inflation, and we have that as far as in the marketplace, we could see stocks take a pretty big hit as far as over something like that.
Gary Determan:
I can imagine there are reasons why the incidents or what’s taking place in Iran maybe played more of a role than what has taken place in Ukraine.
David Nelson:
Yes, exactly. And it’s kind of stunning. Again, initially in Ukraine, we had a correction, nothing like what we saw as far as with the Iranian, I guess call it crises, war, whatever the heck you want to call it. But yeah, once that took place as far as in Ukraine, it’s pretty much been back burner stuff. It’s hard to imagine. I mean, with all the hostility and the number of lives that are being lost and the money that’s being spent as far as dropping bombs all over the place. One thing that I did see last night as far as when I got home, turned on the TV, was some of these long range missiles that we’re firing now as far as the US is firing as far as in Iran. And the concern, which continues to grow as far as the shortage, as far as of supplies in that arena that we may not have.
Now again, the other side pushes back and says, “Wait a minute, we got all that we need. We’ve got more than we’ll ever need.” But man, we’ve dropped a lot of stuff as far as over there. And the budget as far as for the defense budget has been cut in recent years. So I really question it as far as if there is another crisis that crops up, are we equipped as far as to handle that particular situation?
Gary Determan:
Well, welcome back, Dave Nelson from Canada.
David Nelson:
Thank you, Gary. Appreciate it.
Gary Determan:
Did you talk to any locals up there at all?
David Nelson:
Not a lot. We stopped at one place and it was just… How do I describe this? It was a local convenience store. So they don’t have any chains as far as way up there. None of that stuff. You don’t have a Casey’s or this type of stuff as far as up there. So this building looks like it’s from, and I’m not exaggerating, probably the ’40s, the ’50s it was built. We wander in and we want to get a little something to drink as far as long road trip, what have you. And the people, it’s hard to imagine nicer people than Canadians. I mean, it really is. And these are the sweetest, nicest people and, “Safe travels.” And check this out as far as we’re just walking out, we paid our bill, whatever. And, “Okay, folks. Well, have a good trip. Watch out for the moose and the bear.”
Gary Determan:
Did you see much of that?
David Nelson:
We saw one moose and we saw two bears as far as the whole time.
Gary Determan:
Did they get close?
David Nelson:
They were on the road as far as… We didn’t actually see them out where we get dumped as far as the fishing, but we did as far as driving up to get on the floatplane. So anyway, yeah, there’s a lot of it up there and just sweet people, kind people. I can’t say enough positives about that. And it’s like you’re living in a world of probably 30 to 50 years ago in the United States. It really is. Something to be said for that. The technology I’m sure they use in a marginal way, but these are just wholesome individuals that probably at least half the year suffer badly as far as from the cold. I don’t know how you put up with it, but just kind, wonderful individuals.
Gary Determan:
Great to have you back. Thanks so much.
David Nelson:
Thank you, Gary.
Announcer:
Financial Focus is a production of NelsonCorp Wealth Management in Clinton and Davenport. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representative securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member of FINRA, SIPC, investment advisor representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated. A registered investment advisor, Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. For more information, visit our website at www.nelsoncorp.com.