Topley’s Top Ten – December 17, 2019

Author

Matt Topley
December 17, 2019

1.S&P Stretched Relative to Profits.

2020 U.S. Market Outlook: Ramble On? By Liz Ann Sonders

2.Tesla Breaks Out to New Highs

Tesla shares are now up about14% year to date, a little worse than comparable gains of the S&P 500 and Dow JonesIndustrial Average. But Tesla stock is up almost 57% over the pastthree months.

Better-than-expected third-quarter numbers catalyzed thestock’s recent rally.

Tesla Stock Is Soaring. The QuestionIs Why.Al Root

3.Probability of Market Going Higher in Next 2 Weeks.

When the S&P is up 20%+ going into thelast 2 weeks of the year, it has gained another 2.1% on average to finish theyear and has been down only 3 times. But after buying rumors of a phase1 tradedeal, is this year different? Probably not but interesting 2 weeks remaining…

4.The Financial Sector Just Getting Back to 2007 Highs.

Chart of the Week: While the broader market as measured by the S&P 500 continues tohit new all-time highs, the financial sector remains below the level reachedmore than a decade ago (see chart). Financial companies were ground zero forthe financial crisis, so it isn’t a surprise that the sector was punished,declining almost 84% from the high in early 2007 to the 2009 low. With theS&P 500 having now eclipsed its 2007 high by more than 100%, the financialsector is just now on the doorstep of reaching its 2007 peak. Regional banksdid not fare quite as badly during the crisis but still declined almost 71% offtheir late 2006 peak. To put these declines into perspective, the S&P 500fell almost 57% from October 2007 high to the March 2009 low. Banks haveoutperformed the general market since the end of the third quarter as economicfears have eased and the yield curve has steepened. If banks continue to performwell, it likely bodes well for value and small cap indexes since financialscomprise a good portion of their market capitalization.

Bill Stone Avalon Advisors

5.AI Projected Growth

FrancisScialabba

6.Best Performing Tech ETFs.

ETF.com

7.Multifamily Construction 30 Year High.

8.Homebuilder Confidence Hits New Highs.

The Daily Shot

9.One Place Inflations is Rising-Healthcare.

Inflation is rising formedical care services and inpatient hospital services, and the price of healthinsurance is currently growing at an annual rate of 20%, see charts below and hereand here.

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Let us know if you would liketo add a colleague to this distribution list.

Torsten Sløk, Ph.D.Chief EconomistManaging DirectorDeutsche Bank Securities

10.How to Delegate as an Entrepreneur: 7 Tips for Success

Remember,accountability and trust go hand in hand.

By Nate Huskins, founder and president of Marshal Group LLC

Handing offtasks to others is not easy for me. I am a great idea person,as I think most entrepreneurs are. However, I am not a naturaldelegator.

This is true for a number of reasons: I want to be very hands-onwith all aspects of my business. I often think I’m the only one who can docertain tasks because of my attention to detail and quality. And I wanteverything done now.

However, when I realized I was working way too many hours andneeded better work-life balance, I knew delegating more wouldbe key to making that happen. Here are a few lessons I learned.

1. Accept the fact that you can’t do everything yourself.

That instinctive desire to do it all is most likely holding youback. If you have great ideas but can’t find time to execute those ideas, thenembrace the opportunity to delegate. View it as a means to free up valuabletime — more hours you can use to act on your big ideas, grow your business andachieve greater success.

2. Delegate big tasks, not just small ones.

When I first attempted to delegate more tasks to others on myteam, I started by delegating the small stuff. However, over time, I learned thatwas the wrong strategy because employees only focused on the small stuff andcould not see the big picture. They did not feel connected with our company asa whole.

That’s why we needed a different approach. I found I am betteroff with delegating bigger tasks because employees gain a greater understandingof how my business works and learn to appreciate the fact that even small tasksare important to keep it running efficiently.

3. Block out time to delegate tasks.

I am a big fan of time blocking, which involves dedicatingchunks of time in your schedule for various tasks. It is an effective methodfor getting things done, and that includes delegating. I have found thatputting delegation duties on my calendar — actually blocking out time —forces me to use that time to meet with employees and verbally explain what Iam trying to delegate to them.

4. Create standard operating procedure (SOP) documents.

When I made the decision to begin using SOPs (a smart suggestionfrom one of my employees), it ended up having a big impact on my business.Here’s how to do it for your business: Whenever you choose to delegate a taskor a series of tasks, draft the procedural steps in writing. Save your documentas an SOP PDF, and make the PDF accessible online.

Over time, you will develop a digital library of SOP documentsfor internal use. Staff members will be able to refer to these valuableresources time and time again, instead of repeatedly asking you to clarifyinstructions.

If you do not have time to draft SOPs yourself, then delegatethat task as well. That way, you will only need to review and approve thewording instead of writing each one from scratch.

5. Follow up.

After you delegate a task, your responsibility attached to thattask doesn’t end there. You have to follow up later, after a few days or weeks,to make sure that task is being properly executed.

Now I will admit, in all honesty, that is not always easy to do.I often will think, “OK, I have delegated task A, and now I can move on to taskB.” Then I forget I need to follow up on task A to make sure that it is beingdone properly. The only way I can remember to follow up is if I actuallyschedule time to do it.

6. Trust that your employees will complete delegated tasks.

I do not have time to micromanage, and I don’t want tomicromanage. Instead, I give complete trust to my employees and allow them toprove that they are worthy of that trust. This means they must act responsiblyand prove that they are meeting established goals. Accountability and trust gohand in hand.

7. Play to your strengths and weaknesses.

Let me give you an example: I enjoy being hands-on with thefinancial side of my business because math is enjoyable for me. However, onething I do not like to do is read and analyze long documents. Therefore, I findthat sort of task easier to delegate to somebody who is going to be better atit.

Learning to delegate successfully as an entrepreneur requiressome work, but the rewards are worth it. Try the seven tips listed above tomake delegating simpler, smoother and more effective.

Nate Huskins is founder and president of Marshal Group LLC (exportusautos.com), whichexports vehicles from the U.S. and Canada to destinations abroad. https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/how-to-delegate-as-an-entrepreneur-7-tips-for-success.html?icid=landermore