Our tax laws are in a state of flux. Among many potential changes is the possibility of losing a large portion of the $12.06 million (or the $24.12 million for a married couple) estate and gift tax exemption along with other tried and true gifting strategies. If you have been hitting the snooze button on your estate plan, your window of ... Read More›

The first half of 2022 was the worst stretch for markets in almost 50 years, with a significant sell-off in stocks and bonds. All major asset classes are down for the year except commodities, although signs of commodity weakness are also beginning to materialize. Despite year-to-date losses, most asset classes are still higher than pre-pandemic ... Read More›

“You can’t just raise rates and reduce the balance sheet without it doing the opposite of what it did before,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust. “When you do the reverse, you can expect it will do the opposite as well.” Read more about the current stock market and jobs report in this article by the Washington ... Read More›

“One of the biggest money mistakes that investors make in a bear market is thinking they can pick the bottom,” says Jerry Braakman, President and Chief Investment Officer. He also states, “another big mistake that investors make in a bear market is moving to cash. In earlier bear markets, it took years for investors who moved to cash to come back, ... Read More›

“...It's obviously a difficult time for the markets and part of that is our economy is a little bit in transition...not just our economy, but a global economy as well...,” stated Jerry Braakman. Jerry Braakman, President and Chief Investment Officer, and Jason Nerio, Director of Investment Research & Strategy, share their insight on current ... Read More›

“In a lot of ways, it’s following a typical playbook,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer and president of First American Trust in Santa Ana, California. Read more about the current stock market and how investors are reacting in this article by Bloomberg. Read More›

To Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer and president of First American Trust, it makes sense the market has dropped almost 15% since the start of the year. “Stocks trade on the future,” he said by phone. As stock continue to drop, investors are looking into estimating profits as Corporate America is doing well. Supply chain, the war in ... Read More›

Read More›

“People have to be very cautious here in chasing this dip, especially as these economic impacts and fears start affecting our economy as well through consumer confidence,” said Jerry Braakman, President and Chief Investment Officer of First American Trust. Changes in stocks, commodities, currencies, and bonds are still largely being affected by ... Read More›

UC Irvine Professor Christopher Schwarz, Ph.D. and First American Trust President and CIO, Jerry Braakman discuss a wide range of topics regarding the factors that are shaping our financial world today. Some of the topics include: Read More›

“As we continue to isolate Russia because of their actions, there will be some turmoil in the markets,” said President and Chief Investment Officer, Jerry Braakman. The increasing tensions over the invasion of Ukraine is influencing the economy in many ways including increasing oil prices, multiple countries severing ties with some Russian banks ... Read More›

“We had an incredible 2021 when we look at U.S. domestic equity market returns, and as we head into the first part of the year it has not been as fun or exciting,” stated Jerry Braakman. “We'll talk through that and explain what is going on, why the market is reacting and how to prepare for that as well.” Jerry Braakman, President and Chief ... Read More›