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The Financial Enhancement Group works with families that are naturally

concerned about retirement but who don't want to worry about their money.

Find out why the national media continually turns to the

Financial Enhancement Group for our insight.


                   


Jon Clark
Chronicle Tribune
Monday, February 2, 2009

“Certainly, pull from retirement as an absolute last resort,” said Jon Clark, a certified financial planner and the manager of Financial Enhancement Group in Marion, 301 S. Adams St.

He said that money is specifically designed to be used by individuals once they reach retirement age.

“Because of that, the IRS tries to make it as difficult as possible to pull money from a retirement account,” Clark said.


Smart Money
Big Joe Clark
Jan 26, 2009

"As long as you are really willing to be fearless for the next five years and just lock it up, I could wrap my arms around China," says Joe Clark, managing partner of Financial Enhancement Group, figuring the Middle Kingdom will bounce back big time -- eventually.


Big Joe Clark
Associated Press
Jan 25, 2009

The market has seen a turbulent week, with the Dow tumbling 4 percent Tuesday only to regain more than 3 percent Wednesday, followed by another big drop Thursday. Volatility has been more the rule than the exception in recent trading as investors sort through a plethora of wide-ranging earnings reports.

"I think it's just a matter of what side of the bed the market wakes up on," said Joe Clark, managing partner at Financial Enhancement Group.


Adam Harter
Reuters
January 15, 2009

Some investors had long since bet on Jobs' imminent departure. Adam Harter, an analyst at Financial Enhancement Group, said last week that his company had added to its position in Apple a couple of months ago when the stock was trading in the mid-$80s, thinking that the so-called "Jobs premium" had been discounted from the share price.

Jobs' apparently seesawing health also complicates what was already expected to be a difficult year for Apple and the electronics industry, as a severe downturn saps consumers' spending appetite.


Big Joe Clark
Publication: MarketWatch.com
Date: January 5, 2009
Headline: The new year's financial horizon

Investors everywhere must be celebrating the start of the new year and looking forward to erasing 2008 from their memories. I don't know about you, but October, November, and December seemed to last a year apiece. The volatility, the scandals, the bailouts, and the politics have gone a long way to sap confidence from the markets.

But fear not, a new horizon is before us and I want to remind you not to get caught up in the same old habits of the past. It's easy to get caught up in the frenzy. Remember, in this and probably every market, it is not the ability to predict that is important, but the wisdom to react. Most investors will make two grave errors.

(Click Here for the full article)  link is http://tinyurl.com/74fmo8


Adam Harter
Publication: ThomsonReuters
Date: January 5, 2009

Headline: Apple's Jobs reassures investors about his health

Adam Harter, an analyst at Financial Enhancement Group, said his company added to its position in Apple a couple of months ago, when the stock was trading in the mid-$80s.

"At that point of time we felt the Steve Jobs' premium was already backed out of the stock price. So anything that says he's not in bad health is good news and this appears to say he's in much better health than the market had anticipated so the upside can be significant," Harter said.


Big Joe Clark
Publication: SmartMoney.com
Date: December 31, 2008

Headline: Weighting for Market Recovery

"I think the current economic environment mixed with a new political landscape may surprise people," says Joe Clark, managing partner of Financial Enhancement Group, a financial-management firm based in Anderson, Ind. "Consumer staples, health care and utilities are the normal bastions of safety. Don't be surprised to see them as laggards in 2009."

Perhaps more surprising, Citi is overweight on the consumer discretionary sector, largely because shares of retailers look so darn cheap, according to in-house analysts. It also doesn't hurt that there's a great deal of short interest in that sector, meaning any positive surprises could touch off a short-squeeze, propelling shares higher. True, with consumer confidence at an all-time low, the consumer discretionary sector is about as out of favor as they come. Although that's typically a fairly reliable contrarian indicator, we continue to be leery of anything tied to consumer spending.

Finally, investors shouldn't lose sight of opportunities outside of equities. "We think this could very well be the year of corporate debt," Financial Enhancement Group's Clark says


Big Joe Clark
Publication: Indianapolis Star
Date: December 28, 2008

Headline: What should be my New Year’s resolution for my finances in 2009?

First, look out the windshield, not the rear-view mirror. There will be huge temptation to grumble and review last year's performance or lack thereof.

Whether last year was good or bad is irrelevant this year. It is time to move forward.

First, make a list of the financial things you want to accomplish this year: debts to pay off, emergency savings, retirement contributions and charitable gifts. Many times people enter the year with no game plan in mind. Inevitably, they end the year feeling like no progress was made. Write out your financial goals for this year -- not just your retirement hopes.

To help, break down the goals into bite-size pieces. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break down the objectives by quarter, then by month and finally by week. Do your best to stay on track but make sure the goals are attainable.

Second, get educated. This is not the roaring '90s or the easy '80s. Our economy is evolving rapidly right in front of our eyes. The massive amounts of economic data can be quickly overwhelming.

Don't bury your head in the sand, but understand the difference between meaningful information and media mania.

Make progress!

He is a registered principal offering securities and registered investment advisory services through World Equity Group, member FINRA/SIPC. Clark can be reached at bigjoe@yourlifeafterwork.com.


Big Joe Clark
IndexUniverse.com
Clark: Extreme Flux Still On Horizon
December 26, 2008

"Big Joe" Clark has his wish list for 2009. And it includes some exchange-traded funds that even Santa Claus might find useful as stocking stuffers.

At the top are corporate bonds. In the coming year, the Anderson, Ind.-based advisor is expecting investment-grade corporates and high yield debt markets to perform like stocks do in more-normal times.

(Click Here for the complete article)  link is http://tinyurl.com/932sxm


Big Joe Clark
CNNMoney.com
Stocks plunge at the end of day
December 18, 2008

Economic reports: The U.S. economy has officially been in recession since the end of 2007, but market watchers don't need a slew of reports to know the economy is suffering. "You would have to be under a rock to not know that we are in a global economic downturn," said Joe Clark, managing partner at Financial Enhancement Group.


Big Joe Clark
Indianapolis Star & TheStarPress.com
Whether borrowing is a good idea depends on a variety of factors
December 17, 2008

Finding a business loan

If you're General Motors, tough luck. If you're Bob's Ice Cream, and you have an established track record, you'll probably get the loan.

Community banks are still lending to established customers, said Joe Clark, managing partner of Anderson-based Financial Enhancement Group, which manages $200 million in assets.

But the big regional banks, stung by the subprime crisis, have cut back business loans to big and medium-sized companies. Big insurers and Wall Street firms that once made short-term loans to major corporations also are cutting off credit. That's where the credit freeze is centered.

"My firm's lines of credit are with Indiana's smaller banks, and none of them have reduced my credit limit or done anything else,'' Clark said.


Big Joe Clark
BusinessWeek
Best Investment Bargains
December 17, 2008

Picks from the Stable Stock Investor

Joe Clark, chief investment officer/founder, Financial Enhancement Group
Best Bargain: Family Dollar Stores (FDO) and Wyeth (WYE)
Clark is looking for areas that don't require credit for the buyer or the producer (no cars or homes) and things that simply need to be bought. He is buying stocks like Family Dollar, whose sales are certainly not dependent on credit. Wyeth, which produces generic baby formula, stands to profit from the new baby boom, and from health-care policies of a new Administration. "The key to 2009 will be watching the Baby Boomers become the Baby Busters. No longer will consumer spending be growing year over year. Spenders will become savers and earnings will fall."


Big Joe Clark
Investment News
Fed Cuts rate to 0% to .25% range.
December 16, 2008

 “The rate cut today will not increase nor decrease the ability for people to get money tomorrow,” Joe Clark, managing partner of the Financial Enhancement Group LLC of Anderson Ind., wrote in an email.

“The impact of the rate cut will not help provide that access.”


Big Joe Clark
The Wall Street Journal
Debt diet requires diligence
December 14, 2008

Many financial planners will tell you to pay off the highest-interest-rate debt first. But Joe Clark of Financial Enhancement Group in Anderson, Ind., says you may want to pay off some smaller debt first so that you can see some progress. You should also try to reduce the debt on a card that is maxed out, since your credit score is determined in part by what percentage of your individual and total credit lines you are using.

Whatever method you choose, you have to keep up with the payments and change your charging habits. As with a diet, you may end up worse off if you run up the debt again after paying it off.


Big Joe Clark
Smart Money.com
There’ll Be No Place Like Home in 2009
December 9, 2008

"Right now we're allocated 10% overseas," says Joe Clark, managing partner of Financial Enhancement Group of Anderson, Ind. "Back in July we were at 35%." (See chart below.) Within foreign equities, Clark's favorites are China and Japan, allocated at 5% a piece. He's eyeballing Brazil but waiting for more visibility there. "And we have nothing to do with Europe," Clark says.

With 2009 shaping up to be another painful year for overseas markets, it may make the most sense for Americans to keep their money close to home. For those who can't resist dabbling in foreign affairs -- or for those who want the geographic diversification -- allocate only a small portion of a portfolio overseas, and mostly to the developed world.


Big Joe Clark
Smart Money
December 3, 2008

Despite a recent flurry of deals, M&A activity is actually way off from a year ago. The value of announced deals in the current quarter has dropped more than 60% from last year's period, according to Capital IQ. That's the lowest level in more than a decade. Further, just because a deal is announced doesn't mean it will actually close, says Joe Clark, managing partner of Financial Enhancement Group. "The presumption in the past was that the regulators wouldn't let it go through," Clark says. "Now people are pulling deals off the table because they can't get financing."

Unless the cash is secured, betting on a deal getting done is just plain speculation, Clark says.


Big Joe Clark
Smart Money.com
Takeover Speculation Is a Losing Strategy
December 3, 2008

Despite a recent flurry of deals, M&A activity is actually way off from a year ago. The value of announced deals in the current quarter has dropped more than 60% from last year's period, according to Capital IQ. (See chart.)

That's the lowest level in more than a decade. Further, just because a deal is announced doesn't mean it will actually close, says Joe Clark, managing partner of Financial Enhancement Group. "The presumption in the past was that the regulators wouldn't let it go through," Clark says. "Now people are pulling deals off the table because they can't get financing."

Unless the cash is secured, betting on a deal getting done is just plain speculation, Clark says. The credit markets can stop spinning at any time.


Big Joe Clark
Lafayette Journal and Courier

December 2, 2008

Joe Clark, a certified financial planner with Financial Enhancement Group in Lafayette, said Monday's announcement could be a good sign.

"Typically when they call it, we're over half way (through a recession)," Clark said. "The market has usually found the bottom and has started to work its way out."


Big Joe Clark
Wall Street Journal- The Journal Report
December 2, 2008


If money were to move into higher-yielding securities like those that these funds wager against, the performance of the funds would suffer, says Joe Clark, a certified financial planner and managing director at Financial Enhancement Group in Anderson, Ind. "The next house to ignite may very well be low-yielding investments," sparking more interest in junk bonds, he argues.


Big Joe Clark
Thestreet.com
November 25, 2008


Clark cautions investors to be on the lookout for signs of deflation in the short term, especially in light of the declining price of oil. "A risk in a commodity culture is deflation," he said. "If a commodity price falls below the input cost, then you have to run for cover."

He notes that oversaturation would prove to be a major drag for commodities. "When there is deflation, all of the inventory is sold as quickly as possible," Clark said. "Such a scenario would flood the market and drive prices down."


Big Joe Clark
Market Watch TV


“In all times, people want to believe someone has a crystal ball with all the answers. Especially with changing demographics, the strategy has to outweigh the individual decision to go a particular area. The ability to adapt is better than the ability to predict.”


Adam Harter
Smart Money


“We think money’s got to go to software whether we’re in a recession or not. That’s because the overall economy has had great productivity increases over the years, but mainly due to demographics. Sooner or later companies are going to have to spend the phenomenal amounts of cash that they have to keep that productivity up, and that money has got to go to technology.”


Big Joe Clark
Dow Jones Newswire
October 17, 2008
 


"The massive deleveraging process is the overriding factor in market moves now. We continue to see the deleveraging process create swift downward movements in the stock market. We also have fresh capital trying to identify the bottom and that is what creates this bi-polar marketplace. Only when the deleveraging comes to a halt, will such measures as fundamentals apply once again."


Big Joe Clark
CNBC, Friday
October 17, 2008


"On thing to remember is that when we were going through a market downturn in 2001, at the end of the year, people wanted to go back to their families. Relationships mattered. People started going back to church. I think another great play this year is the fact that in  2007 we had more babies than we had in any year since 1957. We finally replaced ourselves. It just took 50 years….. Grandparents are going to go to businesses, they are going to spend money, and they are going to establish relationships with their kids and grandkids."


Big Joe Clark
Christian Science Monitor
October 10, 2008


"Will Rogers said: 'Sometimes the return of my money is more important than the return on my money.' The challenge when you get here is people start to hide.... When things get tough, governments lower interest rates. You can't go hide. Inflation will eat you alive. That goes to the diversification and that long-term planning. Go to food. People will eat. The consumers are not broke. Do not buy into that. It is not true at all. Wall Street has merely lost the ability to figure out where they're going to spend money next. I guarantee you they're going to eat. I guarantee you they're going to need healthcare. And I guarantee you that they're going to use different software devices to make their lives better – the gadgets, if you will, that really add to life."


Big Joe Clark
WLFI, Lafayette, IN
October 1, 2008


"Wall Street always believes they can be the first one out of a burning house and the house caught on fire so quickly that nobody found the exit. It is time to look at your portfolio know what you own, know why you own it, know how you plan to use it. It's time to understand some of the rules have changed. In an orderly fashion you need to look at what you have and get positioned for the future that's coming down the road."


If you would like more information about Financial Enhancement Group, LLC please call 765.640.1524.


             



 



April 18th, 2008


March 27, 2008


March 6, 2008

 
   
   

The Financial Enhancement Group……When it has to last.

Registered Representative offering securities through World Equity Group, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC.
Registered Investment Advisory Representative offering securities through World Equity Group, Inc.

The Financial Enhancement Group currently serves clients in California, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia,
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

 
       
   

429 East 14th Street • Anderson, Indiana • 46016 • Tel. 765.640.1524 • Fax. 765.640.1561
P.O. Box 970 • 415 Columbia Street, Suite 2000 • Lafayette, Indiana • 47902 • Tel. 765.428.5040 • Fax. 765.428.5700
311 East Drexel Parkway • Rensselaer, Indiana • 47978 • Tel. 219.866.5196 • Fax. 219.866.5835
301 South Adams • Marion, Indiana • 46952 • Tel. 765.668.3208 • Fax. 765.662.8340
 


Disclaimer:
This site has been published in the United States for residents of the United States. The foregoing has been prepared solely for information purposes, and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security or instrument or to participate in any particular trading strategy.

Financial Enhancement Group LLC and any of its employees acting as an agent, may only transact business in a particular state if first registered, excluded, or exempted from registration requirements whether individually or as a firm. In addition, follow up conversations or meetings with individuals in a particular state by Financial Enhancement Group LLC or its employees acting as agent, to effect transactions in securities, investment planning, or other personal investment advice will not be made without first becoming registered, excluded, or exempted from registration requirements either individually or as a firm.