A Good Quarter and 3D Printing.

If you are an investment client of Financial Planning Associates, Inc., your preliminary 1st quarter reports have been posted to your secure web portal. During the quarter our clients’ investment accounts increased in value by an average amount of 8.17%. Our most aggressively managed portfolio increased by 14.64% during the quarter. Final reports will replace the preliminary reports after March inflation information becomes available.

Note: The calculation used to determine our clients’ returns is called the internal rate of return. It is cash flow specific and is net of all fees and expenses. It represents the average return experienced by our investment clients, from the most conservative to the least conservative who were invested during any portion of the period. Typically, our younger clients experience returns greater than the average and our most conservative investors may experience results that are lower. Investment return information is provided by Morningstar using GIPS standards.

About 3D printing. Regular readers of my blog will have noticed that for quite a few years now I have opined that the often predicted great inflation was, and is, unlikely. One of the reasons for my opinion is the effect of new technologies. In a world of accumulating and accelerating knowledge, established powers can be unseated by better, less costly ideas previously unavailable or impractical. One such disruptive idea is 3D printing. This technology continues to create new manufacturing possibilities and to drive down costs.

A couple of years ago I met a representative of a manufacturing company in town on business. We struck up a conversation. Since I had been interested in and done quite a bit of reading on the topic of accelerating change and new technologies I asked the fellow if he felt that 3D printing would affect his business. His opinion was that it would not. He apparently thought that it was only good for making small plastic designs. He was mistaken. As pointed out in the video below, today 3D printers can print in over 250 different materials. Large printers can even print houses! Lovely, strong houses printed in concrete in less than 24 hours for less than $10,000! We’re not in Kansas anymore.

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