November 11 is Veteran’s Day and I urge everyone to thank those who served our country past and present. This includes spouses and family members who supported their family members. Military life is very difficult for families during service and especially for those who “gave all.”

As a U.S. Navy veteran, I can relate to these feelings and appreciate them. Our country’s freedom, bravery to protect other’s and natural beauty is one of a kind. The world power since WWII, our country has worked to alleviate global problems and keep world order. It hasn’t always been easy. Typically congress and the White House get the applause. It is the front-line men and women that deserve all the thanks.

This isn’t often the case: unfortunately the norm is reduced military benefits and pay.

The adopted budget for 2020 is $738 billion, which is the largest approved in over 5 years. Beefing up our forces and modernizing our weaponry seems to be on many minds as this budget passed congress “as a conservative budget.”  The more aggressive budget of over $750 billion was shot down. I believe this parallels the strong national support for fair trade and for protecting our national and industrial intellectual property.

This shift nationally has also influenced the national spot light at the United Nations. Recent speeches there focus on urging allies to increase their national military spending as well. This, along with technological change such as drones and cyber-warfare, long range missile caches of unfriendly nations, and nationalist popularity, are among the reasons why I am giving greater investment weight to military and defense companies for 2020.

Here are some of the plays: Northrop Gruman (NOC) “aerospace and cyber”, Hexcel (HXL) “advanced composites such as carbon fiber”, Raytheon (RTN) “missiles and radars”, General Dynamics (GD) “aerospace and defense systems”, Leidos Holding (LDOS) “cyber security” , Transdigm (TDG) “drones”, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) – “shipbuilding” and Kratos Defense and Security (KTOS) “drones and defense electronics.”  These companies receive the bulk of their revenues from government contracts with Departments such as the Pentagon, Civil agencies or the intelligence communities. The SPADE Defense Index is on the offense as the Department of Defense budgets are making up for lost time. The new budget orders new fighter planes, warships and other equipment. They have the green light and so should your portfolio.

I will cover this sector more in coming months and will also provide exchange-traded funds for this sector. As always, researching what to buy and at what price is always recommended. What I like about this sector is that it is also defensive and many of the names pay big dividends.

Show your patriotism to those who served to protect and protect your portfolio with some patriotic military spending in 2020.

If you have questions on a particular company or investment and would like our feedback, contact us at my email below. Our team will research and respond to you with our recommendation and opinion.

Andrew F. Kotyuk, CIMA* is CEO and Principal of Alpha Wealth Management LLC

For questions or investment topics please email me afkotyuk@alpha-wealth.com.

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On September 2, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor celebrates and honors the greatest worker in the world – the American worker. Labor Day 2019 is the 125th anniversary of Labor Day being celebrated as a national holiday.

Labor Day: What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Labor Day Legislation

The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Founder of Labor Day

More than a century after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has changed in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics, and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.

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