We’ve had a lot of news since our last weekly email! In addition to experiencing the US presidential election, we also heard that Pfizer has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective, which had interesting effects on the stock market. We’ll talk about what that means for you, and then to get everyone in the holiday spirit, we’ve got some fun turkey facts.

First, the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer has been world news since its announcement on Monday. A vaccine that is over 90% effective is unusual and beats expectations. This glimmer of hope for relief from the coronavirus pandemic buoyed the stock market, as times of optimism tend to do.

Of course, it’s not that simple–stocks from industries that were harmed by the pandemic went up following this announcement, and stocks from industries that have benefited from the pandemic (Zoom, cleaning agents, etc.) took a hit.

So, what does that mean for you? Not much, because of the way we take care of our clients. We diversify your portfolios so that it is unlikely one individual company’s stocks will impact your long-term plans.

Now that we’ve talked COVID and stocks, let’s talk turkey. With Thanksgiving around the corner, we thought it would be fun to round up some facts about the critter Benjamin Franklin wanted to declare the national bird of the United States–or did he? From the Smithsonian, we learn:

1 ) There are six subspecies of wild turkey, all native to North America. The pilgrims hunted and ate the eastern wild turkey, M. gallopavo silvestris, which today has a range that covers the eastern half of the United States and extends into Canada. These birds, sometimes called the forest turkey, are the most numerous of all the turkey subspecies, numbering more than five million.

2 ) Male turkeys are called “gobblers,” after the “gobble” call they make to announce themselves to females (which are called “hens”) and compete with other males. Other turkey sounds include “purrs,” “yelps” and “kee-kees.”

3 ) An adult gobbler weighs 16 to 22 pounds on average, has a beard of modified feathers on his breast that reaches seven inches or more long, and has sharp spurs on his legs for fighting. A hen is smaller, weighing around 8 to 12 pounds, and has no beard or spurs. Both genders have a snood (a dangly appendage on the face), wattle (the red dangly bit under the chin), and only a few feathers on the head.

4) Turkeys can run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour.

5) Baby turkeys, called poults, eat berries, seeds, and insects, while adults have a more varied diet that can include acorns and even small reptiles.

6) Benjamin Franklin never proposed the turkey as a symbol for America. He did once praise it as being “a much more respectable bird” than the bald eagle.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Securities offered through Triad Advisors, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions, LLC. Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions, LLC, and Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions, Inc, are not affiliated with Triad Advisors.