What a difference a week makes.
An early-week working draft for the Insider pointed out the growth of one notable Newport Beach RIA, Shannon Eusey’s Beacon Pointe Financial Advisors (see story, this page), to another recently-acquired Newport Beach RIA, United Capital, whose founder, Joe Duran, was set to feature as keynote speaker at this week’s Business Journal Excellence in Entrepreneurship event.
The event, which was scheduled for March 19 at Hotel Irvine, has been postponed, of course, along with countless other large gatherings across the area. See page 61 for more on our events, as well as coverage throughout this week’s print edition on the effects of the COVID-19 virus on area business.
The financial implications of recent weeks are still a matter of debate. Joachim Fels, global economic adviser for PIMCO, said on March 8 to expect to see “a relatively mild and short recession.”
Chapman’s Jim Doti on Thursday, meanwhile, told us he’s revising his outlook for 2020 to project a short recession in the second and third quarter with a bounce back in the fourth. “Essentially zero growth” this year. He’s also put an estimated figure on the likely coronavirus-related losses: he and colleague Raymond Sfeir predict an aggregate drop in real GDP of $540 billion—see page 69 for more.
It’s not “the economic disaster that many fear,” the Chapman duo say. “It will end quickly.”
OC will be represented well on May 16 in New York, when the 35th Annual Ellis Island Medals of Honor event takes place—assuming health concerns don’t cause a postponement.
Along with Jim Mazzo (see story, page 1), the annual event celebrating “a group of distinguished American citizens who exemplify a life dedicated to their community and the world at large” include Henry and Susan Samueli, and longtime Pacific Symphony music director Carl St. Clair.
In 2018, St. Clair and Pacific Symphony performed Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America for a PBS Broadcast; it appears to have made an impression.
Also being honored, Frank M. LaFerla, dean of UCI’s School of Biological Sciences and likely a good source of dinner conversation these days.
Virus ties between the local contingent: business accelerator Octane, where Mazzo serves as chairman, said Thursday it has postponed or canceled programming scheduled from now to May; Pacific Symphony said Thursday it is postponing performances scheduled for the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall this month (Segerstrom Center for the Arts is halting large productions this month as well), and UCI has moved its classes online for the time being.
Is OC the happiest county in America?
Not last week, when I saw an unusual number of road rage incidents; alarming health and financial news clearly rattled locals’ nerves.
Still, a recent study from WalletHub placed a quartet of cities here among the top 30 happiest cities in the U.S., based on a mix of factors ranging from mental health to income-growth rate to average leisure time spent per day.
Irvine was No. 4, with high marks for sports participation and low rates of divorce. Huntington Beach ranked No. 7, Anaheim placed 19 and Garden Grove was No. 26. Fremont took the top spot, and L.A. was No. 80. Detroit came last at No. 182.
