How Withdrawal Rates Impact Your Portfolio in Retirement
August 26, 2025 – Many people spend years preparing for retirement by saving and investing, but planning shouldn’t stop once the paychecks do. Transitioning from earning income to withdrawing it from your portfolio is a major shift with a new set of risks and decisions. This period, known as the distribution phase, requires careful thought. […]
Five Charts for the Week That Was: August 22, 2025
Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty provides 5 economic charts covering topics including inflation, the US consumer, the housing market, and job openings.
Economic Commentary – August 18, 2025
An invite to the annual Federal Reserve Jackson Hole Symposium — officially, “The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming”— has been highly prized almost from the event’s founding in 1982. There are few gatherings of central bankers, government officials, academics, and financial industry leaders that can compare with the quality of […]
Investment Commentary – August 18, 2025
Executive Summary The 2025 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium will focus on “Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy.” The symposium is scheduled for August 21-23. It’s an annual event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, bringing together central bankers, policymakers, economists, and academics to discuss important economic issues and […]
From Breakthrough to Legacy: Lessons from the Wyndham Championship
On Sunday afternoon, August 3rd, I watched the final round of the Wyndham Championship held at Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina. As I watched, I realized that I was witnessing a young man establishing himself as a winner in the form of Cameron Young and an aged veteran making his exit from the golf […]
Planning Note: What the One Big Beautiful Bill Means for Business Owners, Executives, and Other High Earners
August 14, 2025 – It’s been over a month since Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and investors, accountants, and planners are still studying the impact of this 900-page bill. If the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did much to amplify the tax code, this bill makes it significantly more complicated, […]
Q2 2025 Commentary
Volatility and uncertainty escalated in the second quarter following the introduction of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2. These included a universal 10% tariff on nearly all imports, with even higher “reciprocal” tariffs targeting specific countries. Markets responded swiftly: the S&P 500 fell over 13% in just a few days. The combined impact […]
Five Charts for the Week That Was: August 8, 2025
Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty provides 5 economic charts covering topics including the Fed Rate, GDP estimates, home sales, oil prices, and Chinese exports and imports.
July Recap: Reflecting on the YTD Market Volatility & Recovery
Monthly Market Summary Key Market Themes Trade De-Escalation Boosts Risk Appetite. July saw meaningful trade de-escalation as Washington reached separate agreements with Japan and the EU. The frameworks set tariffs at 15% on most exports, along with still-undefined additional investments in the U.S. The trade deals boosted risk appetite and helped the S&P 500 set […]
July 2025 Recap
The Economy In July 2025, the U.S. economy saw a dramatic slowdown in job growth, a bump in inflationary pressures due to tariffs, and a rebound in GDP following a weak first quarter. The economy added only 73,000 jobs, below the expected 115,000. This slowdown was driven by reduced hiring in manufacturing and construction, partly […]
Economic Commentary – August 4, 2025
The flood of economic data last week measured up to all expectations — and probably exceeded more than a few. Collectively, the data painted a picture that most people had already sketched out, one of slowing economic growth, some upward pressure on prices, and a Federal Reserve facing murky uncertainties. Even if the Federal Open Market […]
Investment Commentary – August 4, 2025
Executive Summary Last week, U.S. stocks were down and bonds up (price up / yield down). The S&P 500 outperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI EAFE indices. As for fixed income, the 10 yr. Treasury yield fell 17 bp on the week to 4.21%. The best performing parts of the bond market were treasuries, […]