Do You Need a Family Financial Summit?

A Family Financial Summit is a family meeting that allows for the sharing of financial values and goals. This can be very helpful in aligning expectations about inheritance, responsibilities, and they legacy your family wishes to build.

Here are a few topics you could go over in a potential Summit:

• Inheritance and Wealth Distribution
• Financial Responsibilities
• Estate Planning Details
• Family Legacy and Philanthropy
• Investment Strategies and Management
• Education Funding Strategies
• Budgeting and Living Within Means
• Insurance Planning
• Tax Planning and Efficiency

Preparation is key for a successful discussion. Set clear objectives, choose the right location, and draft an agenda in collaboration with your financial advisor.

If you need help forming your Family Financial Summit, we’re happy to help. These conversations are a great investment in your family’s financial health and harmony.

Jeff Wetta, RPS and Dustin Jackson, CFP® RICP®
Managing Partners

Your Market Update

Smooth sailing for equities, tougher times for fixed income.

As we round out the month of March, equity markets continue to move in a positive direction. The S&P 500 was up 9.5% YTD and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 8.2% YTD as of 3/26. Meanwhile, the slower growing companies of the Dow Jones were up 4.2% YTD as of 3/26. The market was aided by a steady economy, with 3.3% GDP growth in Q4 2023, and attractive earnings reports and guidance from companies throughout the beginning of 2024.  The Fed also contributed to recent market performance by maintaining their relatively dovish stance in their March meeting, despite a somewhat sticky inflation rate of 3.8% (excluding food and energy).

The Reddit IPO on March 27^th was well received at five-times oversubscribed and traded at a 35% premium to the IPO price by the close of the day. This is encouraging and we believe it serves as a bellwether for future IPO deals planned in 2024. The news gives us added confidence in the value of the underlying holdings in our Growth Venture Fund (“pre-IPO”) and a greener view of the companies going public.

The prospect of a “higher for longer” rate environment coupled with some stickiness in inflation, however, did impact fixed income investors, as the ten-year Treasury Rate moved from 3.9% at the end of 2023 to 4.2% as of late March. This upward move in longer-term rates negatively impacted fixed income markets. One example is the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was down roughly 1% through the end of March YTD total return.

Throughout the quarter there were periods of volatility, but broad market volatility was at post COVID lows and continued steadily decreasing after hitting a mid-quarter high in February. We see this as a temporary trend and not a predictor of how markets will react for the remainder of the year. One topic that we will be sure to monitor closely in the next few months is the upcoming presidential election and its impact on markets. For now, the election and other newsworthy events have not noticeably impacted financial markets.

Looking Ahead

The equity markets priced in another solid quarter, especially in growth and tech companies, so continued earnings growth will be important to drive the next leg up in equities.  We will continue to monitor this, as earnings season will soon be upon us again with the approach of the quarter end.

Additionally, a record appx. $6 trillion is on the “sidelines” in money markets which could help fuel markets, especially if short term rates do come down.

We plan to remain invested in a broad mix of securities anchored by the S&P 500 in our equity holdings and augmented with growth notes and attractively yielding dividend stocks that have a high confidence of dividend payouts. We will also continue to research solid opportunities in private assets such as Carlye and our in-house Venture Growth Fund.

In our fixed income sleeves, we will continue to take advantage of historically high short-term rates and invest in yield notes where we can find opportunities in moments of volatility to help drive a higher yield. Additionally, our private credit allocation to Apollo should allow us to capitalize on the higher for longer rate scenario and is a way for fixed income investors to achieve a more generous yield than what longer-term bonds offer. Rounding out our fixed income portfolio are mid-duration fixed income investments, as well as both corporate and municipal bonds.

To Sum Up

Our outlook for 2024 remains positive, but we expect the remainder of the year to be more volatile than the first quarter. The odds of a soft landing, hard landing, or no landing are revised weekly. Our primary view is still that the economy will continue to sail along, and that the Fed’s position of potentially three rate cuts acts as fuel for market stability. We believe that, generally, a buy and hold view while remaining properly positioned will help drive solid returns and manage risks. There are many issues on the horizon including Fed rates and inflation, the budget deficit, the price of energy, earnings growth, and the presidential election that we continually monitor, but the first quarter of the year is off to a solid start.

Sevasti Balafas, CFA, CPWA®
CEO & Founder
GoalVest Advisory

Sources: JP Morgan Asset Management, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Morningstar, Factset, and Ycharts

Happy Work Anniversary!

Dustin joined our team three years ago and we couldn’t be more thankful and appreciative of his support!

If you call the office this month, feel free to wish Dustin a happy three years!

We’re Moving

If you’ve been to our office recently, you may have noticed that we added workspaces to accommodate our expanding team. With the happy dilemma of where to fit all these team members, we have been searching for a new home base. This May, we are moving to 8415 E 21st St. N Suite 150 Wichita, KS 67206.

Check back in with future newsletters to see progress updates!