Annual presentation from Ferguson Wellman sharing our views for the year regarding the global economy and capital markets, as well as a planning update from our wealth management team.
2025 Investment Outlook Webinar Video: Lessons Learned
Hold Your Fire
This week, the equity market had a “shoot first, ask questions later” response to news surrounding DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup company that claimed to achieve ChatGPT-level performance at a fraction of the cost. This news sent a shockwave through the technology sector, sparking a frenzy of speculation and questions about AI innovation.
Ferguson Wellman Provides Their Top Five Investment Themes for 2025
After months of debate, President Biden chose to take the bipartisan route nominating Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term as Federal Reserve Chairman.
Pahlow on KOIN Wallet Wednesday
Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA, was on KOIN AM Extra's Wallet Wednesday to discuss how to have a better relationship with your money in 2025.
Signal or Noise
This week, the presidential inauguration and subsequent flurry of executive orders left investors deciphering what is ‘signal’ versus ‘noise’. Fortunately, in the background, public companies have started reporting fourth quarter earnings and reveal expectations for the year ahead.
Real Estate Investing: The Good, the Bad and the Office Space
In our Investment Outlook 2025 events, we will share our thoughts on the real estate market and the opportunities ahead. While the commercial real estate sector appeared to hit bottom early last year, it showed a positive trend in the latter half, with core real estate values increasing 6% per the Green Street Commercial Property Index (Green Street CPPI). As mentioned in previous publications, we favor opportunities in industrial warehouses, apartments and data centers, which saw values increase last year. However, our publications have not as deeply explored one segment of commercial real estate (CRE): office space.
Understanding the SECURE 2.0 Act: Key Changes for 2025
There are two SECURE Acts, both of which were designed to enhance retirement savings and provide more flexibility for savers by updating and introducing new retirement planning rules.
New Year, Same Fluctuating Economy
Lately, clients have been asking us one question: how are longer-term bond yields moving higher when the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates?
Outlook 2025
We present our Outlook 2025 publication titled “Lessons Learned,” in which we discuss the resilience of the U.S. economy in 2024, highlighting the significant contributions of major technology companies to profit growth and providing insights on asset allocation strategies for 2025. Additionally, our team of analysts provide a look-back on each of the firm’s strategies and a primer on the environment for each in the year ahead.
Wealth Management Insights First Quarter 2025
We present our first quarter 2025 issue of Wealth Management Insights titled “Tax Planning in an Ever-Changing Environment.” In it, Wealth Management Chair Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA®, discusses strategies for increasing tax efficiency in client portfolios, including tax diversification, tax-efficient investing, and tax-efficient withdrawal strategies. Tyler Conroy, CFP®, CPWA®, provides insights into tax-efficient retirement withdrawals, emphasizing the importance of planning the sequence and timing of withdrawals to manage taxes and extend the longevity of assets. Scott Christianson, CFP®, explains the importance of tax diversification in investment portfolios, detailing various account types and strategies to manage tax risk and provide flexibility for tax-efficient distributions in the future.
Trees Don’t Grow to the Sky
When my family gathers around the holidays, we enjoy catching up on Jeopardy episodes with our two daughters. As they are both educators, it can be difficult for my wife and me to keep up, but it can also get pretty competitive. In one episode, I had the upper hand as the category was the “Magnificent Seven.” Luckily, this didn’t refer to the movies but to the seven stocks dominating the stock market. In investing circles, the term “Magnificent Seven,” or Mag-7, is well known, and I was surprised it had become recognizable enough to be a Jeopardy category. Unfortunately, while I was the first to “buzz in” and answer correctly in this category, I wasn’t as fortunate the rest of the game.
Remember Tomorrow
What a year it’s been for the equity markets. In our last Weekly Market Makers post for 2024, our colleague Jason Norris, CFA, reminds us to remember our own long-term horizons when contemplating the short-term market activity in 2025.
Reason or Excuse?
On Wednesday, in a widely expected move, the Federal Reserve cut the policy interest rate by 0.25% to a new range of 4.25% - 4.50%. This brings cumulative interest rate cuts to 1% for calendar year 2024.
Working With Your Team of Financial Professionals
Wrapping up any tax year results in a flurry of activity. Not just holiday shopping and family gatherings, but also tax strategy implementation and estate planning actions. At Ferguson Wellman, we regularly provide guidance and field questions about appropriate strategies for our clients’ situations.
Trimming the Fat: Uncle Sam's New Diet Plan
The 2024 U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump has sparked optimism in the financial markets and corporate sentiment. While some of this enthusiasm may be attributed to the end of a tumultuous election, the positive market reactions in the immediate aftermath—including rising stock prices, declining bond yields and a strengthening dollar—suggest that domestic and international investors are responding favorably to Trump's proposed policies.
Proper Structuring of an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)
Casia Chappell, CFP®, CPWA®, discusses the benefits and workings of irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), highlighting their role in estate planning by providing asset protection, estate tax mitigation and efficient wealth transfer.
Turning the Page
It’s been just over a month since the U.S. presidential election, and financial markets continue to be influenced by anticipation for the incoming administration in Washington D.C.
Glass Half Full for the Holidays
While standing in line at a local grocery store this week, waiting to purchase food for yesterday’s Thanksgiving meal, it was interesting to hear other shoppers mention the cost of their groceries to the store’s clerks.
The Battle for Retail
A banana duct taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million dollars this week to a cryptocurrency founder. With bitcoin nearing $100,000 and up more than 40% in November alone, bullish sentiment may be reaching levels of excess and froth in certain corners of the capital markets.
Optimizing Your Finances at Year End
As the year draws to a close, it's an opportune time to review your financial situation and ensure you meet year-end deadlines to maximize your financial benefits.