News and Commentary

SWM Private Clients,Last year, we correctly identified that a combination of political continuity and strong corporate fundamentals would drive a high-performance market. Our thesis that the AI revolution would mirror the transformative growth of the late 1990s has also been validated by recent market activity. Our outlook for the coming year remains optimistic, fueled by:Monetary Policy: Anticipated Fed cuts providing increased liquidity.Fiscal Growth: Positive policy shifts supporting domestic earnings.AI Integration: Continued expansion of technology-driven productivity.The Bottom Line: While the momentum is undeniable, we are mindful of the late-stage nature of this cycle. We will continue working with you to ensure your "game plan" remains robust, prioritizing risk management alongside moderate growth. Consider tuning into our Janney Outlook 2026 call next week.  See attached for more details on the quarter: Market Vane Monthly UpdateSWM NEWS:Schultz Wealth Management and Jeff were again named to the CEO Roundtable at Janney, provided to only the top 12% of the firm's financial advisors. Jeff spent time with his parents and family over the holidays and had a ball!Clarke had a nice trip for with friends to Mexico in December for a birthday celebration. He and Laura are grateful to work along a strong team and thoughtful clients, and he is looking ahead to 2026. This holiday season reminded us that the best moments usually include a little chaos, a lot of laughter, and being together. Kevin, Meg, Ridley (9), and Hughes (7) are grateful for a year full of family time, memories made, and plenty of reasons to smile.Caroline spent lots of time with family and friends in Q4, including a trip to Costa Rica!

The term “broken record” is one that is coming back into vogue with Gen Z buying vinyl records these days. I bring this term up because I continue to say what I’ve been saying over a year now; this time is familiar to me and similar to the late 90’s. You’ve started hearing this in the media now too, so it seems history maybe repeating or rhyming. Our client portfolios and game plans have continued to outperform our goals and hit new highs. The market dip we thought we might see this quarter was squashed by the Big Beautiful bill, the Fed cut, and continued growth and positive news from the technology sector. The S&P 500 was up nearly 8% for the quarter(wow), the EAFE international index cooled a bit but still grew 4.4%, and Fixed Income showed another gain. It’s all been rosy, particularly if your risk tolerance is high, and the Fed is on our side.  Keep enjoying the bull market and we will continue to participate and monitor client portfolios for adjustments!See attached for more details: Q3 2025 ReviewSWM NEWS:Team updates:I’m pleased to announce that Kevin McKane, our in-house financial planner, has been promoted to Senior Wealth Planner. Caroline passed the Securities Industry Exam, and this is the first step on the way to getting licensed. Next up series 7 before year end. Wish her luck.Clarke passed the CEPA exam and is now certified in working with business owners and investment bankers through exits/business sales.Personal updates:Jeff and his family attended their son, Palmer’s, last parents weekend at the University of Tennessee. Time flies.Clarke had the chance to travel to Costa Rica for a family wedding and couldn’t resist ziplining over the rainforest. It was an amazing trip and definitely one for the books!Kevin and his wife, Meg, enjoyed celebrating their kids hard work training for this past swim season at Capital City Club. Ridley (3rd grade) was awarded MVP for 7&8 girls & Hughes (1st grade) was awarded Most Improved for 6U boys in August.Caroline enjoyed spending time at Kiawah Island this summer with family.

Well as they say, “there are books where the front and back cover are the best parts”. As we mentioned last quarter and throughout this quarter, the tariff headline was the catalyst to a needed correction and our portfolio strategies again would “weather the market storm”. We are pleased that all our clients maintained their gameplan and were rewarded for the quarter. The S&P 500 was up nearly 7%, the international index EAFE was up over 9% though, and fixed income AGG ETF was down nearly 1%. It was a “risk-on” quarter once the correction ended and now valuations in the U.S. markets look a bit frothy. Many factors will influence the next move to new highs in the markets…will the Fed cut rates in September? Will earnings for Q2 beat estimates? We continue to see value in diversification outside the tradition U.S. indexes and will appropriately share and allocate our value-added strategies into our Private Client portfolios.  On side note, we continue to find higher yielding money markets, CD’s, and fixed income vs banks…just email us. Be on the look-out for our team videos coming out on social media! See here for more details on the 2nd quarter: Q2 Market ReviewSWM Team News:Jeff celebrated his birthday in Dublin Ireland with a group of good friends and clients. Clarke’s summer is off to a great start with a trip to Janney’s home office in Philadelphia to hear about new products and services coming soon for clients. He also spent some time at Lake Oconee with good friends and wrapped up the quarter with a birthday trip to Florida with Laura to celebrate turning 40.Kevin has been busy outside of the office coaching his kids at NYO in baseball and softball throughout the Spring and early summer months – in fact his daughter recently made the 8U All-Star team. Additionally, both of his kids just completed a stellar swim team season and were major contributors to the Capital City Club Waves championship season. His family also celebrated his daughter’s First Communion at Christ the King Cathedral with family and friends.Caroline and her family welcomed her 2nd nephew, Knox, in April of 2025. Disclosure: This is being provided solely for informational and illustrative purposes, is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The information provided here is taken from sources that we believe to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and do not consider the particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs of individual investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and future returns are not guaranteed. There are risks associated with investing, such as a loss of original capital or a decrease in the value of your investment. Employees of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC or its affiliates may, at times, release written or oral commentary, technical analysis or trading strategies that differ from the opinions expressed here.