Perspective & Progress
Reflections on 2025 and Navigating the Year Ahead
With fall almost complete and winter staring me squarely in the eyes, I start thinking ahead to the new year. Like many, the holidays and the eminent arrival of January triggers reflection on personal and professional experiences of the past year – those which were positive and added to my growth and those which might have been tackled differently or steered clear of entirely.
Personally, I continued annual trips with my children – a 5-day Rogue River rafting trip in Oregon and walking 86 holes of golf over 2 ½ days in Michigan. Oregon is beautiful. We enjoyed outdoor activities at their fullest and arguably, the absolute best grilled tuna – and tomato sampler – my daughter and I ever tasted! Michigan, like Oregon, takes pride in its natural beauty. In my case, beauty came in the form of tee boxes, fairways and greens. I lost the weekend long match with my son but took solace in winning one 18-hole round to make my loss respectable.
The last adventure was my first trip to Scotland with my wife. Driving and riding as a passenger on the left side of the narrowest of roads – yikes – was an escape like none other. Raw beauty and the friendliest people met us at every turn. We also had a brush with British royalty when King Charles and Queen Camilla made an appearance at the Braemar Gathering. These Scottish highland games, held in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, celebrate many Scottish traditions and were the highlight of our trip.
Professionally, 2025 has brought much to celebrate. Continued growth of our firm, reasonably cooperative markets and the arrival of our newest associate, Nate Fierston. Firm growth is satisfying in many ways and a reflection – in my opinion – of the positive work we do for our clients. The world and our country continue to be surprisingly tumultuous and volatile. Economic and geopolitical unknowns abound, but markets remain resilient. With eyes always on the future, we welcomed Nate Fierston in August. With fresh perspective and energy, we have every confidence he will encourage us to see the work we do with a new lens and will motivate positive change in how we serve our clients.
As mentioned at the start, my experiences serve as a chance to reflect and the possibility of charting some new beginnings. Personally, I endeavor to continue traveling – to experience new places and activities with family and friends. Professionally, I continue to recognize the importance of servicing our clients to the very best of our ability. This includes recognizing that past efforts and infrastructure may have been fine but may fall short in the future. With that, I want to share some new beginnings here at Clearview and what might lie ahead in 2026.
Last spring, we received news that Morningstar Office was being acquired by Black Diamond. Morningstar Office provided Clearview with daily investment data reconciliation and reporting. This transition gave us the opportunity to assess other providers and after several weeks of due diligence and testing, we engaged Advyzon to support our future data reconciliation, reporting needs and client relationship management (CRM) platform. This updated tech stack will help us be more proactive and timelier with managing the tasks associated with your investing and financial planning. We expect most of these changes to be invisible to you but immensely helpful as the firm continues to grow.
I would be remiss if I didn’t dedicate some of my writing to markets and world events. On the minds of many are the daily headlines about our institutions, world conflict, and the ever complex, economic and geopolitical competitiveness between nations. On the whole, domestic and international markets are having a good year. This, despite persistent worries over an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. Job growth is flattening, while inflation is creeping into producer and consumer pricing. Ukraine and Russia continue to wage war. The U.N. Security Council, with Russia and China abstaining, passed President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. Last but not least, China and the US continue their geopolitical and economic jockeying on a very fluid playing field of nations and allies, keen to protect their own interests – a cauldron of ingredients that make for a higher proof Christmas eggnog.
When the world is fraught with chaos and uncertainty, it is as important as ever to remain invested in a risk appropriate way. Allocations that mirror your tolerance for risk are the best way to ride out the ups and downs of a volatile, uncertain market. Having a well-balanced portfolio should give you assurance that your investments will weather the unexpected, will continue to grow, and allow you to meet your future goals. We recently trimmed equity gains in IRA accounts to more ideal targets and reinvested most of the proceeds in more stable investments like bonds and hybrids. In the remaining few weeks of the year, we will continue to review individual positions for gains and losses, harvesting them when appropriate, in tax efficient ways. These actions start to lay groundwork for our typical portfolio work in January/February and the start of a new tax year.
On the whole, 2025 has been a successful and satisfying year personally and professionally. While not quite here, 2026 is in the forefront of my thoughts and I am excited about what lies ahead. What we do to service your relationship is energizing. Each of you serves as a strong catalyst to always seek ways of improving what we do. Have a safe and happy holiday season. As always, thank you for letting us be by your side as you plan your financial future.