Recession Proofing

How Our Work Together Helps You Prepare for Market Volatility

As we enter a new market year, it’s a good time to step back and revisit the principles that guide long-term investing. Markets move through ups and downs, and periods of uncertainty are a normal part of that journey. Economic cycles, changes in interest rates, and global events can all influence short-term market behavior.

While what causes market movement is largely out of our control, what is within your control is having a thoughtful financial plan in place before volatility appears—and the confidence to stay focused when it does. Our role as your advisor isn’t to predict short-term market movements, but to help you build and maintain a plan designed to support your goals across a wide range of economic environments, including more challenging ones.

Here’s how our ongoing work together helps protect and strengthen your financial picture during uncertain times.

A Plan Built Around Your Life, Not Market Headlines

It all starts with what is important in your financial world—your income needs, retirement timeline, family priorities, and long-term goals. This allows us to design a strategy that is driven by your life, not short-term market noise.

By anchoring decisions to your goals, we reduce the risk of emotional reactions during market swings and keep your focus on what the plan is meant to accomplish.

Proactive Cash Flow and Emergency Planning

Having access to cash when you need it is one of the most important components of a strong financial plan. To support this, it’s important to:

·       Maintain appropriate emergency reserves

·       Plan for near-term expenses and income needs

·       Reduce the likelihood of selling long-term investments during market downturns

We regularly revisit your liquid funds to ensure you have sufficient cash available to provide flexibility and security during periods of economic slowdown. In addition to unexpected needs, we also consider any larger expenses that may be on the horizon over the next 24 months.

Thoughtful Risk Management and Portfolio Design

Market volatile often exposes whether investors are taking more risk than intended. Our ongoing reviews and active portfolio management focuses on:

·       Aligning your investments with your risk tolerance and time horizon

·       Maintaining diversification across asset classes and investment styles

·       Rebalancing portfolios as markets move to manage risk and opportunity

Taking a disciplined approach can help to limit downside exposure while remaining positioned for long-term growth.

Income Planning for Stability and Confidence

If you are in retirement or approaching retirement, predictable income becomes especially important during volatile markets. Together we focus on:

• Reliable income sources designed to support your lifestyle

• Coordination of investment income with pensions, Social Security, and other income sources

• Strategies to reduce sequence-of-returns risk early in retirement

Our goal is to help ensure your income plan remains dependable—even when markets are not.

Tax-Aware Strategies During Volatile Markets

Market downturns often create planning opportunities. As part of the work we do, we look for ways to improve tax efficiency by:

• Identifying opportunities for tax-loss harvesting

• Evaluating Roth conversion strategies when values are lower

• Coordinating investment and tax decisions to support long-term outcomes

These strategies can help enhance your overall plan without increasing market risk.

Guidance Through Market Uncertainty

During periods of volatility, one of the most valuable services we provide is perspective. We help you:

• Understand what market movements mean for your accounts and your plan

• Avoid emotionally driven decisions

• Stay disciplined and focused on long-term objectives

Having an experienced advisor in your corner helps replace fear with clarity and confidence.

Preparing Not Just for Downturns—but for Opportunity

Recession-aware planning is not just defensive. It also allows us to identify opportunities such as:

• Rebalancing into long-term investments at lower valuations

• Strategically deploying excess cash over time

• Adjusting strategies as conditions improve

Our planning process is designed to help you be prepared for both challenging markets and the recovery that follows.

Our Commitment to You

Market volatility will come and go. Our commitment is to provide proactive planning, disciplined investment management, and ongoing guidance—so you can move forward with confidence regardless of the economic environment.

If you have questions about how your current plan is positioned for volatility or a potential recession, contact a team members so that we can review your strategy together.