December 2024: What a year!

It’s my favorite time of year! During this season, I can’t help but feel nostalgic. I long for many of the Christmas traditions of the past, like Mom’s sausage balls and watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation on repeat. I also cherish memories of my kids when they were excited about the magic of the season (see the above pic of the kids boarding the Polar Express Train many years ago). This is also a time of year to reflect on the year that is now coming to a close (more family photos chronicling the Newton family 2024 below).

Have you stopped to reflect on the events from this past year? It has been eventful. Let me help you summarize some key moments from this very eventful year:

Global events:

• Donald Trump was re-elected as the U.S. President, making him the second president in U.S. history to serve non-consecutive terms.
• The Russia-Ukraine conflict continued with significant developments, including Ukraine's offensive into Russia.
• The Israel-Hamas War, which began in 2023, escalated further, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis.
• A series of deadly hurricanes affect the US, including Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread damage and flooding, particularly in Western North Carolina.
• Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after a collision with the container ship Dali.

Sports:

• The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Washington Huskies to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
• The New England Patriots fired Bill Belichick!
• The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.
• The Paris Olympics.
• Caitlin Clark broke the all-time NCAA Division I college basketball career scoring record.
• The University of South Carolina won the Women’s College Basketball National Championship!

Business:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)! Nvidia briefly surpasses Microsoft as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. The largest company crown changed hands several times between NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Apple, all of which have market caps over $3 trillion.
• Boeing faced several catastrophes, including Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, in which a door plug blew out.
• Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, and Tupperware filed for bankruptcy.
• The Federal Reserve began cutting the Fed funds rate for the first time since 2020.
• Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 per coin.
• The U.S. national debt exceeded $36.1 Trillion.
• As of the authoring of this post, the S&P 500 has registered 56 new record closing highs in 2024.

With a year like that, what’s next? Buckle your seatbelts; 2025 may give 2024 a run for its money! So, what should we be doing to prepare? Let’s review some financial planning tips for the New Year. Start by creating a checklist of items that need review (example checklist below). Next, if not already on the schedule, plan a review with your Financial Advisor. Your annual review should, at a minimum, cover the following topics, and potentially many more:

Goal planning:

• Defining and prioritizing your goals
• Checking the progress towards your goals

Retirement:

• Retirement account strategies and requirements (RMD’s, inherited IRA’s, 401k/Traditional and/or Roth maximizing contributions, etc.)

Tax planning:

• Realized capital gains summary & tax loss harvesting strategies
• Tax bracket maximization strategies
• Tax deferred and tax-free investment strategies
• Deferring or accelerating income

Estate planning and Philanthropy:

• Review your estate plan (Wills, Trusts, Power of Attorney, etc.)
• Charitable endeavors (Qualified Charitable Distributions, contribution bunching, donor-advised funds, etc.)

Investment planning:

• Summary of 2024 market trends
• Strategic and tactical adjustments for your investment portfolio

Risk management:

• Life, long-term care, and disability insurance review
• Liability protection

Other financial planning:

• College savings contributions and distributions
• Debt structuring
• Cash solutions/rates/maturities
• If you are a business owner, do you need to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN?

Many of these topics are critical in establishing a solid foundation for your family’s future. And, if your family is anything like mine, every year is eventful and full of surprises. Plan ahead so that the good surprises outweigh the not-so-good surprises. Plan for the worst-case scenarios, expect the best from life, and make every moment count.

The Newtons will spend some time over the holidays reflecting on 2024. It was an eventful year that included a graduation, a retirement, a new driver, the loss of a great man, a new college student, several family getaways, and a win for the Gamecocks (pics below)!

As we bid farewell to 2024 and eagerly welcome 2025, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Please contact us if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Jason D. Newton, CFP®

Vice President, Wealth Management

Crescent Advisory Partners

Newton Family 2024 year in review

The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Every investor's situation is unique and you should consider your investment goals, risk tolerance and time horizon before making any investment. Prior to making an investment decision, please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation.

The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Jason Newton and not necessarily those of Raymond James.