Three quarters into 2026, investors have already had a useful reminder of one of the most important principles of long-term investing: not every quarter needs to be remarkable.
After a strong first half of the year, the third quarter finished relatively flat. But a quieter quarter doesn’t necessarily tell us much about where we’re ultimately headed.
Market declines—even meaningful ones—are a normal part of investing. Historically, positive calendar years have often included significant declines along the way. And when we expand our perspective from a single year to five, ten or twenty years, the range of potential outcomes has historically narrowed considerably.
In her latest market update, Autumn Davidson, Wealth Advisor at Generosity Wealth Management, looks at Q3 and year-to-date 2026 performance in the context of longer-term market history.
But the numbers lead to an even more important question: Is your portfolio still positioned to support the life you’re building?
Because ultimately, investment performance isn’t the goal. It’s one of the tools we use to help move toward what matters to you.
TRANSCRIPT
Hi everyone, it’s Autumn Davidson with Generosity Wealth Management, and for our October newsletter video, I’ll be covering the last quarter, our year to date so far, and how that compares to what we’ve seen historically. We are three quarters into 2026 so far, and overall it’s been a good one. The third quarter itself came in close to flat, essentially break-even, after a stronger first half to the year. That kind of quarter isn’t unusual, and looking back over time, our experience is that roughly three out of every four quarters.
One of the most useful ways to put short-term market movement into perspective is to look at what happens within individual calendar years. Since 1980, the S&P 500 has experienced an average intra-year decline of 14.2%—yet finished the year with a positive return in 35 of the 46 years shown below.
Quarters are positive, and so are about three out of every four full years. This chart goes back to 1980 and it tells the same story. Most years finish positive, even though almost every single one includes a real pullback somewhere along the way. Nobody, not us, not anyone, knows exactly what the next quarter will bring. That’s always true. We’ve seen quarters like this one before, and we’ve seen quarters that felt a lot worse. What matters isn’t guessing right on any single quarter, it’s staying invested.
Looking at a single year can reveal a wide range of potential outcomes. Historically, however, those ranges have narrowed as the investment period extends from one year to five, ten and twenty years. The chart compares historical rolling returns for stocks, bonds and a blended 60% stock/40% bond portfolio from 1950 through 2025.
Staying diversified and keeping our minds on the long term. Here’s the thing worth remembering: performance by itself isn’t the goal. The real question is whether your portfolio is still on track to support the life that you’re building. Take a simple 60-40 mix of stocks and bonds. Over any single year, the swings can be wide: strong gains in some years, real losses in others. Stretch that same mix out to 5, 10, or 20 years, and the range narrows considerably.
The highs come down, the lows come up. There has never been a 20-year period for this kind of portfolio that didn’t break even or better. So, as we close out the quarter, the numbers are just one part of the picture. What matters most is whether we’re still moving towards what matters to you. If anything’s changed in your life or you just want to talk through the last quarter, please reach out anytime. Thank you for watching, and we’ll see you in the next one.
We’re pleased to introduce Autumn Davidson, Wealth Advisor at Generosity Wealth Management. In this month’s video, Autumn introduces herself and provides an overview of Trump Accounts—a new type of tax-advantaged investment account created for children under 18.
She explains who may be eligible, how these accounts work, and some of the key features families may want to understand, including the one-time federal seed contribution available to eligible children. As with any financial planning topic, the information shared is intended for educational purposes and should be considered in the context of your own financial goals and circumstances.
Transcript
Hi everyone, Autumn Davidson here from Generosity Wealth Management. I am a wealth advisor alongside Michael Brady. The purpose of this month’s video is to introduce myself as well as talk about Trump accounts, which are a new type of retirement account for minors. For those of you who have not been introduced to me yet, I first joined Generosity as an intern during my senior year at CU Boulder, where I earned a degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance and real estate.
After graduating, I got my investment advisor licenses and spent the first few years of my career running my own advisory practice. Throughout those years, Michael and I had a standing meeting every two weeks for continued guidance and mentorship. He shaped many of my business philosophies and dreams for my own future. So when he reached out at the beginning of this year and invited me to come back, I was obviously very excited. I have now been with the firm for a little over three months, and not only has it been super fun, but also very rewarding to come back to a place that helped shape my career, but this time as an advisor.
At Generosity, we work with individuals, families, and business owners. And a big part of what we do is help people think about how today’s decisions can support long-term goals for themselves and for the next generation. One topic that’s getting a lot of attention right now in terms of accumulating that generational wealth is Trump accounts. These are a new type of tax-advantaged account designed for children under 18, and they’re meant to give kids an early start on long-term investing even if they don’t have earned income yet. These function very similar to a traditional IRA. However, previously, your child would need to have taxable earned income to contribute to a retirement account, and now a parent or guardian can open a Trump account for any child under 18.
The account will be opened in the child’s name and monitored by the parent or guardian until that child is an adult. And during that time, contributions can come from parents, guardians, employers of the adult monitoring the account, or in some cases, be eligible for a government contribution. The federal seed contribution of $1,000 is available for children born between January 1st, 2025 and December 31st, 2028.
And annual contributions can be made up to the current limit of $5,000, which will be indexed for inflation after 2027. The money must be invested in broad, low-cost stock index ETFs, which may sound limiting, but is meant to keep the account simple, diversified, and focused on long-term growth. The reason these accounts are so interesting is that time is such a powerful tool in investing and creating financial success. Starting earlier gives compounding more time to work.
Which can make a significant difference over 20, 40, or now even 60 years prior to accessing those funds. For families who are already thinking about multi-generational planning, Trump accounts may become another useful piece of that overall strategy. At the same time, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution, and like any planning tool, they need to fit within the broader picture of education funding, retirement goals, tax planning, and family priorities.
This video is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as tax, legal, or individualized financial advice. For decisions about your own situation, please do reach out to us and we are happy to give that more tailored advice to you. I am really looking forward to meeting more of you as my time here continues, and thank you so much for joining me here today.
The halfway point of the year is a natural time to reflect—not just on investment performance, but on whether your financial plan is helping you build the life you truly want.
In this month’s video, Michael Brady shares why successful financial planning extends far beyond market returns. While the first half of 2026 has reminded investors that markets rarely move in a straight line, the bigger lesson is one that doesn’t change with economic headlines: your investments are simply the tools. Your purpose, your family, your legacy, and your goals are what truly matter.
Watch this month’s Mid-Year Update as Michael discusses staying focused through market volatility, the value of diversification, and why aligning your wealth with your purpose remains the foundation of every financial plan.
Transcript
Hi there, Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered here in Boulder, Colorado.
Today is our halftime report. Half the year is gone, and we have half to go.
I want to talk a little technically about the markets, but I’m going to be very philosophical today as well.
Before I go on, you’re probably wondering what’s up with my backdrop. I’m in a hotel room because my very favorite uncle is not doing well. He had a heart transplant about eight years ago, and now, in his 70s, he’s facing some health challenges.
I’m very fortunate that I can continue working with clients and serving in my chosen profession anywhere I have my iPad, internet access, and video capability. So this hotel room is where I’m recording today, and honestly, it’s the best backdrop I could find. I still wanted to get this newsletter out to you.
It kind of reminds me—and this is where I get philosophical—that during the first 20 years of my 35-year career, I wore a suit and went to an office every day. At one point, I made a proactive choice. I wanted to make an impact in the world. I wanted to live my life. I wanted the flexibility to support my family when they’re sick or when they need me. That’s very important to me.
You may feel the same way. You want to support your children, your grandchildren, and your loved ones. Maybe your purpose is to travel. Maybe it’s making sure your needs are met in retirement so you don’t outlive your money. Maybe it’s maintaining the dignity and freedom to make your own decisions or passing your wealth on to the next generation or to charities.
Whatever it is, you have your own goals.
Very few people wake up in the morning and say, “I want to think about my investments today,” or, “I can’t wait to review my financial plan.”
Those things are simply the means to an end.
They’re the processes that help us accomplish what really matters.
Here at Generosity Wealth Management, we say that we align wealth with purpose and possibility. It’s important to understand what your purpose is and what possibilities you’re striving toward—even those you may not have thought about yet.
Think about a watch. Most of us care about the hour hand, the minute hand, and the second hand. Do you really care about all the gears underneath that make it work? Or, in today’s world, all the electronics inside a digital watch?
No.
You simply care that it tells the right time and gets you where you want to go.
That’s exactly what we do here.
We’re trying to align the pieces of your financial life with the realities of the world so you can get where you want to go. It doesn’t matter if someone else gets there first or later. What matters is your goals, your purpose, and your journey.
Generosity Wealth Management exists to help you get there.
Generosity Estate Planning focuses on maintaining dignity while you’re living and ensuring your wishes are carried out after you’re gone. That practice is led by Cassidy Murphy, a seasoned attorney with more than 25 years of legal experience.
We also serve business owners through Generosity Business Exit Planning, a division we don’t talk about as often. There, we help business owners prepare their companies for transition—whether that’s passing the business to the next generation, selling it, or simply making sure both the business and the owner are transition-ready.
The goal is that the success you’ve built in your business becomes significance that continues long after you’ve stepped away.
One thing I’ve observed over the years is that I work with clients who have lots of commas and zeros after their net worth, and I work with clients who have fewer.
The formula for success is remarkably similar.
In my opinion, it comes down to emotional control, understanding your time horizon, maintaining discipline, having adequate liquidity, and clearly defining your goals.
In fact, I believe 80% of reaching your goals is simply knowing what those goals actually are.
Are you trying to retire at a certain age? Support your family? Travel? Leave a legacy?
Once we understand that, we can build the investment strategy around those objectives. Then we can identify the things most likely to derail your plan and proactively address them.
The investments themselves aren’t the destination—they’re simply the vehicle.
That’s an important distinction.
Now, let’s talk briefly about the markets.
The first quarter wasn’t very good.
The second quarter largely made up for it.
Most of the unmanaged stock market indexes are positive for the year, although performance varies depending on where you’re invested.
Large-growth stocks, which were among the strongest performers last year, have lagged so far this year. They’re still positive, just not leading the pack.
Meanwhile, small-value stocks, which struggled last year, have been among the best-performing sectors this year.
Markets rotate.
That’s why diversification is so important.
Bond indexes are also modestly positive this year and continue to provide the stabilizing influence they often bring to a diversified portfolio.
The lesson here is simple.
One quarter does not determine an entire year.
At the end of the first quarter, some people felt convinced it would be a terrible year.
That wasn’t true.
Likewise, just because the first half of the year has been positive doesn’t guarantee the second half will be.
This is exactly why we focus on time horizon and discipline.
There’s a chart I’m going to put on the screen that’s become one of my favorites.
It looks at a diversified portfolio made up of 60% stocks and 40% bonds using unmanaged indexes going back to 1989.
The farther out your investment time horizon extends—from one day, to one week, one month, one year, three years, five years, and ten years—the greater your historical probability of experiencing positive returns.
Over very short periods, markets can move in either direction.
But historically, the longer investors remained disciplined and stayed invested in a diversified portfolio, the better their odds became.
Our goal isn’t simply to break even.
You could do that by putting your money in the bank.
Our goal is to thoughtfully manage downside risk while helping position you to achieve your long-term objectives.
As we move into the second half of the year, I’ve already planned several upcoming videos where we’ll cover more technical topics, including Trump Accounts and other financial issues you may be hearing about in the news.
One reason I don’t spend much time discussing daily headlines is because you’re already surrounded by them.
Turn on the television.
Open a newspaper.
Browse the internet.
Technical information is everywhere.
But understanding the individual tools—a hammer, a nail gun, or a wrench—doesn’t teach you how to build a house.
The wisdom comes from knowing how all of those tools fit together to create something meaningful.
Our goal isn’t to obsess over the tools.
Our goal is to help you build the life you want to live.
To live with purpose.
To create a meaningful legacy.
To have the freedom to support your family at a moment’s notice if they need you.
That’s what financial planning is really about.
Whether the markets are up or down in any given month or quarter, we’ll continue helping you navigate those details while keeping your long-term goals at the center of every decision.
I hope you understand that, and I hope you’ll always feel comfortable reaching out so we can have honest conversations about where you’re headed and how we can help guide you there.
I’m Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management.
If you ever have questions, give us a call at 303-747-6455.
I’m here. Felicia is here. Autumn, Evan, Cassidy, and Sara are all here to support you wherever life takes you.
Have a wonderful celebration of our great country’s anniversary, and we’ll talk to you again next month.
A recession. Inflation. Interest rates. Elections. Geopolitical conflict. The next prediction about what could go wrong.
And yet, despite decades of headlines, uncertainty, and volatility, one principle has remained remarkably consistent: Successful long-term investors rarely win because they can predict the future. They succeed because they remain focused on what matters most.
In his latest video update, Generosity Wealth Management Founder Michael Brady reflects on market volatility, the importance of emotional discipline, and the continued evolution of the Generosity Group family of companies.
The Market Has Always Tested Our Patience
When Michael entered the financial services industry in 1991, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was approximately 3,500. Today, it stands many times higher despite decades of market corrections, economic disruptions, political uncertainty, and global events.
The lesson isn’t that markets move in a straight line.
They don’t.
The lesson is that short-term uncertainty has always been part of the journey.
Investors who remain patient, stay invested, and maintain emotional control often find themselves in a much stronger position than those who allow fear to dictate their decisions.
As Michael often reminds clients:
We don’t want to make long-term decisions based on short-term information.
What We Can Control
The future will always contain uncertainty.
The next market decline is not a matter of if, but when.
That reality isn’t something to fear—it is something to prepare for.
At Generosity Wealth Management, our focus is not on reacting to every headline. It is on building thoughtful strategies that allow clients to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
While we cannot control markets, we can control:
Our planning
Our spending decisions
Our investment discipline
Our risk management
Our long-term perspective
When markets become noisy, these are the things that matter most.
A Bigger Vision for Serving Clients
Over the past several years, Michael has been quietly building something larger than a traditional wealth management firm.
Today, Generosity Group brings together multiple disciplines designed to help clients navigate life’s most important financial decisions.
Generosity Wealth Management
Aligning wealth with purpose and possibility through comprehensive financial planning and investment management.
Generosity Estate Planning
Led by attorney Cassidy Brady, helping families create thoughtful plans that protect what matters most.
Generosity Business Exit Planning
Helping business owners increase value, prepare for transition, and create more options for the future.
Recent additions to the team—including Autumn Davidson and Evan Faber—reflect the firm’s continued commitment to providing deeper expertise and broader support for clients navigating increasingly complex decisions.
Why We Continue to Grow
Growth has never been about becoming bigger for the sake of being bigger.
It has always been about creating greater value for the people we serve.
Whether clients are preparing for retirement, planning their estate, transitioning a business, or coordinating multiple aspects of their financial lives, our goal remains the same:
To provide thoughtful guidance, trusted relationships, and a comprehensive approach that helps clients make confident decisions.
Because wealth is about far more than investment performance.
It’s about creating the freedom to live your values, pursue opportunities, care for the people you love, and build the legacy you want to leave behind.
Full Video Transcript
Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive full-service financial services firm headquartered here in Boulder, Colorado. I am recording this on a perfect Monday morning, even though you’re probably receiving this video a couple weeks after I’ve done it. I’ve got to edit it and get it through compliance, get the newsletter all put together. But this is a beautiful Memorial Day—sunny, not a cloud in the sky, people out there running the Bolder Boulder. I wanted to get this video done. I’ll be heading up to Dubois, Wyoming, where I have a cabin for the summer. I run the whole business right out of there all summer long and have no interruptions as it relates to Zoom, email, phone, et cetera, even though in-person meetings are a little difficult to do. I have a great team here in Boulder, which I’ll talk about in just a second.
At the end of March, I did a video, and at that time I talked about how it had been a tough quarter. The unmanaged stock market indexes like the Dow and the S&P, etc., they were all negative. I said at that time, “You know what, guys, this is normal.” It is normal for there to be declines. We might take two or three steps forward, maybe one step back, and it’s been this way my entire career. As a matter of fact, when I entered the financial services career realm back in August of 1991, the Dow Jones, which is an unmanaged stock market index, was about 3,500. Today it’s over 50,000. How many doublings is that? I don’t want to get technical, but it’s a lot. The same thing with all the other unmanaged stock market indexes—it has been a wonderful 35-year ride with lots of ups and downs along the way. Those people who were patient and had emotional control are the ones sitting pretty, who’ve had a fine ride along the way and are feeling good now.
The same advice that I have given that entire 35 years is still valid today, which is, “Hey, if you don’t have 35 years, that’s okay.” I mean, I’m 57 years old. I may not have 35 years myself, but we are going to have many, hopefully, five- and ten-year time horizons. We’re still keeping our emotions in check, staying invested, keeping our eye on the long term, not allowing short-term trends or information or people whispering in our ear—whether that’s a newspaper reporter or some pundit on TV—to detract us from our long-term vision and our long-term plan. We don’t want to make long-term decisions based on short-term information. That’s what is unhelpful. Emotional control, keeping our eyes on the big prize—this has served me well over the last 35 years, and I believe that it will continue to serve you.
Once again, I told you two months ago, “Guys, this is fine.” Nobody likes it when it’s down, and it’s nice that it has reversed in the last couple of months. We’re sitting pretty so far year to date as of the end of May. Also, let me tell you, there are still going to be some ups and downs for the rest of the year and for the next year and two and three years from now. That is normal—there will always be that.
I want to pivot for just a second and talk a little bit about my company, Generosity Group. It’s something I created a couple of years ago that really is an expansion of what I’ve done for years. Generosity-Group.com—if you ever want to go there, you can see what I’m talking about. It’s really three companies put together.
The first one is Generosity Wealth Management, which I’m kind of wearing that hat right now as I’m talking with you. We align wealth with purpose and possibility—that is what we’ve had for many years, since 2008. So that’s a good 18 years I’ve had Generosity Wealth Management.
The second part of Generosity Group is Generosity Estate Planning. I’m very proud that my wife, who’s been an attorney since 1999, runs that division. She has an estate planning firm called Generosity Estate Planning. I’ll talk more about that as the year unfolds and as 2027 is right around the corner, feels like.
The third one, which I’ll talk even more about in the coming months, is Generosity Business Exit Planning. It’s run by our Chief Business Officer, Evan Faber. If you read the newsletter, which I hope that you do, you’ll read a little bit about Evan. He is a wonderful addition to the whole Generosity Group.
In the last couple of months, we’ve welcomed Autumn Davidson. She’ll be working in the Generosity Wealth Management part of the business. And then there’s Evan, who is currently getting licensed with his Certified Exit Planning Advisor. He’ll soon be—assuming that the test at the end of June works out the way we’d like—a Certified Value Growth Advisor. Both are designations I happen to have as well.
Generosity Business Exit Planning is working with business owners who want to get their business transition-ready for moving to the next generation or selling to someone else, so they can unlock the 80 to 90% of the wealth they have—most business owners have—in their business. This is something I’ve been working on for the last three years or so. I saw an opportunity: I met with many business owners who really weren’t sure what to do with their business. They wanted to get it best in class so they could choose at their discretion, have many options if they’d like, for when they wanted to transition away from that business. Sometimes it’s not our own choosing. Sometimes there’s death, there’s divorce, there’s disagreement with partners, there’s disability.
There are many different reasons why you need to have that in place before any of those things really hit, or before distress to your business—like you’re not thinking ahead, and all of a sudden the business has got a cash crunch or something else. So Evan has come onto the team to help business owners out. We’ll talk a little bit more about Generosity Business Exit Planning in the future.
We’ve got three divisions, and I’ve thought about adding on a fourth one: Generosity Wealth Management, Generosity Estate Planning, Generosity Business Exit Planning, and then at some point—since I’m currently getting my Enrolled Agent license—we might have Generosity Tax Planning as well. Whether that’s with a CPA or how that works, I’m not entirely sure. But we want to have all the needs that a client might have so that we can be the greatest value to our clients. That’s really what’s in the back of our mind at all times: how we can continue to add value to the relationship with the client, so that we are the choice to choose, or for you to recommend us to your friends, your family, your neighbors, your business associates. “Hey, these are the people who can handle what you need, and they’ve probably seen it because they’ve seen it all.”
Anyway, Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Thank you very much for being our clients, and for all your confidence in me, Felicia, Cassidy, Autumn, Evan, and Sarah. Thank you very much for being with us and allowing us to serve you.
Have a great rest of June, and I will see you in July once the second quarter is over.
Market headlines can feel overwhelming—especially during periods of volatility. But not all market movement is cause for concern.
In this latest quarterly update, Michael Brady shares a grounded perspective on what’s happening in today’s market, what a “correction” actually means, and why long-term investors are better served by focusing on what they can control rather than reacting to short-term noise.
If you’ve been feeling uncertain about recent market activity, this is a helpful reminder of what truly matters—and what doesn’t.
Transcript
Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, where we align wealth with purpose and possibility. I’m here with my first quarter review, the rest of the year preview video, and newsletter.
I’m asked every once in a while why I don’t get more technical. I touch upon technical topics in my videos, but I don’t go very deep, to be honest. One reason is that when I started 35 years ago, having a technical advantage was the big thing. Now there’s so much information on the internet, on TV, on the radio, discerning what’s important and what isn’t is more difficult.
As I view the world now, we are close to a correction at the time I am recording this video. A correction is a 10% drop from the most recent high. It doesn’t mean a 10% loss for the year. It doesn’t mean 10% like you’re never going to get it back. It’s a 10% drop in an unmanaged stock market index. As of this moment, the S&P 500 and the Dow are flirting around with it: 8%, 9%, 10% depending on the day. Most corrections, when you look back over a long period of time, last between three and eight months before they recover. It’s not three to eight years. It’s three to eight months. They’re usually relatively short in duration.
On the screen, you’ve seen me show this before. It is normal for most years, as seen in the red numbers below the x-axis, for there to be corrections of double digits or more during the year. The numbers on the top of the x-axis are what the year ended at, and it does not mean that it ends the year negative. I like to get back to the basics, which is our attitude, whether we’re paying attention to the right thing, and what our particular biases are.
I like to think of the difference between complicated and complex. Complicated is a rocket to go to the moon: A plus B plus C. It has a million different parts, and if you follow the directions, you can duplicate these rockets and build ten of them one after another. Complex is raising a child. You think you do A, and they come back with B because that’s what they did the last ten times. But sometimes they come back with C or D or something else. They come back with an answer you weren’t expecting, and then you respond in a different way, and so on. That’s complex. Human relationships are complex. If I do a certain thing all the time, someone else may respond in a certain way, but then my reaction to their reaction is different, and it continues. That’s complex. It’s not necessarily complicated.
I bring this up because I get tired of the news saying the market went up because of A, or down because of B, as if that’s the whole reason. It’s not that simple. We need to look at it not as static but as dynamic. If I do something, someone else changes their behavior. If I’m selling hamburgers for $10 and I want to increase my profit, I don’t just double the price, because people will buy fewer hamburgers. So when I impose something on the consumer, they react accordingly. The markets are quite complex, and I believe a diversified portfolio is incredibly important. I don’t believe in individual-issue risk, such as focusing on a single stock or bond. I don’t believe that’s the best way for an investor or client to reach their financial goals over the long term.
I also believe that matching the diversified portfolio with the duration or time frame of your goals is crucial. The money you need in three months is different from the money you need in 30 years. If you’re 60 years old, I hope you know that you have a 30-year time horizon. We have to think about that. If you’re in your 50s, 60s, or 70s, you still have many five- and ten-year time horizons, while you might also have short-term needs, like your monthly income.
For today’s review, it’s been volatile in the first quarter, and that’s unpleasant. Nobody likes it when it goes down. We have risk aversion, meaning we feel more pain with a 5% loss than happiness with a 5% gain. That’s human nature. We have to acknowledge that risk aversion. We have to stay calm, rational, and in control of our emotions. Looking at the rest of the year, I don’t know what will happen. My crystal ball isn’t perfect. But if we have a good diversified portfolio, I think it’s the best way to live in an uncertain world, because the future isn’t always known. It’s always uncertain, even if we don’t always notice it.
Let’s keep the buckets in mind: things we can control, things we have some control over, and things we have no control over. Let’s not spend all our time on the things we can’t control. Let’s spend the majority of our time on the things we can control, like how much we save, when we retire, how much we retire on, and some elements of our portfolio and financial goals. That’s my first quarter newsletter and video. I’m always here if you need anything, even if I’m traveling or in Boulder or heading up to Wyoming for the summer. I can run the business from up there, near Yellowstone in Dubois, Wyoming. My number is 303-747-6455.
Mike Brady. I’m always happy you’re my client. If you’re not my client, consider becoming one. Thank you.
Recent headlines about global conflict and market volatility can make investing feel uncertain. When emotions rise and news cycles move quickly, it’s easy to feel pressure to react.
In this video, Michael Brady of Generosity Wealth Management shares a timeless perspective on navigating moments like these. Drawing on decades of experience, Mike explains why emotional control and discipline are two of the most important ingredients for long-term financial success.
Markets will always experience ups and downs. Geopolitical events will always occur. The key is not predicting every headline, but building a thoughtful plan and maintaining the perspective to stay on course.
Mike also shares a helpful reminder: intra-year market declines are normal, even in years that ultimately end positive. Long-term investing is about progress over time — not reacting to every moment of uncertainty.
At Generosity Wealth Management, the goal is to align wealth with purpose and possibility, helping clients live well today while preparing confidently for the future.
Transcript
Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive full-service financial services firm headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Although I am in Michigan right now, if you’re ever wondering what my childhood backyard looks like, that is it. My mother’s in assisted living. She moved there over the summer, and I’m doing the last little bit in my childhood home. My parents have had this house for 50 years, and I’m helping do the last little bits in order to put it on the market and close that chapter.
I did a video about a week ago that was going to go in this newsletter. But it did not get sent out because I’m replacing it with this video. While we were editing the newsletter, the Iran–Middle East conflict came up, and I thought I’d be a little more timely and remind you of certain lessons that are tried and true.
One of them is that we have emotional control at all times. If you want to be successful in the financial world and reach your financial goals, it is my opinion that one of the first things you do is have emotional control. Remember that the media—whether it’s print, scrolling, or TV—often tries to elicit emotion from you, not necessarily inform you. If you’re getting excited or upset, check yourself.
One thing we can do is ask, “How am I feeling right now? What’s causing that? If it’s not helping me, stop doing it.” It’s just that simple.
The other is discipline. Have the discipline to know what our plan is and move towards it. Periodically I hear people say, “Well, we’re obviously at a high.” First off, when the word “obviously” is in anything in our industry, you know it’s not obvious. But the question is, are we at a high in the unmanaged stock market indexes? The answer is, we might be at a high from where it was 5, 10, and 20 years ago. I certainly hope it’s at a low in comparison to where it will be 5, 10, and 20 years from today. That’s all that really matters, because we can’t live in the past, but we certainly can live, and we will hopefully live, the future. Why else would we have investments if we didn’t believe that they would be higher 5, 10, and 20 years from now?
Up on the screen is something that I like to remind people of: the numbers below the X axis are the intra-year decline, and it is normal for there to be declines throughout the year. It doesn’t mean that the end of the year ends negative. It is normal for there to be declines.
Someone asked me the other day, “Mike, your videos are not very technical.” And my answer is yes, that’s by design. If you want technical, you can go to any business news channel and get that technical analysis. You can open up print media or a business magazine or newspaper and have all kinds of technical analysis. Twenty or thirty years ago, I could wow you with that information and charts. Today it’s all free and available. But what is more important than all of that technical data is what it actually means. What are the ingredients for success that they might not be talking about in the media or that you might not see others talking about in your neighborhood or community? That’s what I’m here to present: what I believe, and my beliefs have come from decades of experience in discipline and emotional control.
Know your liquidity, have your duration in mind, and then execute properly. Money that you need in two weeks is certainly different from money that you need in five, ten, or twenty years. Even if you’re in your 60s or 70s, we hope that you will have many five- and ten-year timeframes going forward.
I want to bring us back to the fact that geopolitical events will always happen. The market will always go up and down historically. The way I believe is that if you’re so averse to risk or so afraid of any kind of decline, you’re not going to get the ups. It’s three steps forward, maybe two steps back. Three steps forward, two steps back, but you’re progressing along a path. It’s no different than if you’re so afraid of a relationship—friendship or romantic—of being hurt that you’ll never find true love. It’s the same when trying to reach your financial goals. We need to mitigate risk; we can’t eliminate it.
We have to ask, “What’s our duration?” Are the investments we’re in consistent with what we want to do? Can I keep my emotional control, and am I disciplined when things happen that I know are going to happen, like the market going up and down or geopolitical issues or things in the news or in our own country? These things have always happened, and they will continue to happen. How am I going to react?
Is the purpose of my money to make me happy? I would say yes, to live your life so you’re not a burden on others. Your purpose and possibility is really what we talk about—Generosity Wealth Management aligns wealth with purpose and possibility. If that’s the case, then let’s get immune to those external things and stay with our plan. Be peaceful and calm in sometimes non-peaceful situations in the world, but we can be our own oasis.
So, Michael Brady, 303-747-6455. Give me a call or send me an email if you ever feel like you want to talk about something. Let me know, and we can have that communication. Have a great rest of the day, great week. Bye.
