A good plan is more reliable than a forecast
Years ago, clients told us they appreciated that we could cut through the massive amount of information the many forms of media were spewing and offer a calm, educated, rational voice amid the din vying for their attention. What was initially a motto, “A Sanctuary from the Noise®” has evolved into a mission for our firm. 2025 again showed the value of having a plan that does not depend on economic forecasts or short-term predictions of how markets will perform.
As with all prior Presidents, when Donald Trump took office, some were upset and others happy. Many who were upset said his economic ideas were flawed and would be bad for America. When President Trump announced his tariff plan in April and the market tanked more than 20% in a matter of days, many of those anti-Trump policy people felt they it was a sign they were right and clearly more bad stock market days were coming.
At the same time, many Trump policy supporters said that the President was doing a wonderful thing because other countries were taking advantage of the United States in trade matters. Trump said he wanted to make almost every nation in the world change their trade agreements with the U.S and was particularly keen “punish” countries like China, Mexico, and Canada for various reasons. Many warned to avoid the coming crash in foreign markets.
Regardless of which narrative you believed more, if you translated your opinion into moving money out of either U.S. or foreign stocks, you lost out on excellent returns. However, if you ignored the narratives, had a well-diversified portfolio, maintained the discipline to stay diversified despite the noise, and exercised a little patience, you could have captured excellent results. For 2025, the CRSP US Total Market Index returned a bit over 16% and the MSCI World ex-U.S. Index returned more than 32%. If you are curious about it, the indexes from MSCI for the stock markets of China, Canada, and Mexico returned 31.17%, 36.47% and 56.14% respectively net of dividends.
Once again, resilience beats nimbleness.
This should be of no surprise to our clients. You can speculate and be right about short-term market movements now and then but there are simply too many variables and markets move too fast in reaction to new information for such narratives to be reliably useful over a meaningful period. If you want to stay ahead of inflation and taxes over time, you need some stocks and if you own stocks, you will experience bad markets.
When exactly those periods start and how long it will be before markets recover are not truly knowable. That’s OK because a good plan does not put too much or too little into stocks, and good plans do not rely on short-term predictions to succeed.
…a good plan does not put too much or too little into stocks, and good plans do not rely on short-term predictions to succeed.
In 2026, we will have midterm elections and hear more political narratives. Try to remember that diversification, patience and discipline have proven to be a reliable winning combination, not following the news to trying to outmaneuver markets. A good plan based on your individual needs, implemented well and managed properly helps manage risk and helps you avoid getting panicked when markets drop, or elated when they do well. Invest, don’t speculate.
Client portal updated
If you have logged into your client portal in 2026, you’ve seen how our software provider, Tamarac, transitioned the portal to a new look and added some new functionality. To help you with this change, we have produced a brief video covering the highlights which can be found in our “how to…” library.
If you have not logged in recently, Tamarac enhanced security by requiring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all client portals. When logging in, you’ll now verify your identity using a code sent to your cell phone or email address. The previous option to use security questions has been removed to better protect your information.
Tax filing alert
Many taxpayers will not be able to file their 2025 tax returns by the April 15, 2026 deadline. Done properly, such taxpayers can receive a six-month extension of time to October 15, 2026, to file and avoid any interest charges or penalties from the IRS. What does “done properly” mean, what are the benefits and downsides of an extension, and should you extend your tax return this year? Our Tax Manager, Kevin McDermott, CPA, explained the basics of how extensions work in our March 2023 commentary. See https://moisandfitzgerald.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-tax-extensions-and-new-tax-rules/
Making News…
We continue to help various media outlets provide sound information to their audiences. (Some links may require a subscription to view.) Dan Moisand,CFP® continues to write for Florida Today and MarketWatch, which are sometimes syndicated to other sites such as MSN & YahooFinance.
What should taxpayers know about a new deduction for charitable gifts? – Florida Today
My RMD starts next year. Should I convert my whole IRA to a Roth? – MarketWatch also published on Morningstar
Why the obsession with tax rates when it comes to Roth conversions? – Florida Today
In the News…
MFT named a “Best Place to Work” for the 7th time
It’s true. We are very proud of our team, and it is gratifying to see others recognize the work we do to maintain a great working environment. We have been named a best place to work for the 7th time. For the second straight year, Financial Planning magazine named us one of 2025’s “60 Best RIAs to Work for.” We appeared on Investment News’ list of the top 75 best places in the U.S. to work for financial advisors five times between 2019 and 2024. Financial Planning took over the evaluation from Investment News in 2024.
According to Financial Planning, “This year’s list was compiled through a two-part review of firms across the country. First, financial professionals working inside these organizations were surveyed about leadership, compensation and benefits, communication, training, workplace environment, engagement and overall satisfaction. Separately, researchers examined each firm’s policies, practices, benefit structures, systems and demographics to build a fuller picture of how each workplace operates.
To be eligible, firms had to be registered with the SEC, have at least 10 U.S.-based employees, maintain a physical U.S. location and have been in business for at least one year. Scores from the employee survey and the independent evaluation were combined to create each firm’s final ranking.
After tallying the results, 60 RIAs emerged as standouts — firms where employees say they feel supported, valued and excited to show up each day.”
Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo, LLC named to the 2025 “Seminole 100” for the 8th time
The Seminole 100 recognizes the 100 fastest-growing Florida State alumni-owned or alumni-led businesses. (Co-owner Dan Moisand, CFP® Batchelor’s degree in Finance from FSU in 1989.) The program is run by the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at FSU.
MFT continues to contribute to the advancement of the financial planning profession
Brad Brescia, CFP® is the 2026 President of the Central Florida chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and Tommy Lucas, CFP®, EA is the President-elect. In addition to the overall leadership of the chapter, both Brad and Tommy lead committees for the chapter.
Moisand honored as an industry leader
In November, Dan was named to InvestmentNews’ 2025 Hot List honoring “the top movers and shakers in wealth management.” for the third straight year. The winners were nominated in July by wealth management professionals across the country and narrowed down to the top 97 based on their contributions helping to shape the industry.
If you are a member of an organization in need of a personal finance speaker, we are happy to talk with your group’s organizers about helping out at no cost.
Tommy Lucas, CFP®, EA and Dan Moisand,CFP® provided financial tips for assisted CNBC reporters on the following topics. These are sometimes syndicated to MSN or other NBC affiliates:
ACA subsidy cliff may mean ‘astronomical tax bills’ for many, CFP says – CNBC The CFP® professional is Tommy Lucas. “I don’t know of anything else that’s as penalizing in the tax code by adding one extra dollar [of income]… You’ve got to be on your game starting now.”
Why the ACA subsidy cliff is a ‘phantom tax’ — and how to avoid it – CNBC
Investors cashing in on gold’s run face higher capital gains taxes: What to know – MSN
Dan Moisand,CFP® added some commentary to a slideshow article by Think Advisor, a publication for financial advisors on helping clients avoid a year-end rush. He pointed out that making the year-end Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) deadline “should never be a source of stress…We know the RMD amount for the year as soon as January arrives. Good financial planners can lay out a plan early in the year that covers the gamut of issues.”
Notable
Upcoming Important Dates
February 16 –
- Form W-4 filing deadline for taxpayers who claimed an exemption from income tax withholding for the prior year to continue their exemption in the current year
March 16 –
- Income tax return (Form 1120S) filing and payment deadline for calendar year S-corporations
- Income tax return (Form 1065 or 1065-B) filing and payment deadline for calendar year multi-member partnerships and multi-member LLCs (default)
- K-1 issuance deadline
- Request for automatic six-month extension (Form 7004) filing deadline to extend filing Form 1120S, 1065, and 1065-B
- S-corporation election (Form 2553) filing deadline to be treated as an S-corporation in the current year
March 31 –
End of Medicare General Enrollment Period
April 1 –
“Required Beginning Date” which is the deadline to complete the first Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from an IRA or retirement account for anyone who turned 73 in 2024. (2025 RMD due date is December 31, 2025)
April 15 –
- Income tax return (Form 1040) filing and payment deadline
- Gift tax return (Form 709) filing and payment deadline
- Request for an automatic six-month extension (Form 4868) filing deadline to extend filing Form 1040 and 709
- Q1 estimated tax payment deadline
- Deadline to contribute to an IRA or HSA for prior tax year
- Income tax return (Form 1040) filing and payment deadline for sole proprietorships and single-member LLCs
- Income tax return (Form 1120) filing and payment deadline for calendar year C-Corporations and multi-member LLCs that elect to be classified as a corporation
- Request for an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004) filing deadline to extend filing Form 1120
- Q1 estimated tax payment deadline for sole proprietorships, single-member LLCs, C-corporations, and multi-member LLCs that elect to be treated as a corporation
Please remember to call us: When anything significant happens in your life, including changes in your finances, family, or health that could affect your financial plan, please let us know so that we can adapt our planning and portfolio work for you accordingly.