The Legacy Perspective - October 2025

By Steve Wachs, CFP®

Living With Intention in an Uncertain World

As we wrapped up the third quarter of 2025, we continue to see a world in transition. The economy is still growing, but more slowly. Inflation is cooling, but not quite back to “normal.” Markets are moving forward, but not without hesitation. In short: uncertainty is still with us. But as Financial Life Planners, we look at more than markets and numbers. We focus on how your money supports your life’s bigger picture - your goals, your purpose, your peace of mind.

The Markets in Context

What Happened This Quarter?

• The stock market saw modest gains, mostly from large tech and healthcare companies.

• Bond yields are higher, which helps with income generation for more conservative portfolios.

• Inflation is still present but slowing, and interest rates remain high—for now.

There’s a lot of speculation about whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates in 2026. But rather than trying to guess short-term market moves, we focus on what we can control: your plan, your values, and your choices.

Revisiting What Matters Most

Market updates are important, but they’re not the whole story. As your financial life planners, we want to ask:

• Are you living the life you envisioned?

• Has anything changed in your health, relationships, career, or passions that could impact your plan?

• Are you feeling secure—not just financially, but emotionally—in your current lifestyle?

If the answer to any of these questions is “I’m not sure,” that’s exactly the kind of conversation we’re here to have.

Financial Planning Isn’t Just About Growth

In times like these, many people wonder: “Should I be doing more with my money right now?” Our answer: Only if “more” aligns with your why.

Growth is important, but it’s not the only goal. Your financial life plan is designed to:

• Give you freedom to make choices that reflect your values

• Offer resilience in uncertain times

• Support transitions — whether that’s retirement, caregiving, a career change, or simply slowing down

Looking Ahead: What We’re Watching

As always, we’re monitoring:

• Interest rates and inflation trends

• Market volatility and investment opportunities

• Tax law changes and retirement planning strategies

• Any shifts in your life that might affect your goals

But more importantly, we’re staying focused on what truly matters: helping you live a meaningful life — now and in the future.

Let’s Stay Connected

If you’ve had a change in your life, or if you’ve been thinking more deeply about your goals, let’s talk. Whether it’s a check-in, a planning session, or just a conversation about “what’s next,” we’re here for you.

Thank you for allowing us to walk alongside you in your financial life journey.

I have written The Legacy Perspective (originally called Steve’s Perspective) on a quarterly basis since June 2000. We have tried to be creative and informative on issues related to the investment markets and financial planning. It takes time to create and edit to arrive at what you ultimately see. What you just read, “Living with Intention in an Uncertain World” was generated in less than 15 seconds by a prompt I provided to ChatGPT. It is pretty good and is close to something I could have written. Maybe it is time for me to “retire” my writing skills and spend my time elsewhere – or maybe not.

The use of AI tools like ChatGPT is dramatically impacting many industries including financial and investment planning. Let’s look at how we have begun to use AI, the value it has provided and the challenges we have seen. Jump AI is a software program that is a virtual notetaker that provides summaries of our meetings. Having been around when the fax machine was introduced, Roger and I can be skeptical of new technologies. Although we review and edit the summaries, the capturing of key points and actionable items for follow up is truly better than if done by a human. As a side note, all this information is contained in an internal closed system so both privacy and confidentiality are maintained. We have been evaluating different financial planning software solutions that have begun incorporating some AI output. Using it for research on various financial planning and investment topics has been useful. The challenges we have seen fall into two categories, accuracy and cybersecurity. ChatGPT can provide wonderfully composed information that appears believable but, in many cases, have errors. Even in the “Living with Intention” article, the statement that “bond yields are higher” is technically not true as yields have fallen this quarter. These kinds of errors are especially problematic when we need the right answers to tax or estate related questions. AI tools have been embraced by cybercriminals in numerous types of sophisticated schemes. From links in documents that appear to be real to phone calls that seem to be from legitimate businesses, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate what is real from what is fake. Even faces and voices are being replicated in elaborate scams.

AI will continue to move forward with changes we could only imagine a few years ago. The one thing that will not change is the human interaction necessary for a couple to create a shared vision of their dreams of what a meaningful life would look like and then have a thinking partner to help make those dreams a reality. That is what we have done and will continue to do. As ChatGPT said above, “Thank you for allowing us to walk alongside you in your financial life journey.”

Disclosures

• Legacy Consulting Group is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC and only conducts business in states where it is properly registered or is excluded from registration requirements. Registration is not an endorsement of the firm by securities regulators and does not mean the adviser has achieved a specific level of skill or ability.

• Information presented is believed to be current. It should not be viewed as personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors on the date of publication and may change in response to market conditions. You should consult with a professional advisor before implementing any strategies discussed.

• All investments and strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Different types of investments involve higher and lower levels of risk. There is no guarantee that a specific investment or strategy will be suitable or profitable for an investor’s portfolio. There are no assurances that an investor’s portfolio will match or exceed any particular benchmark.