As we head into the final month of the year, there’s a lot happening — from the Federal Reserve’s upcoming December meeting to continued questions about interest rate direction, year-end tax planning, and what all of this means for retirees and pre-retirees.

In this month’s Matt’s Minutes, Matt Curfman, CFP®, CEO & Co-Owner of Richmond Brothers — with a quick cameo from Oliver — offers timely reminders to help you feel confident and informed as we close out 2025.

🎥 Watch this month’s Matt’s Minutes video here

(Full transcript below)

⏱️ Video Highlights

00:39 — What to Expect From the Federal Reserve This Month
The Fed meets again in December. Analysts are split between expecting no rate change or predicting another modest step toward lower rates. Some of the uncertainty is due to delayed government data from the recent shutdown.

Matt’s view: The broader trend into late 2025 and 2026 still seems to be toward gradually falling interest rates.

What that means:
• Lower rates help borrowers
• Savers should expect money markets and CDs to drift downward

01:32 — Year-End Reminder for Non-Qualified Accounts
If you have a taxable, non-retirement account (individual, joint, trust), review your realized gains/losses before year-end. You’ll find this on page 2 or 3 of your Fidelity statement or by logging into your account online.

This does not apply to IRAs or Roth accounts.

Sharing these numbers with your tax preparer helps avoid surprises and may uncover final year-end planning opportunities.

02:40 — December Client Events & Holiday Connections
Matt shares details on our upcoming Holiday Open House and options for out-of-town clients to join in on the fun virtually.

📰 Key Takeaways

1. The Fed May Hold — or Continue Lowering Rates

Both outcomes are possible this month due to limited data. The longer-term trend appears to be a gradual rate decline into 2026.

2. Check Realized Gains/Losses Before December 31

For taxable accounts, review your Fidelity statement now so you and your CPA have the information you need for planning.

3. Money Market & CD Rates Will Likely Continue Falling

As the Fed eases policy, these expected declines are normal — but worth preparing for if you’re holding substantial cash.

4. We’re Here to Help

If you’re unsure where to find your tax documents or want to review your allocation before year-end, our team is ready.

💬 In Closing

As Matt shared:

“We’re grateful to serve you, and grateful to walk with you no matter what the world throws our way.”

Whether you’re retired or preparing for retirement, we’re here to help you make decisions wisely and confidently — not reactively.

If you have questions or want to schedule a conversation, reach out anytime:
📧 questions@richmondbrothers.com

Full Transcript

Hi everyone — Matt Curfman here from Richmond Brothers, with Oliver joining me for a moment. He just wanted to say that he enjoyed a few extra Thanksgiving treats and hopes you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday as well. And it is the early part of December and we are checking in for another edition of Matt’s Minutes. Oliver just wants to say that he had a lot of Thanksgiving treats and he hopes that you all had a really nice relaxing Thanksgiving holiday as well. We are grateful for having the opportunity to serve you. We’re grateful for having the opportunity to work with you and help guide you no matter what the world throws in our path from a financial perspective. Thanks for your help, Oliver.

So a couple of things coming up here in December. The Federal Reserve is set to meet again and there’s speculation on both sides whether the Fed just stays the course and does not change rates. Also speculation that the Fed does continue on a rate lowering path. The reason that there is speculation or thoughts that they might not do anything is there was delayed reports during the government shutdown. So not sure that all the data is available to make that decision. So, in general it feels to us like the trend, if you look into later this year and into 2026, is that the Fed will keep moving in a lowering rate stance, which is good for borrowers and bad for safers. You would expect to continue to see money market rates, CD rates, things of that continue to come down as that trickles through.

One other item for the end of the year. We’ve sent out a video or a letter on this already. But just remember if you have a non qualified account, what I mean by that is non IRA. So an individual, a joint, a trust account for example, that is the one type of account where if you have gains or losses or dividends that your account doesn’t protect you from those taxes. So, to the extent that you might have realized, which means there was a sale at some point in the year where it captured gain. Just make sure you’re checking out your December or your November statement, right on your Fidelity monthly statements and those are just getting published right now. On either page 2 or 3 of your non retirement account you’ll see a realized gain and loss section. Or you can just log into your Fidelity account online and see it as well. Only matters for your non qualified accounts and we just want to make sure you’re aware of where that stands if you have that type of account. And that way you can share it with your tax preparer. Just so if there’s any year-end tax planning that needs to be looked at, that can be taken care of. So those are the main things.

In December, we do have a local Richmond Brothers Holiday event coming up hosted at our office. And we’re actually going to do some virtual events for those of you out of town as well. And, if you have any questions, as always, we are here to help guide, and serve you, no matter what the world throws in our way. So thank you for tuning in and wishing you all a great start to the month of December.

The commentary in this video reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of Richmond Brothers employees, and should not be regarded as advisory services provided by Richmond Brothers, and are subject to change at any time without notice. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any indices referenced for comparison are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. As always please remember investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital; please seek advice from a licensed professional. Richmond Brothers, Inc. does not provide tax advice.