As we move into fall, there’s plenty happening in the financial world — from the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate cut in quite some time to ongoing economic debates and new advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).

In this month’s Matt’s Minutes, Matt Curfman, CFP®, CEO & Co-Owner of Richmond Brothers, shares quick insights to help retirees and pre-retirees stay informed, confident, and proactive as we head toward year-end.

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

(Full transcript below)

⏱️ Video Highlights

00:38 — Interest rates are falling again
Matt explains what the Fed’s rate cut means for both borrowers and savers — and why it may not be all good news if you’re depending on interest income.

01:49 — AI and market leadership
Technology continues to drive market growth, with AI fueling productivity and innovation. Matt shares why thoughtful tech exposure can play an important role in long-term diversification.

02:28 — The “Tale of Three Markets” concept
Matt revisits how rising, falling, and V-shaped markets behave — and why anyone preparing for or living in retirement should have strategies that provide stability across all three.

03:09 — Why balance matters more than ever
Between inflation, tariffs, and global uncertainty, Matt discusses how coordination among income, investment, and tax planning helps calm emotions and support confident decisions.

04:18 — Looking ahead to tax changes
He highlights new details from recent legislation (nicknamed the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) and what both retirees and those nearing retirement should know about 2025–2028 tax brackets.

📰 Key Takeaways

1. Falling Rates Bring Both Opportunities and Challenges

The Fed’s decision to reduce rates can stimulate growth by making borrowing cheaper — but it may also lower yields on CDs, money markets, and Treasuries.

💡 If you rely on fixed-income assets or plan to soon, review how lower rates could affect your income and spending plan.

2. AI Is Reshaping Markets and Mindsets

Artificial intelligence isn’t replacing people — it’s enhancing what they can do. Many companies use AI to boost efficiency, which continues to make technology one of the strongest market sectors. Staying diversified helps capture innovation while keeping risk in check.

3. Every Market Cycle Tells a Story

Rising, falling, and recovering markets each demand a different approach. Whether you’re building your retirement plan or drawing income from it, strategies that emphasize structure, balance, and risk control can provide greater peace of mind when volatility hits.

4. Stay Grounded Amid the Noise

With daily headlines about politics, inflation, and global tension, it’s easy to lose focus. Matt reminds us that clarity comes from coordination — when your income, investments, taxes, healthcare, and legacy all work together.

5. Tax Updates May Create Planning Windows

The recent “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBBA) clarified federal income-tax brackets through 2028, giving retirees and pre-retirees a window to evaluate Roth conversions or other tax-diversification moves while current rates remain favorable.

💬 In Closing

As Matt shared, “We’re here to educate, inform, and guide you — so you can feel confident, no matter what the markets or headlines are doing.”

Whether you’re already retired or preparing to take that step soon, we’re here to help you bring all the pieces of your plan together.

📧 Email: questions@richmondbrothers.com

Full Transcript of Video

Prefer to read instead of watch? Here’s the full transcript from Matt’s Minutes.

Hi, everyone. It’s Matt Curfman and Oliver here to say hi for a update of Matt’s Minutes as we head into the month of October.

Oliver had a lot of important things to say, so he wanted to jump on camera and say hi to you all. One, we hosted a really fun and interesting and creative AI and Apple Pie event.

Locally, that went really well. We’re going to have a Talk About Medicare event coming up also in October, which is going to be sent out virtually live recorded as well.

So make sure and check that out. And then what’s really happened and what’s going on in the world right now is if you look in the last couple of weeks, one, the Federal Reserve has lowered rates for the first time in quite a while.

And so from a market and technology standpoint, an investment standpoint, typically lower rates sometimes get better outcomes in the market because the cost of capital is cheaper.

When I say cost of capital, that means to borrow or lever. Think about mortgage rates eventually coming down, car loan rates coming down, things like that nature.

So with that in mind, I just want you to be aware that lower rates can be a good thing, can be a bad thing, but the lowering rates for investors is not typically a good thing as far as cash and safe investments.

Usually safe investments end up with lower yields. So that’s something to be aware of. We are currently, while I’m recording this, in the middle of yet another government shutdown with debates.

I don’t know if I can call them negotiations back and forth. If that were to extend for a significant period of time, we do think that can pose a risk to the markets and the economy.

The other thing we’re still seeing on headlines is AI, artificial intelligence, and how much of an impact it’s having for organizations who are embracing it not to take over their workforce, but to basically use human capabilities and use AI as kind of a thought partner and kind of mold the two together to gain efficiencies on some of the things that we already do operationally.

And so that is something we are still seeing out there, continue to drive the markets. If you’re to look at all 11 sectors of the market, technology is one of those.

And we think it’s important that we have some exposure there within the market side of your portfolios.

So I think the bigger question overall, and we’ll refer to this because I’ve used it all fall, but my short video I created on the tale of three markets, and I talked about a rising market, a falling market, and then a V-shaped market.

And then what happens in each of those when you’re in a buy and hold strategy versus a safety net strategy?

And so the answer is going to just come down to what is the right fit for you? Buy and hold can do well, but it also can be much more volatile. And so you’re certainly welcome to take more risk in a buy and hold if you’re retired and you’re not adding to your pot anymore.

There’s been a lot of concern this year about what happens next with tariffs, with trade war, with inflation, with the Fed, with, you know, over the summer there was headlines of nuclear war considerations or thoughts, even that it made a headline is a little scary and nerve wracking. So we just want to let you know there is choice, there are options as far as your investment portfolio through Fidelity.

If you are in some other safer assets, whether it’s a money market, a CD, maybe some corporate or treasury bonds, and then also like a fixed indexed annuity that has some safety nets on that, those are going to be on the lower threshold and we feel real comfortable with those as part of an overall portfolio matrix.

So we’re still keeping an eye on everything. We are here to educate, inform, and guide you no matter what the world throws in our path.

I thank you for being part of Richmond Brothers and part of our lives. We’re honored to have the opportunity to serve you. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to questions at richmondbrothers.com and we will kind of keep you apprised as we head into the end of the year.

Oh, one last thought. Just kind of be mindful of the updates for the big, beautiful bill that passed as far as taxes.

So we now know where rates are going to be in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028. And there are some income thresholds for married filing, joint, or single.

If you’re over 65, you know, you want to kind of be cognizant of relative to that. So again, let us know if you have questions and thanks for tuning in.

Sources:

Research Reports

Please note: Any market index referenced is unmanaged, does not reflect the impact of fees and other expenses and is unable to be invested in.