Newsletter

We spent the weekend processing the news of the large-scale military intervention in Iran, and we imagine many of you did as well. We want to share what we are watching and, more importantly, offer some perspective on what it means for your financial plan.

We don't think you need us to pretend to be calm right now. We think you need us to be honest.

This did not come out of nowhere

This is not a complete surprise. We have been anticipating that this administration would make destabilizing moves, and we have been positioning accordingly. In 2024 and 2025, we proactively recommended defensive positioning for clients in the distribution phase and those with more conservative risk profiles. Most of you acted on those recommendations. That work matters right now.

What we are watching, and what it means for your life

Gas prices will likely go up. That is the most immediate and concrete impact most of us will feel. Iran is moving to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and energy markets are reacting. For clients who are already stretching a budget, or drawing down a portfolio in retirement, we want to acknowledge that this is real and we are paying attention to it. If you are worried about near-term cash flow, please reach out. That is exactly what we are here for.

Markets have been oddly calm, which honestly gives us pause. Stability in the face of genuine instability is sometimes wisdom, and sometimes denial. We are watching carefully and not celebrating the lack of panic as though it means everything is fine.

The bond market, which is usually the most sober voice in the room, is telling us something important: it is not running toward US Treasuries the way it historically would in a moment like this. This suggests that some of the foundational assumptions about US economic stability and institutional reliability are being genuinely questioned by global investors. We have been watching this pattern develop for some time. It does not require an immediate change to your portfolio, but it is part of why we build the way we build: diversified, global, not over-reliant on any single country's continued dominance.

Cutting through the Noise

You’ve been responsible. You’ve saved, you’ve invested, and you’ve created a financial plan. Chances are that you didn’t do all that work to spend weekends anxious about geopolitics. And yet here we all are, because money and the world are not separable. What we believe, and what the evidence supports, is that your plan was built for exactly this kind of world. Not a hypothetically stable world. This one. With its chaos and its grief and its uncertainty. Reactive decisions made in moments of fear are almost always the most expensive ones, financially and otherwise.

The bottom line

Please take a breath. Focus your energy on the things you can genuinely influence, in your own life, your community, and the world around you. The financial piece is our job, and we have your backs.

If you want to talk, we want to hear from you. Not just about your portfolio, but about how you are doing.

If any of this is bringing up bigger questions for you, about your values, your priorities, what you are building toward and why, those are exactly the conversations we want to have. That is the work. Reach out anytime.

Sincerely,

Nancy and your Team at Navigate