If you live in Georgia, there’s some genuinely good news coming out of the state capitol.

Governor Brian Kemp recently signed two new tax bills into law: House Bill 463, the Georgia Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2026, and Senate Bill 33, the Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act of 2026. Together, these laws represent meaningful tax relief for Georgia residents—and depending on your situation, they may have a real impact on what you owe at the state level.

At the signing, Governor Brian Kemp shared, “That approach has allowed us to return billions of dollars to taxpayers, and the legislation I signed today will keep that momentum going as we further lower our state income tax rate, deliver on meaningful property tax relief, and ensure job creators have the opportunity to grow and thrive in the Peach State.”

Let me break these bills down for you.


House Bill 463: Lower Income Taxes and Bigger Deductions

A lower state income tax rate starting now

Georgia’s flat income tax rate is dropping from 5.19% to 4.99%, effective January 1, 2026. And that may not be the final stop. The law allows for additional annual reductions of 0.125%, potentially bringing the rate as low as 3.99% over time, contingent on the state’s economic conditions.

For context: there had been speculation that Georgia might eliminate its state income tax altogether. That didn’t happen—but a rate heading toward 3.99% is still a meaningful shift.

Larger standard deductions

The standard deduction is also getting a bump:

If you typically take the standard deduction on your Georgia return, this change may reduce your taxable income right away.

Higher dependent deductions

The deduction per dependent rises from $4,000 to $5,000, with a path to eventually reach $6,000. For families with multiple dependents, that additional relief may add up.

Expanded retirement income exclusion for those 65 and older

Starting in tax year 2027, taxpayers aged 65 and older may be able to exclude up to $70,000 of retirement income from Georgia state taxes, up from the current $65,000. If retirement income planning is on your radar, this may be worth factoring into your projections.

A temporary break on overtime and tips

For tax years 2026 through 2028, Georgia is temporarily allowing an exemption of up to $1,750 of overtime pay and cash tips from state income tax. It’s a modest provision, but one worth knowing about if either applies to you.


Senate Bill 33: A New Path to Property Tax Relief

Georgia property taxes have been rising, and this bill is designed to address that.

SB 33 creates a new mechanism called the Local Homestead Option Sales Tax (LHOST). Beginning in 2028, counties and municipalities may place this measure on local ballots. If voters approve it, the resulting sales tax revenue can only be used to offset property taxes for qualifying homeowners — it can’t be redirected elsewhere.

The legislation also makes Georgia’s existing base-year homestead exemption mandatory statewide, which had previously been optional at the local level.

Whether LHOST ends up on your county’s ballot—and whether it passes—will depend on where you live and how local governments choose to act. But the framework is now in place.


What This May Mean for Georgia Taxpayers

Taken together, these two laws reflect a sustained commitment to reducing the tax burden in Georgia. If you’re a Georgia resident, you may see:

Of course, how any of these changes actually affect your tax situation depends on your specific circumstances including your income, filing status, age, and where in Georgia you live. A conversation with your financial advisor can help you understand what may apply to you. Reach out to talk to one of our Personal Wealth Advisors today if you have specific questions about your situation.


This post is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as tax or investment advice. Tax laws are complex and subject to change; individual situations vary. BIP Wealth, LLC  is a registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

BIP Wealth is proud to be recognized on USA Today’s Best Financial Advisory Firms 2026 list, a national ranking created in partnership with global market research firm Statista to help individuals and families identify trusted wealth management partners across the country. Now in its fourth year, the list highlights 1,000 of the most reputable and high-performing registered investment advisory (RIA) firms in the U.S.

What sets this recognition apart is the rigor behind it. The ranking wasn’t simply a measure of who manages the most money. Statista evaluated firms based on AUM growth, both short-term and long-term, alongside recommendations gathered from more than 30,000 clients, industry experts, and fellow financial advisors. That multi-dimensional approach ensures the list reflects firms that have earned trust across a broad range of voices, not just size.

“BIP Wealth is honored to once again be recognized by USA Today,” said Bill Harris, Co-Founder and CEO of BIP Wealth. “This recognition is a reflection of the relationships we’ve built with our clients and the hard work of our entire team. At BIP, we believe that great financial planning starts with truly understanding the people we serve. Being named to this list affirms that our commitment to putting clients first is making a real difference.”

BIP Wealth focuses on the science of investing paired with a deeply human approach, offering clients holistic wealth management, tax planning, estate planning, private investments, and more, each tailored to the individual. The firm’s inclusion on this list for multiple years reflects not only consistent growth but a sustained dedication to the clients and communities it serves.

To learn more about BIP Wealth’s approach to personal wealth management or to take the first step toward planning your financial future, contact us.


The ranking was developed by USA Today in partnership with Statista based on various methodologies, including size, growth, and recommendations received from clients and peers. For further details on the methodology behind the rankings, please visit Statista’s website. BIP Wealth did not pay a fee to participate in these rankings. Rankings are not indicative of future performance or client experience. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

Neither rankings nor recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, publications, media, or other organizations should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that the client will experience a certain level of results if BIP Wealth is engaged to provide investment advisory services. No ranking or recognition should be construed as an endorsement by any past or current client.

If you filed your Georgia taxes before Governor Kemp signed HB 1199 into law, you may need to file an amended return. Here’s what happened and what to do next.


Earlier this week, Governor Kemp signed the Georgia Conformity Bill (HB 1199) into law—and if you’re a Georgia taxpayer, it’s worth a few minutes of your time to understand what it means.

This legislation updates Georgia tax law to align with the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) in most areas. But here’s the important part: Georgia chose not to conform on a couple of key provisions, and those differences could affect your state tax return.

Where Georgia Broke From Federal Law

The SALT Deduction Cap

At the federal level, the OB3 raised the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap to $40,000. Georgia, however, voted not to follow suit. The state’s SALT limitation will remain at $10,000.

What does that mean in practice? If you itemized your deductions and included more than $10,000 in state and local taxes—think income tax withholding, property taxes, and ad valorem taxes paid to Georgia or other states—you may need to amend your Georgia return to reduce those itemized deductions back to the $10,000 state maximum.

No Tax on Tips and No Tax on Overtime

The federal OB3 introduced provisions eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. Georgia also chose not to adopt these. State lawmakers indicated that these policies would require separate legislation, given the significant fiscal implications involved.

So, if you took either of those deductions on your federal return, you may need to file an amended Georgia return adding that income back for state purposes.

What You Should Do Now

The good news? Most self-preparation tax software platforms are already aware of these changes. Some platforms, such as TurboTax have begun notifying affected users directly, and in many cases, amending a return through these platforms can take less than 15 minutes.

If you work with a CPA, I’d encourage you to reach out to your preparer to ask whether your return may need to be amended in light of HB 1199.

The Deadline Still Matters

The Georgia Department of Revenue has made its position clear: returns filed incorrectly will be expected to be amended. While no formal penalty or interest relief has been announced, a waiver can always be requested. That said, returns amended prior to the April 15th deadline—with any additional tax paid—would generally not be subject to additional penalties or interest.

The bottom line: if this applies to you, it’s worth acting sooner rather than later.

We’re Here to Help

If you have questions about how the Georgia Conformity Bill may affect your specific situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. At BIP Wealth, we work closely with our clients and their tax professionals to stay ahead of changes like these so you can focus on what matters most.


This content is general in nature and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as tax advice and should not be relied upon as such. Individual circumstances vary, and taxpayers should consult with their own tax professional before taking action. BIP Wealth, LLC is a registered investment adviser (RIA). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

BIP Wealth, a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) headquartered in Atlanta with over $5.5B in assets under management has partnered with Constellation Wealth Capital (CWC) to receive a strategic investment to support BIP’s continued growth. Recently named to Financial-Planning.com’s 2025 Top 150 RIA Fee-only Firms List, as well as the top 3 on the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2025 Best Places to Work List for medium-sized companies, BIP Wealth focuses on holistic wealth management and sophisticated planning solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families, institutional clients, and corporate retirement plans. CWC is a partner to growing wealth management firms and known for its flexible, long-term, minority investments. CWC’s deep advisory focus supports the partner firm’s management team scale effectively, while preserving independence.

CWC’s investment builds upon BIP Wealth’s foundational excellence in client service and advisor support. BIP gained $725M in new organic assets under management in 2025 and expects to exceed that benchmark in 2026, in part supported by CWC’s strategic advisory efforts. Additionally, CWC’s investment will provide BIP with capital to further partner with successful wealth management firms and broaden BIP’s impact in the Southeast and beyond.

“We want to offer our client-first, servant leadership model to other firms looking for a solution. Whether a founder is looking for help with their succession plan or wanting to fuel their next stage of growth, we want to partner with like-minded people,” shared Bill Harris, CFP®, Co-Founder & CEO of BIP Wealth. “This partnership with CWC will open new doors of growth in our business that will benefit our clients and our entire team. We have a lot to offer with our deep expertise in private investments and advanced planning capabilities with Estate Planning and Tax Professionals on our team. I’m excited about the future of where BIP Wealth is headed as we continue to grow.”

Announced in 2024, BIP’s acquisition strategy complements its strong organic growth by partnering with culturally-aligned, service-first firms and founders. With more than $1.2B of assets under management added via two new partnerships—The Money Advisor Group in 2024 and Prehmus Financial in 2025—BIP expects CWC’s investment will accelerate its inorganic growth pipeline. Chase Corporate Advisory’s Jeff Singh represented BIP Wealth throughout the process to determine the best capital partner on a go-forward basis and made the initial introduction between BIP and CWC.

“At the end of the day, we want to partner with people who value what we do. We’re looking for people who are fiduciaries first and respect our values,” reiterated Bill Harris. “Our unique investment platform empowers advisors who want flexibility in the portfolio management and planning process. I want to extend our value proposition to advisors not just in the Southeast, but to select other centers of innovation around the country.”

One thing that’s clear is that BIP will continue to be highly selective, yet competitive, as they pursue firms to partner with who share a similar cultural alignment. BIP wants to be the partner of choice for RIAs looking to accelerate growth and expand solutions for clients, while being part of a collaborative culture.

“When we look for qualities in a firm to partner with, the BIP Wealth team checked all the boxes,” expressed Karl Heckenberg, President & Managing Partner of Constellation Wealth Capital. “It’s important to us to partner with people who value partnership and client service. Seeing their impressive organic growth and dedication to clients, we knew we wanted to link arms and help support the growth of the BIP Wealth platform in the future.”

BIP Wealth maintains 5 offices: Atlanta, Alpharetta, Columbus, and Peachtree Corners, GA, and Nashville, TN, while serving clients across the country.

Check out our official Press Release on PR Newswire here.

Private Credit is a large and growing category in the private market investing landscape. With exits harder to come by lately, more companies are adding debt to their capital structure (for several reasons that include avoiding direct dilution of equity). The dramatic increase in importance of private credit to the funding of companies has also led to a proliferation of funding vehicles that investors might participate in. New managers are popping up almost daily, and new vehicle types are emerging too. Co-investments, drawdown funds, public BDCs, private BDCs, and now Interval Funds are all seeing growth. These vehicles are making it easier for retail investors to include private credit in their portfolios.

In the broader credit markets, several trends are unfolding that could have a negative impact on some parts of Private Credit. 

First, base rates are falling. The Fed has now lowered the overnight rate, as it should, to remove us from a restrictive stance. Many private credit strategies use floating rate loans, so falling rates will naturally lower yields. Investors should keep in mind that their return is a combination of the yield and the always changing price. Minor fluctuations in price are normal, and investors can expect yields to be lower in 2026 than they were in 2025. The long end of the yield curve is falling too, as the Fed ends quantitative tightening (no longer dumping bonds on the market to decrease its balance sheet, which was draining liquidity out of the system). We are also near a multi-year low point for credit spreads, reflecting that investors are getting paid less to take credit risk.

The combination of new money coming into Private Credit, along with a changing rate structure and price for credit risk, will certainly influence Private Credit in the larger sense. But the devil is in the details, and broad pronouncements that read something like private credit is in trouble” are not accurate, not helpful, and outright confusing to our clients. 

At BIP, we believed this would eventually happen, and we welcome the market pressure. It’s our chance to prove we know what we’re doing. This is the perfect time to show how real knowledge is so much more valuable than just knowing the headlines. Our clients are counting on us at BIP Wealth to get this right. And we have already done our homework to make sure we have a variety of evergreen strategies that we expect to do well in a variety of economic conditions.  

Here are several important ideas you should know:

1. Recent headlines about private credit BDCs getting into trouble are referring to publicly traded BDCs and not the privately traded BDCs that BIP Wealth presents to our clients

Business Development Companies are entities that meet certain regulatory requirements created in 1980 and are close-end funds that distribute 90% of income. We track about 3 dozen publicly traded BDCs, and 2025 returns through 12/31/25 range from +16.75% to -27.38%, with more in negative territory than positive. This is markedly different from the returns we are seeing in the vehicles we’re using, and you may notice that few survived the pullback in credit markets during 2022 unscathed.

Table showing 2022–2025 annual returns for publicly traded BDCs, highlighting negative performance in 2025
Original data from Morningstar as of 12/31/2025

2. These publicly traded BDCs that we don’t own often trade in BSLs (Broadly Syndicated Loans), which BIP’s strategies almost completely avoid.

BSLs tend to be of lower quality and lack the covenants and remedies that are the hallmark of our strategies. BSLs are originated by banks, securitized, and then traded daily. Some might equate this to juggling chainsaws when credit markets turn sour—you want to drop them as quickly as you can to avoid getting your hand cut off.

3. The privately traded BDCs that BIP uses have several commonalities:

4. We also invest in individual deals, or “co-investments.” 

These are, by nature, not diversified. But here again, the details are important. Many are convertible notes, which in reality are equity deals that pay a yield to the investor and sit above other equity investments in terms of their priority. We have a long history of enjoying some of our best equity returns from these investments.

5. By offering several carefully selected managers that are working at what we believe is the safer end of the private credit markets, we are in the enviable position of being able to stand back and watch what happens to the rest of the market if things turn sour.

We expect to be able to prove to our clients that your trust in us is warranted. But this comes with the obligation to explain our prudent process in a world of scary headlines. If the risky end of the private credit market does start to experience significant stress, some of our clients may become concerned.

If you would like to learn more about our Private Credit strategies and if they might be a fit for you, the BIP Wealth team is here to help. Contact us today to be connected with a trusted advisor.



This post is provided for informational purposes only. Specific investments may not be suitable for all investors and no offer or recommendation of any investment or investing strategy is intended or implied by your choosing to read this post. Privately traded offerings may only be available to investors who meet certain qualification statuses.

This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice regarding a particular investment or the markets in general, nor is it intended to predict or depict the performance of any investment. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.  All investments involve risks including loss of principal.

Prehmus Financial Partners, a wealth management firm specializing in investment management and financial planning, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Atlanta-based RIA BIP Wealth through a blended cash and equity deal. Through this strategic acquisition, Prehmus Financial clients and future investors will gain expanded access to BIP’s wealth management platform, advanced planning capabilities, and client technology suite. The acquisition increases BIP Wealth’s assets under management to more than $5 billion.

Recently named among SmartAsset.com’s Top 10 RIA Firms in Atlanta and ranked in the Top 3 on the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2025 Best Places to Work list for medium-sized companies, BIP Wealth provides investment management and sophisticated planning solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families, institutional clients, and corporate retirement plans.

Prehmus Financial was founded in 1995 by Warren Prehmus with a mission to give clients financial peace of mind by protecting and growing their wealth and organizing their financial lives. The partnership between Prehmus Financial and BIP Wealth strategically unites two firms that share a people-first approach and a deep commitment to client service and community involvement.

“From the first conversation with BIP, our focus has been on how this new partnership will benefit our clients and team members,” said Warren Prehmus. “BIP’s client-first approach aligns perfectly with our values and priorities while expanding our operational capacity.”

“Our clients have been, and always will be, our top priority. The responsibility they entrust to us is critical, and we take that very seriously. This integration with the BIP Wealth team has tremendous potential to add value. While we are in the early stages of determining how to maximize the integration, it’s been very exciting to discuss the future together,” commented Prehmus Financial’s Chief Investment Officer, Chad Edwards. “That being said, BIP Wealth has empowered us to continue to prioritize thoughtfulness and care for our clients over speed during this transition and we are grateful for that. It is an exciting time to be at both BIP Wealth and Prehmus Financial.”

The partnership between Prehmus Financial and BIP Wealth represents a unique opportunity for team members on both sides to build on their pre-existing capabilities. Prehmus Financial team members will gain access to additional planning capabilities and resources, along with a client acquisition and service model that has produced significant client growth and retention. For BIP Wealth, the acquisition continues a growth strategy centered on building value by partnering with well established and highly respected firms.

“The partnership with Prehmus Financial accelerates BIP’s strategic expansion and extends our value proposition as we partner with great people who share our values,” said Bill Harris, CEO of BIP Wealth. “The Prehmus Financial team brings a shared commitment to excellence and lifetime service to their clients. We are excited to welcome them to the BIP family.”

The acquisition of Prehmus Financial, which closed on September 30, 2025, increases BIP’s assets under management (AUM) to more than $5 billion. The entire Prehmus Financial team will join BIP Wealth through the transition. For other advisors or RIAs interested in partnering with BIP Wealth, please reach out to BIP at bipwealth.com/partner-with-us/.

BIP Wealth maintains offices in Atlanta, Alpharetta, Columbus, and now Peachtree Corners, Georgia, as well as Nashville, Tennessee, and serves clients across the country.




About BIP Wealth

BIP Wealth is a leading registered investment advisory (RIA) firm with more than $5B in investment assets under management for its clients, which include high-net-worth individuals and families. BIP Wealth combines precise financial science and industry expertise, offering tailored advisory services and ongoing communication. BIP Wealth gives accredited investors curated direct access to private equity, venture capital, and private credit. There is a focus on technology innovation, as well as a deep commitment to openness and transparency. Founded in 2007, BIP Wealth operates in Atlanta, Alpharetta, Columbus, and now Peachtree Corners, Georgia; and Nashville, Tennessee. Find more information about BIP Wealth at bipwealth.com/.


About Prehmus Financial

Prehmus Financial is a wealth management firm with more than $900M in assets under management (AUM) which specializes in investment management and financial planning. Established in 1995 by Warren Prehmus, the firm added Partners Chad Edwards, Scott Levy, and Drew Prehmus over a decade ago. They will continue to serve families and small businesses across the country. Find more information about Prehmus Financial at bipwealth.com/prehmus.

BIP Wealth, recently named in the top 3 on Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 2025 Best Places to Work List for medium-sized companies, is proud to welcome the addition of former Georgia Tech Baseball Coach Danny Hall as Vice President of Strategic Growth. Hall joins other Georgia Tech Alums at the firm, including BIP Co-Founders, Bill Harris and Mark Buffington.

Hall has long been connected to BIP Wealth, first through Randy Carroll, BIP’s Chairman, and has coached a total of 5 current BIP team members over the years who played baseball at Georgia Tech (Michael Sorrow, Kyle Schmidt, Chase Murray, Drew Byers, and John Giesler). Hall and his family have been clients of BIP’s Baseball Division since 2007 and had the privilege of having Jim Poole as their Personal Wealth Advisor before he succumbed to ALS in 2023.

“There was not a better human being on the face of the earth than Jim Poole,” said Hall.  “He managed my family’s money and we never had to worry about a thing. We always knew we were getting the utmost care from Jim and the entire team at BIP Wealth and that has seamlessly continued on since Jim’s passing.”

During his career, Hall racked up 1,452 wins across 38 seasons as a head coach of which 32 seasons were spent at Georgia Tech. He ranked 10th in NCAA Division I history in career wins before deciding to step away from coaching after the 2025 season. While at Georgia Tech, Hall guided the team to 7 ACC regular-season championships, 5 ACC Tournament titles, 24 NCAA Tournament berths and 3 College World Series. Across 32 seasons, Hall saw 146 players selected in the Major League Draft, with 41 going on to play in the major leagues.

“Once I decided to retire, I wanted to pursue something that would keep me around the sports world and allow me to continue helping people like I did as a coach,” said Hall. “Joining the team at BIP Wealth was a natural transition and next step for me. I feel like a rookie all over again learning all about the possibilities BIP can create to help take care of our clients.”

Hall will be working alongside not only BIP’s Baseball Division, but all the other Advisors at the firm to help grow new business.

“As an Alumni of Georgia Tech Baseball myself, having Coach Hall join the team at BIP Wealth is an honor,” shared Co-Founder and CEO, Bill Harris, CFP®. “Watching the care and guidance that Danny has given to his players over the years, I have no doubt he will do the same for new clients at BIP in his new role. As BIP continues to grow our presence across the Southeast, I’m excited to have Danny representing the BIP brand everywhere he goes.”

Hall lives in Alpharetta with his wife of 32 years, Kara. They have two sons, Colin and Carter. Carter interned at BIP Wealth in the Baseball Division while he attended Georgia Tech. Both sons played baseball at Georgia Tech and still live in the Atlanta area.


Current BIP team members who played for Coach Danny Hall at Georgia Tech over the years…

Michael Sorrow | Shortstop (1992 – 1996)

Michael Sorrow
Michael Sorrow

Kyle Schmidt | Pitcher (2001 – 2003)

Kyle Schmidt
Kyle Schmidt

Chase Murray | Outfielder (2016 – 2019)

Chase Murray
Chase Murray

Drew Byers | Pitcher (2022 – 2024)

Drew Byers
Drew Byers

John Giesler | Infielder (2019 – 2025)

John Giesler
John Giesler

Check out our official Press Release on PR Newswire here.

If you have been consuming financial news this week, you will know the stock market has taken a bit of a plunge due to the tariffs announced on Wednesday afternoon. This comes on the heels of a volatile stock market in the first quarter. We wanted to give you BIP Wealth’s perspective on these recent events, although we are not ready to predict the final outcome.

What’s Driving Market Volatility Right Now?

We think the best way to understand what’s happening is to consider the actions of the four forces at play:

Force #1) Tariff Policy. 

The current administration is using tariffs to re-write the economic relationship between the United States and other economies. For many years, other countries have imposed tariffs on U.S. goods and services that have been a bit lopsided against us. The U.S. has imposed its own tariffs on some imported goods in an effort to protect workers, while at the same time there have been numerous “free trade” agreements with favored nations. The history of tariffs goes back hundreds of years, but in more recent times the U.S. has emerged through it all as the world’s leading consumer economy of imported goods, while oftentimes struggling to export its own products while struggling with downward wage pressure at home. These newly announced tariffs are a powerful negotiating tool designed to leverage our consumer appetite and economic strength, but it is impossible to know where this will all settle out and when.

Force #2) Retaliation by other economies. 

China has already announced retaliatory tariffs, although one could argue that the new U.S. tariffs were in retaliation for a massive trade imbalance that China protected. Over the next week we can expect to hear similar announcements from dozens of countries. This progression into a “trade war” could have a significant negative impact on the global economy, however many countries are expected to reach out to the Trump administration to negotiate. Some of these responses will likely be an effort to make the kind of “phenomenal offer” that President Trump has hinted he would be looking for. It is impossible to predict how this will end, but we will be watching to see the terms of the first few deals to see what it takes to settle these issues.

Force #3) The Federal Reserve. 

For the past year, the Fed has enjoyed owning what is often called the “Fed Put.” This is borrowing terminology from the options markets, and refers to the idea that if the economy gets in trouble then the Fed can respond by lowering interest rates to prevent a recession. However, this only works when inflation is contained. Generally speaking, when interest rates are lowered it can cause inflation to rise; and with the Fed having bungled this quite a bit in the post-pandemic era they will likely be slow to move. Today President Donald Trump called on the Fed to lower overnight rates immediately. But tariffs on imported goods are expected to double the rate of inflation in 2025 to perhaps a rate of 5%, so any move by the Fed that could make that worse is quite the gamble. The Fed has a mandate to foster full employment, stable long term interest rates, and low inflation; but it does not have a mandate to do exactly what is being asked of it now. It is impossible to know how the Fed will respond at this point, although we will be listening intently to find out.

Force #4) The American electorate. 

For the moment, the idea of tariffs seems to enjoy broad support among working Americans. Many families have watched in frustration for decades as furniture, textile, and manufacturing jobs have been offshored. Real wage growth in non-technical jobs has been slow, and it is correct to think that globalization has worsened the economic fortunes for many Americans. At the same time, we have enjoyed the benefits of lower prices on goods manufactured in low labor cost countries in Asia and elsewhere. Wall Street voices have been highly critical of the scope and pace of the new tariff policies this week, but that group is simply not the President’s constituency. If we fall into a recession, and American unemployment spikes, it will likely be happening around the globe even worse. 

Understanding the situation through these four forces may not give you any comfort right now. But this is how we see it, and we’re watching events unfold just like you. Let’s keep in mind that a relief rally could be upon us at any time, and it could be a big mistake to assume that the pace of the sell-off will simply continue. 

In our Annual Market Report earlier this year we suggested some steps you could take to prepare for this kind of uncertainty. Click the link below to check out Eric Cramer’s Webinar from Q1…

Our 4 Key Investment Themes for 2025


As a reminder, here are our 4 Key Themes for 2025 and what we’ve seen so far:

4 key financial themes for 2025

Brace for a Tech/Crypto Crash (Leverage has Created Systematic Risk for Most Assets)

Well, tech stocks did crash. We have strategies in place to help clients with large concentrations to mitigate risk.

It’s Time to Diversify (The Public Stock Market is Over-Concentrated)

We suggested that indexing would not be sufficient due to the concentration in public equities, and that using private credit in particular could be an effective way for many clients to possibly increase their expected return while lowering their expected risk.

Financial Planning is Critical (Look for Hidden and Unnecessary Risk)

We did our best to suggest that some clients may have more exposure to public equities than they “needed” to have.  This was in addition to the other benefits of financial planning, such as risk mitigation through an insurance review.

Safer Assets Can be Productive (Treasurys Still Offer Inflation-Beating Yields)

We offer clients BIP Short-Term Tactical, which is our proprietary trading strategy providing an alternative to holding cash in banks. The primary goals of the strategy include achieving a rate of return higher than banks commonly offer, capital preservation, and liquidity, while mitigating risk.


While we can’t  predict the future, we strongly suggest having a well-rounded financial plan. This is a great time to take a look at your particular situation and work with a BIP Personal Wealth Advisor so you can take advantage of all the tools we have at our disposal.

Thanks for reading, and please know that we will continue to update you as events unfold.


This post is provided for informational purposes only. Specific investments may not be suitable for all investors and no offer or recommendation of any investment or investing strategy is intended. The opinions in this commentary are as of the posting date and are subject to change. Information has been obtained from third-party sources we consider reliable, but we do not guarantee the facts cited are accurate or complete. This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice regarding a particular investment or the markets in general, nor is it intended to predict or depict the performance of any investment. We may execute transactions in securities that may not be consistent with what is mentioned here. Investors should consult their financial advisor on the strategy best for them. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investments involve risks including loss of principal.

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