Long Story Short

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates in September for the first time since 2023, and the 10-year Treasury yield has since climbed to its highest level since 2002. Andy Pratt sits down with Alex Shen, Burney's Director of Research, to make sense of it. Alex explains why the short-term rates the Fed sets and the long-term rates the market sets can move so differently, and Andy covers why bonds lose value when rates rise and how those lower prices create higher yields for new buyers.Alex, a quant by training, also explains why growth stocks in areas like AI and biotech tend to feel rising rates more than mature companies like Coca-Cola and Costco. She uses parenting to describe how the Fed looks for a balance between too loose and too strict, and why a higher rate isn't automatically bad for the economy. For investors worried about where rates go next, Alex suggests putting that energy into a plan that holds up across different scenarios.⏱️ Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Episode 66 with Alex Shen, Burney's Director of Research(02:30) What an interest rate is(03:30) Short-term rates versus long-term rates(06:00) What drives long-term rates(10:30) How higher rates show up in everyday life(13:00) Why bond prices fall when rates rise(14:45) The 100-year bond story(17:00) How interest rates affect stock prices(20:00) Coca-Cola, Costco, and long-duration growth stocks(23:45) Restrictive versus accommodative rates, explained through parenting(27:00) The Taylor rule and the Fed's recent hike(29:30) Alex's advice for anyone worried about rates(33:12) Podcast disclosuresResources:Long Story Short website | burneywealth.com/podcastFollow Burney Wealth Management on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/burneywealthmanagement Follow Adam Newman on Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-newman-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-48853916/ Follow Andy Pratt on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/andyjpratt/ Follow Alex Shen on LinkedIn | ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexshen7/ Atlanta Fed Taylor Rule Utility | https://www.atlantafed.org/cqer/research/taylor-rule#InterestRates #FederalReserve #BondInvesting #FinancialPlanning #InvestmentStrategyThe Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possess a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as personalized investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a recommendation.

A handful of Burney clients have asked Adam Newman and Andy Pratt about a Roth conversion idea that's been marketed heavily to affluent investors lately. The hosts call it the J-curve Roth conversion strategy. You fund a private investment through a traditional individual retirement account (IRA), wait for the early markdown that private funds tend to show, and convert to a Roth IRA while the value sits low. Adam isn't convinced that markdown ever reverses, since it reflects a discount for illiquidity and risk, and higher fees and possible IRS scrutiny can eat into whatever the conversion saves. Andy prefers simpler moves, like holding tax-efficient exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in taxable accounts and saving the Roth IRA for the assets with the highest expected growth.Adam and Andy also react to the Federal Reserve's recent quarter-point rate hike. They look back at how the S&P 500 has behaved in the year after the Fed starts raising rates, explain why the rate itself tends to follow economic conditions, and share what they plan to watch as markets head into the fourth quarter of 2026.⏱️ Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Episode 65(00:34) The most dangerous phrase in investing and financial planning(04:00) Real estate write-offs, 10 to 15 years later(05:17) Opportunity cost and the next best use of your money(06:15) Why the lowest possible tax bill can leave money on the table(07:17) The tax idea du jour and the J-curve Roth conversion strategy(09:43) How the strategy works inside an IRA(11:29) What the early markdown tells you about risk(13:27) Simple asset location moves across taxable, traditional, and Roth accounts(14:46) Fees and an easier way to time a Roth conversion(16:06) IRS scrutiny and the conservation easement example(18:00) The Fed raises interest rates(19:45) What rate hikes have meant for stocks, and signals versus drivers(24:54) Podcast disclosuresResources:Long Story Short website | burneywealth.com/podcastFollow Burney Wealth Management on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/burneywealthmanagement Follow Adam Newman on Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-newman-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-48853916/ Follow Andy Pratt on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/andyjpratt/ #TaxPlanning #RothConversion #RetirementPlanning #FederalReserve #WealthManagementThe Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possess a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as personalized investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a recommendation.

Andy opens this episode by making Adam count up the letters in his own name against the string of credentials that follow it, then they get into what CEPA®, Adam's newest designation, trains him to do for a business owner headed toward a sale. Adam calls exit planning a three-legged stool made up of a personal piece, a financial piece, and a business piece, and he spends the most time on the one owners skip most often, figuring out who you are once the company isn't yours to run anymore. He points to owners who spend years chasing their number, the after-tax amount they need to walk away with and fund the life they want, without ever answering the quieter question of whether they're running a manufacturing shop or a private medical practice.Discussing taxes, Adam lays out three levers a business owner can pull before a sale. Entity structure comes first, since a C corp and an S corp create very different tax pictures depending on whether you're drawing income now or cashing out later. Charitable giving is the one he says gets missed most often, since front-loading a few years of planned giving into the year of a sale can offset a sizable slice of the capital gain. Then there's the negotiation itself, where a seller wants the sale allocated to capital gains and a buyer sometimes wants the opposite, and Adam says these decisions need years of lead time to work through with a level head. Once the check clears, the question remains: who are you on an ordinary Tuesday morning, after decades spent building an identity around running the company? Adam's answer keeps coming back to intentionality, filling in a blank calendar with travel, grandkids, or a new hobby well before the last day on the job.⏱️ Timestamps: (01:00) A credentials icebreaker(02:00) What the CEPA designation covers and why Adam pursued it(04:00) The State of Owner Readiness study and its 75% stat(07:00) The three-legged stool: personal, financial, and business(11:00) Why "always be prepping to sell" applies with no sale on the horizon(13:00) Getting into the weeds on tax planning ahead of a sale(13:32) Entity structure as the first tax lever(14:43) Charitable giving as a second lever(15:45) Negotiating capital gains versus ordinary income(17:42) Why an early start beats a late one, and the pivot to life after the business(20:18) The advisor's role in the transition to retirement(22:55) Why intentionality shapes a successful retirement(26:25) Podcast disclosuresResources:Long Story Short website | burneywealth.com/podcastFollow Burney Wealth Management on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/burneywealthmanagement Follow Adam Newman on Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-newman-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-48853916/ Follow Andy Pratt on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/andyjpratt/ THE STATE OF OWNER READINESS™ RESEARCH from Exit Planning Institute | https://exit-planning-institute.org/state-of-owner-readiness #ExitPlanning #BusinessOwners #TaxPlanning #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagementThe Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possess a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as personalized investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a recommendation.

Andy Pratt comes into this episode fresh from an ETF conference in Philadelphia, carrying a chart he can't stop thinking about. Two emerging market funds, both from well known providers and both marketed as broad, diversified index products, produced very different results this year, one up 14%, the other up 26%. Andy and Adam trace the entire gap back to a single country.From there, Adam brings in a retirement video that's been stuck in his head for a different reason. It argues that there's exactly one correct age to start collecting Social Security, built on math that Adam picks apart piece by piece. The conversation moves into what a good Social Security decision depends on, especially for married couples, and why planning around a single life expectancy number can backfire.⏱️ Timestamps: (00:00) Andy back from an ETF conference in Philadelphia, and a Philly cheesesteak debate(01:41) A conference chart comparing two emerging market ETFs with very different returns(03:33) The one country that explains a 12-point performance gap between them(05:41) How market concentration in the US compares to the rest of the world(09:17) Home country bias, and why staying broadly diversified pays off(12:19) A YouTube video claiming there's only one right way to claim Social Security(14:11) Picking apart the video's breakeven age math(16:39) Why Social Security is a longevity decision, not a simple math problem(18:44) Delaying benefits as protection for a lower-earning spouse(19:53) A pattern across retirement content online, from Social Security to the 4% rule(21:24) Why generic financial advice online isn't built for anyone's specific situation(22:39) Planning for a longer life instead of guessing a breakeven age(22:55) Staying skeptical of what shows up in a social media feed(23:04) Podcast disclosuresResources:Long Story Short website | burneywealth.com/podcastFollow Burney Wealth Management on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/burneywealthmanagement Follow Adam Newman on Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-newman-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-48853916/ Follow Andy Pratt on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/andyjpratt/ #LongStoryShort #BurneyWealth #SocialSecurity #ETFs #RetirementPlanningThe Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possess a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as personalized investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a recommendation.

Adam Newman and Andy Pratt open this episode fresh from Burney's annual company conference, held this year in Nashville. After catching up on the highlights, including a full day devoted to how advisors are using AI, they turn to a pattern they see constantly in client meetings. One spouse tends to run point on household finances while the other stays in the background, and Andy shares how he handles that dynamic in his own marriage.From there, Adam quizzes Andy on a set of longevity statistics that change how families should think about retirement. Long-term care can run well into six figures, and a good chunk of retirement gets spent in fair to poor health rather than good. There's also a gap between advisors and clients, one that shows up when advisors say they've covered healthcare costs and clients say they never heard it.⏱️ Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome back from Burney's annual company conference in Nashville(02:25) The big theme at this year's conference, AI and how advisors are using it(04:43) Why one spouse often ends up running the household finances(06:15) Andy on staying aligned with his own wife without requiring her at every meeting(08:15) What happens when a less-engaged spouse suddenly has to manage everything alone(11:05) A longevity pop quiz, starting with how many Americans turn 65 each day(12:25) The odds a healthy 65-year-old today reaches age 85(13:45) The lifelong cost of long-term care, and the gap between men and women(14:15) Lifespan versus healthspan, and why the difference changes a plan(16:35) The disconnect between what advisors think they've discussed and what clients recall(19:40) Avoiding both extremes, underplanning and overplanning for healthcare costs(22:35) Why a retirement plan is never really finished(25:21) Podcast disclosuresResources:Long Story Short website | burneywealth.com/podcastFollow Burney Wealth Management on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/burneywealthmanagement Follow Adam Newman on Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-newman-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-48853916/ Follow Andy Pratt on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/andyjpratt/ #RetirementPlanning #LongTermCare #FamilyFinances #LongStoryShort #BurneyWealthThe Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possess a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as personalized investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a recommendation.