Weekly Market Commentary

1/13/2026

The 5 Elements of Financial Wellness

Financial wellness is a term that refers to the overall health and well-being of an individual's finances. In order to achieve financial wellness, it is essential to understand and manage the five key elements of personal finance: spending, saving, borrowing, planning, and protecting.

1. Spending:

Managing your day-to-day expenses and creating a budget is the first step towards achieving financial wellness. A budget is a plan that helps you control your spending and ensure that you are living within your means. By keeping track of your income and expenses, you can identify areas where you can cut back on unnecessary spending and allocate more money towards savings and debt repayment.

2. Saving:

Setting aside money for emergencies and long-term goals is crucial for achieving financial wellness. An emergency fund is a savings account that can be used to cover unexpected expenses, such as a medical emergency or car repair. Long-term savings, such as a retirement account, are essential for ensuring that you have enough money to support yourself during your golden years.

3. Borrowing:

Understanding and managing debt, including credit cards and loans, is an important aspect of financial wellness. It is important to understand the terms of any loan or credit card you take out, and to make sure that you can afford the monthly payments. Carrying too much debt can be detrimental to your financial well-being, so it's important to make a plan to pay off any outstanding debts as soon as possible.

4. Planning:

Setting financial goals and creating a plan to achieve them is essential for achieving financial wellness. This includes setting short-term and long-term goals, such as saving for a down payment on a house, or paying off all your credit card debt within a year. A financial plan should include specific steps to achieve these goals, such as increasing your income or cutting back on unnecessary expenses.

5. Protecting:

Insuring against potential financial losses and risks is the last element of financial wellness. This includes having insurance to cover unexpected events, such as a medical emergency or a car accident. It also includes protecting your assets, such as your home and car, by purchasing insurance that covers damage or loss.

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Achieving financial wellness is a process that requires a holistic approach. By understanding and managing the five key elements of personal finance, you can take control of your finances and create a better future for yourself and your family. Remember, it's never too late to start making changes to your finances and take the first step towards financial wellness.

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The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

This material was prepared by Financial Media Exchange for Nate Wyatt and the Investment Service Center’s use.

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the markets-

returns through 1/12/2026

Heading into 2026, absent any major market shocks, the pieces are in place for one of the strongest years for North American M&A and IPO activity we have ever seen. Favorable economic conditions, an increasingly permissive antitrust agenda in Washington and cheaper financing costs should make it easier to facilitate transactions, with companies now operating in one of the most pro-business deal-making environments in years.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because these are very similar to the reasons why markets expected a rebound in deal activity in 2025. Sure enough, and as shown in this week’s chart, annualized 2025 North American M&A deal value is on pace to be 32% higher than in 2024 – and nearly equivalent to the record total set in 2021. Now, in 2026, with tariff uncertainty fading and rates 75 basis points lower than they were at the start of 2025, confidence among business leaders is growing. According to an annual Citizens Bank survey, sentiment for a robust deal environment is at a six-year high, with nearly 60% of companies characterizing the current M&A environment as “somewhat or extremely strong.” For IPO markets, in addition to the same tailwinds expected to boost M&A, continued strength in equity markets, a sizable backlog of older-vintage private-equity-owned companies in the pipeline and several large, high-profile private companies expected to go public are spurring optimism this year.

With these favorable conditions in place, companies are poised to continue taking advantage of a sustained window for deal activity. Strong M&A and IPO activity is positive for investments in private equity and venture capital, which can serve as a diversified source of growth within portfolios.

Chart of the Week: Source: PitchBook Data, Inc., J.P. Morgan Asset Management. 4Q25 M&A deal value is annualized.

Thought of the Week: Source: Citizens Bank, PitchBook Data, Inc., J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Abbreviations: Cons. Sent.: University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index; CPI: Consumer Price Index; EIA: Energy Information Agency; FHFA HPI: - Federal Housing Finance Authority House Price Index; FOMC: Federal Open Market Committee; GDP: gross domestic product; HPI: Home Price Index; HMI: Housing Market Index; ISM Mfg.

Index: Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Index; PCE: Personal consumption expenditures; Philly Fed Survey: Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey; PMI: Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing Index; PPI: Producer Price Index; SAAR: Seasonally
Adjusted Annual Rate

Equity Price Levels and Returns: All returns represent total return for stated period. Index: S&P 500; provided by: Standard & Poor’s. Index: Dow Jones Industrial 30 (The Dow Jones is a price-weighted index composing of 30 widely-traded blue chip stocks.) ; provided by: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. Index: Russell 2000; provided by: Russell Investments. Index: Russell 1000 Growth; provided by: Russell Investments. Index: Russell 1000 Value; provided by: Russell Investments. Index: MSCI – EAFE; provided by: MSCI – gross official pricing. Index: MSCI – EM; provided by: MSCI – gross official pricing. Index: Nasdaq Composite; provided by: NASDAQ OMX Group.

MSCI EAFE is a Morgan Stanley Capital International Index that is designed to measure the performance of the developed stock markets of Europe, Australasia, and the Far East.

Bond Returns: All returns represent total return. Index: Bloomberg US Aggregate; provided by: Bloomberg Capital. Index: Bloomberg Investment Grade Credit; provided by: Bloomberg Capital. Index: Bloomberg Municipal Bond 10 Yr; provided by: Blomberg Capital. Index: Bloomberg Capital High Yield Index; provided by: Bloomberg Capital.

Key Interest Rates: 2 Year Treasury, FactSet; 10 Year Treasury, FactSet; 30 Year Treasury, FactSet; 10 Year German Bund, FactSet. 3 Month LIBOR, British Bankers’ Association; 3 Month EURIBOR, European Banking Federation; 6 Month CD, Federal Reserve; 30 Year Mortgage, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA); Prime Rate: Federal Reserve.

Commodities: Gold, FactSet; Crude Oil (WTI), FactSet; Gasoline, FactSet; Natural Gas, FactSet; Silver, FactSet; Copper, FactSet; Corn, FactSet. Bloomberg Commodity Index (BBG Idx), Bloomberg Finance L.P.

Currency: Dollar per Pound, FactSet; Dollar per Euro, FactSet; Yen per Dollar, FactSet.

S&P Index Characteristics: Dividend yield provided by FactSet Pricing database. Fwd. P/E is a bottom-up weighted harmonic average using First Call Mean estimates for the "Next 12 Months" (NTM) period. Market cap is a bottom-up weighted average based on share information from Compustat and price information from FactSet's Pricing database as provided by Standard & Poor's.

MSCI Index Characteristics: Dividend yield provided by FactSet Pricing database. Fwd. P/E is a bottom-up weighted harmonic average for the "Next 12 Months" (NTM) period. Market cap is a bottom up weighted average based on share information from MSCI and Price
information from FactSet's Pricing database as provided by MSCI. Russell 1000 Value Index,

Russell 1000 Growth Index, and Russell 2000 Index Characteristics: Trailing P/E is provided directly by Russell. Fwd. P/E is a bottom-up weighted harmonic average using First Call Mean estimates for the "Next 12 Months" (NTM) period. Market cap is a bottom-up weighted average based on share information from Compustat and price information from FactSet's Pricing database as provided by Russell.

Sector Returns: Sectors are based on the GICS methodology. Return data are calculated by FactSet using constituents and weights as provided by Standard & Poor’s. Returns are cumulative total return for stated period, including reinvestment of dividends.

Style Returns: Style box returns based on Russell Indexes with the exception of the Large-Cap Blend box, which reflects the S&P 500 Index. All values are cumulative total return for stated period including the reinvestment of dividends. The Index used from L to R,
top to bottomare: Russell 1000 Value Index (Measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to book ratios and lower forecasted growth values), S&P 500 Index (Index represents the 500 Large Cap portion of the stockmarket, and
is comprised of 500 stocks as selected by the S&P Index Committee), Russell 1000 Growth Index (Measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values), Russell Mid Cap Value Index (Measures
the performance of those Russell Mid Cap companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values), Russell Mid Cap Index (The Russell Midcap Index includes the smallest 800 securities in the Russell 1000), Russell Mid Cap Growth Index (Measures the performance of those Russell Mid Cap companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values), Russell 2000 Value Index (Measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values), Russell 2000 Index (The Russell 2000 includes the smallest 2000 securities in the Russell 3000), Russell 2000 Growth Index (Measures the performance of those Russell
2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values).

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Diversification does not guarantee investment returns and does not eliminate the risk of loss.

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Weekly Market Commentary

The 5 Elements of Financial Wellness

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