Episode 38: Investing with discipline in 2026

Oscarlyn Elder

The arrival of a new year invites forecasts for the future, but predicting the market and economy can be tricky. We believe what's more useful is a framework for assessing the investment landscape, and then thoughtful analysis of what we need to do to stay on plan in the year ahead. I'm Oscarlyn Elder, head of investment management for Truist Wealth. And this is I've Been Meaning to Do That, a podcast from Truist Wealth, a purpose-driven financial services organization. I appreciate you listening.

Every new year starts with uncertainty and questions, and 2026 is certainly no exception. To equip our clients with insights and investment education, it's a tradition here at Truist to publish our annual outlook. We publish this highly anticipated annual report every December. And this year's 2026 economic and market outlook theme is “Seventh Inning Stretch.” Our goal today is to explore our expectations for the economy and markets in 2026.

If you listen to our recent episode about the Truist investment philosophy, you know that one of our foundational principles is to make decisions using a framework and not emotion. So today, I'm thrilled to have my friend and colleague, Keith Lerner, join me once again. Keith is Chief Investment Officer and Chief Market Strategist at Truist. Day in and day out, Keith and his team analyze the market and economic factors that truly matter. We're going to put some of the uncertainty investors may have about 2026 into context, and Keith can dive into the 2026 outlook and the trends behind the “seventh inning stretch” theme. Keith, welcome back to I've Been Meaning to Do That. Thanks for being here.

Keith Lerner

Thank you, Oscarlyn. I've been excited to come back to talk to you, and this is obviously one of the subjects that I'm very passionate about, so really look forward to delving into that today.

Oscarlyn Elder

Well, let's start out with the title, Seventh Inning Stretch, which is a baseball/softball reference. Why did you choose this title?

Keith Lerner

Oscarlyn, there's a lot of thought that goes into our title. And the real purpose of this one was we just thought at this point, the economic cycle has been going on for about five years. We just had the third-year anniversary of the bull market, or this stock market uptrend. So just like the seventh inning stretch, we thought it was a good time to take a pause and assess where we are in the cycle. And the good news just upfront is economic expansions just don't die of old age. And some of the work that we're going to talk about today suggests the potential for more upside in the stock market as well.

Oscarlyn Elder

Keith, thank you for that explanation. Is there a song playing in the background because seventh inning stretch normally has some music that goes with it?

Keith Lerner

Well, normally, I think a lot of times hitters now have a walk-up song, so we should have that.

Oscarlyn Elder

We'll talk about that next time. Let's talk about our outlook through our weight-of-the-evidence framework and start with the first lens of that framework, which is how are you seeing and how are you assessing expectations for the U.S. economy in 2026?

Keith Lerner

No one has a crystal ball, but what we do is we have a lot of different factors in the market. There's also a lot of noise. This helps us cut through the noise and then try to make higher probability decisions by having a framework of multiple different angles when we look at the market and economies. We also look at history as a guide, as a second bucket, and then we layer on fundamentals and then also market signals. So we put all that together to really attempt to identify high probability outcomes and also mitigate risk as well. Sorry, I took a little bit of a detour there, but I thought it might be helpful just to give a little bit of context behind that. And if you'd like, Oscarlyn, I can delve deeper into the economic side now.

Oscarlyn Elder

Absolutely. Let's go there.

Keith Lerner

So our subtheme within this seventh inning stretch for the economy is an uptick. And what I mean by that is our economic group expects a modest uptick in economic growth for the U.S., from about 1.8% in 2025 to about 2.3% over the next year. And, as we think about why, why do we expect an uptick? What's changing? I will really say that's broken down into four primary factors. One, some tax relief. Oscarlyn, you remember in the middle of last year, there was a tax bill that was passed, the One Big Beautiful Bill. Well, in the first quarter and beyond, we should start to see some benefits of that for both the consumer and also businesses as well. So that's number one.

And number two, we've already seen the Fed cut rates. We expect at least another one to two rate cuts over the next year, so that should also be a support for the market. Thirdly, we expect maybe some tariff stability. We may get some noise about tariffs early in the year, but it will likely not be the same shock that we saw in the first quarter. So we have that going for us. And then the fourth factor is this big boom that we keep talking about in the AI and the tech spending. So you put together tax relief, you put together Fed cutting rates, you get a little bit of tariff stability, hopefully, and then this CapEx boom continuing. You put that all together, it suggests that this economic cycle should extend.

Oscarlyn Elder

And I think folks might be surprised by what our expectations are. Often when we're meeting with clients or we're on stage at a client event, there really seems to be, in many places, like negativity around the state of the economy. And I think a 2.3% expected growth rate may surprise folks because in places there's a sense that the growth rate may actually be lower. Is that fair?

Keith Lerner

I think it's fair because when we look at surveys of consumer confidence, it's actually very depressed right now. But on the other side, what people are actually doing is still spending. But I will also say we do have a two-speed economy. So when I talk about our economic outlook, it's in aggregate, there's stronger parts, especially the high end, where you're seeing folks that have benefited from the stock market move up and also have 3% mortgages locked in. And on the other side, there's also higher inflation from several years ago, and also we're now seeing wages slow down a little bit on the low end. So to be fair, there is more than one economy, but in aggregate, we do see things getting better for both the high end and the low end based on some of those factors that I mentioned.

Oscarlyn Elder

That's really key information what you said there. It's important for folks to know that when we talk about 2.3% expectation, we're thinking about it in aggregate, but we absolutely recognize that there are different experiences within the overall economy right now. And we're staying attuned to those and looking at how those are evolving over time.

Keith Lerner

One point, Oscarlyn, that has come up a lot is we've seen this divergence between the economy a bit and the labor market, which has cooled down. And something we've been pointing out, there's a lot of focus month-to-month on how many jobs we create. What's probably just as important in our work, actually even more important, is that 160 million people that work today, are their wages keeping up and exceeding inflation? And right now they are.

Oscarlyn Elder

So you've given us a view of economic expectations. Let's pivot and talk about the stock market. And one of the lenses that you look through in developing your weight-of-the-evidence approach is thinking about the stock market and the history of the stock market, if you will. How is that history lens shaping how you're thinking about 2026?

Keith Lerner

It's a great starting point. It's a foundation. And because a lot of times what will happen is, somebody will say, "Well, the market's moved too far, too fast." What we do as a starting point is to test that out. We just had that third-year anniversary of this bull market, or the stock market rise that really began in October 2022, a month before the release of ChatGPT. So sometimes we refer to this as the ChatGPT bull market. The good news, we've—go back in history and look since 1950 and say, "OK, how many bull markets, or these uptrends, have saw a third-year anniversary?" And we've seen seven of them. The good news in year four, all of them have seen gains the next year. It's only seven periods, but it's at least for someone saying, "Can the market go further?" Well, history says as a starting point, the answer is yes.

Then we can also layer on other studies. What happens with the stock market after the Fed cuts rates, which they have done over recent months when the stock market is close to all-time highs? Well, we can look at that and test that out, and a year later, the market's been up more than 90% of the time. Again, if you're looking at the weight of the evidence, that's a good signal. I will caveat that as we look at multiple ways of looking at this. We are also moving into a midterm election year. And those years, you tend to have more moderate gains. And also, it's very common to have some sharper intra-year drawdowns or just pullbacks because you also have a lot of change that's happening. But all in all, that history portion of it does suggest the market still has room to rise, notwithstanding those periodic pullbacks that we still expect.

Oscarlyn Elder

So those are two really important market studies, historical market studies that you're using as you assess the current landscape. Later in our discussion, we'll point folks to where they can actually download the work that you're referencing and look at the data if they would like. That's the history component. I noted a few minutes ago when we were talking that so many clients really have a fairly negative outlook. You noted consumer confidence specifically in what's happening there. Probably the other common experience that I have when I'm talking to clients is that they are very concerned about valuation levels on the market and what is happening. They don't talk as much actually about earnings growth. A lot of folks focus on valuation specifically. You look at fundamentals; your team looks at fundamentals. How are you assessing the fundamental landscape of the stock market today?

Keith Lerner

Certainly. And you're right. I'm getting the same questions quite often because when you look at the S&P 500 and you look at the most common metric to value it, which is a price-to-earnings metric, and it's based on next year's earnings, for the S&P 500, we're trading in the low 20s. And that, relative to history, suggests we're at the high end of the historical range. So it makes sense that people are saying, "Hey, this market is richly valued." And I would say it certainly isn't cheap, but I would say context here is also important. One, the S&P 500 of today isn't the S&P 500 of yesterday. So what do I mean by that? The technology sector, as an example, now comprises more than 30% of the S&P 500. If you go back to 1990, it was only 5%. So why am I bringing this up?

Well, these companies tend to trade at premium valuations because they tend to have larger growth rates as well. And then the other thing that's really important is that profit margins are at record level. So of course, if you're able to generate more income with each dollar of sales, you would pay more for that. I'm not trying to justify that, say that we're cheap, but I think in some ways that the work that we look at when you adjust for these higher profit margins and the difference in sector composition, we're rich, but maybe not as much of an extreme as some people may think.

And then, Oscarlyn, you mentioned this. We talk a lot about valuations. They matter a lot for long-term returns. In the short-term earnings, profits tend to matter more. And we've called profits, maybe, I'm sorry if I'm going to mix metaphors here, the North Star of this bull market. And what's really important to recognize is as the stock market has made new highs over the last year, forward-earning estimates also making new highs. And we're seeing that beyond just tech and growth, which is leading. We're seeing that in areas like industrials, we're seeing that in small caps. So it's also broadening out as well.

Oscarlyn Elder

And lastly, Keith, let's talk about the final element of your weight-of-the-evidence framework, and that is the technical picture of the market. What's most important to you right now?

Keith Lerner

That's right, Oscarlyn. We try to look at history, fundamentals, but then also, lastly, what is the message of the market? Because the market tends to be forward-looking. One of the most important things in our work is we want to be aligned with that primary trend, hopefully most of the time up, which it is historically. And right now, the primary market trend for both the U.S. and globally is still positive. So we want to be aligned there. And also, what's a healthy sign is we focus a lot in the U.S., but when we look globally, we have more than 75% of country or markets globally in uptrend. So that's a good sign. And then also we pay a lot of attention or are alert to extremes in sentiment, meaning when people get very excited and there's a lot of euphoria, historically, that has coincided with market tops because the bar for positive surprises are so high. We’re not seeing euphoria, so I think that's also a positive for the longevity of this bull market.

Oscarlyn Elder

How do you think about the potential for a pullback during 2026?

Keith Lerner

A statement we've used for a long time is pullbacks are the admission price to the stock market. Meaning to get those potentially higher long-term returns that stocks at least historically have offered, it comes with the volatility along the way. And, as I alluded to a bit earlier, the midterm election cycle, normally the drawdowns, again, just on average, tend to be somewhat deeper and sometimes in the double digits, Oscarlyn. So what does that mean for investors is that there may be some times next year that will probably feel uncomfortable. And I will say there's always a point in almost every year you feel uncomfortable, but you're also going to see the headlines that come with it in the political side, which can really build some angst. From our perspective, we're aware of it, but we can also look at that as potentially opportunities as well.

I think Peter Lynch was the person that said—Peter Lynch, the old Fidelity manager—that said more money has been lost in anticipation of the correction than the correction itself. And, again, this comes with the territory. So it's really important that our advisors and our listeners understand what the goal of their money is and really their threshold for that downside, which is really part of the market cycle.

Oscarlyn Elder

You said it earlier. We don't have our crystal ball. We have a framework, and we're constantly assessing the evidence. But should the environment change, then you and your team would be positioned to change the advice that you're giving to clients on a tactical basis. Is that fair?

Keith Lerner

Absolutely. One of the things in our monthly Navigator, I write a letter and at the end, I sign off by saying, "We'll continue to follow the weight of the evidence and keep an open mind as the year evolves." And I can tell you something with 100% accuracy is that everything that we say will not come to fruition. When we go in with an outlook, we say, "This is the starting point. These are the assumptions." And it also gives us a framework to adjust as things either confirm what our expectations were or go against it. It also keeps us accountable, which I think is a good thing as well. So I certainly think there are a ton of cross-currents, and also there's going to be something that likely happens at some point that we're not even talking about today that we're coming to the mainstream as well. And part of our job is to adjust as that data changes.

Oscarlyn Elder

Your team actually communicates with our clients and our advisors on a monthly basis, a very thorough Market Navigator that makes it very clear how our views are evolving. And I want to make sure to call that out for folks, that this is not a one and done, that there is a continual revisiting of where we are.

Keith Lerner

Absolutely. So that's very important. And then as events happen, whether they come from left field or they're really moving the market in between that monthly publication, you will see us publish on the economy, on the stock market, on fixed income as well. So certainly, if you're interested hearing those views, just reach out to your advisor and we'll make sure you get those as soon as they're distributed.

Oscarlyn Elder

Keith, you walked us through the weight-of-the-evidence approach that we take around really our equity allocation. We didn't talk about bonds so much. Why don't you share with our listeners how you and the team are thinking about fixed income moving into 2026?

Keith Lerner

Certainly. And our head of fixed income, Chip Hughey, he came up with a theme to tie it back to our overall baseball theme, which is the consistent hitter. So if you think about fixed income, you have a coupon or income that comes in periodically. And when we look back historically at bond returns, more than 80% of the returns is just from that simple coupon, not how much rates are moving up or down. So yes, within a portfolio standpoint, we look at fixed income as being that real consistent hitter, delivering that income and hopefully some stability within a portfolio as we have some of this volatility in the overall market. Big picture, we are focused on what we call high quality. Think of things like treasuries, higher-grade corporate bonds. And we're being patient for an opportunity to maybe lean in on what I would call a riskier or what's called the credit part of the overall market as well. But, again, a very important part of an overall portfolio.

Oscarlyn Elder

So, Keith, as you look at the markets overall, what do you see as the biggest risks as well as the biggest opportunities for investors as we move into 2026? So we're kind of asking for both sides of the coin, if you will.

Keith Lerner

Sure. More from just more broadly macro factors, I think, we should all be paying attention to is we still have this bit of a divergence between the overall economic and GDP data versus the employment side. So I think that the labor market will be key. We're going to have a new Fed chair coming in, and there's an old saying that Fed chairs tend to be tested by the market as well. I think that's something to pay attention to. Obviously, the path of this AI and tech boom, which has really been a big support for the overall stock market, but also the economy, I think, also poses risk and also opportunity as well. So those are things that just come top of mind as far as what we really should be paying attention to over the next year.

Oscarlyn Elder

So, Keith, as I hear your answers today within our discussion, what I'm taking away is that the weight of the evidence really gives us reason to be cautiously optimistic as we move into 2026. When we come back in just a moment, let's talk a little bit about how to think about our portfolio strategies.

[Music]

Keith, how are we recommending clients think about portfolio positioning, given our outlook?

Keith Lerner

Well, one, I would just start off with diversification is still key, big picture. But within a global framework, we still have a bias for equities relative to fixed income and cash. And part of that is predicated on this economic uptick that we've been speaking about and the resiliency in earnings that we expect into next year. If we break that down a bit further and we go more directly into the equity markets, we are still Team USA, at least a bias there. The U.S. markets have underperformed over the last year, but that's after several years of really strong outperformance, and the earning trends and the innovation are still in the U.S. I would say, though, what's somewhat different, and this is actually our view has been evolving, is we are finding ample opportunities overseas. So even though we have this tilt towards the U.S., and large cap, and growth, we are still finding a lot of opportunities in international markets, which are being supported by stimulus and fiscal support as well.

So I just want to go back to that point of the diversification. Also, the other question we get a lot is large caps versus small caps. We still have a large-cap focus because we still think this AI and tech is a dominant theme, and those tend to be large-cap companies, but we also expect, like we've seen somewhat over the last year, sharp rotations. And these small-cap and mid-cap areas of the market have underperformed and they should also benefit from this uptick. So having that ballast in portfolios to us makes a lot of sense from the equity side. And if you like, Oscarlyn, we can dig a little bit into the fixed income side as well.

Oscarlyn Elder

Well, I would like to do that, but before we go there, so you're talking about the equities exposure, we're still Team USA. We've talked about the growth elements, especially within U.S. equities. How are we thinking about the technology sector right now? There's been so much written about, discussed around, are we in a bubble, just a lot of focus specifically within the technology space. And I'd just love for you to talk about how we're thinking about that right now.

Keith Lerner

Sure. We still like the technology sector. We don't think we're in a bubble. At least the work that we look at suggests we're not in a bubble. But there's certainly risks. I think the biggest risk is just there's so much concentration in the same, in these big mega-cap stocks. And the other thing that's happening that's changed a little bit is some of these mega-cap tech names used to be more isolated in their businesses. Now they're kind of competing against each other, which is another facet, and they're also going to the debt markets or raising debt. So the dynamics are changing somewhat. But I will say when we look back at history, every bull market has a dominant theme. The dominant theme of this bull market is still AI and tech. When we look back historically, the leadership early on of a bull market tends to endure towards the end.

Doesn't mean there's not rotation in between, but that tends to endure. So we still want to have a modest tilt there to technology and things like communication services. The earnings growth is also the strongest there, or the earnings momentum. But we definitely want to have some offsets that when people get more nervous about the sector or maybe they miss on the earnings side, things like small-caps, mid-caps, and international, I think is a really good offset. And we've already seen that many times over the last year where tech will come under pressure and then the money instead of leaving the market will just rotate. And those rotations are very difficult to time, and given valuations are cheaper on these other areas, I think it's just having ballast makes a lot of sense today.

Oscarlyn Elder

Yeah. I think that's very helpful perspective for folks to keep in mind as they're thinking about the tactical allocations in their portfolios, at least in the beginning of 2026. So thank you for that perspective. And now let's shift and talk about fixed income because you and I both remember a time where fixed income was not top of mind for folks. But it continues to be a really important allocation within many portfolios and certainly a part of the investment landscape that has gained an attention over the last few years. So let's talk about fixed income and what we're thinking there.

Keith Lerner

Yeah. And what you want from fixed income is you want it to be somewhat boring. The excitement in the stock market with the ups and downs is great, but you really want something to be that stability and it's a good offset for the overall market. A few years ago, we were getting the question, are bonds dead because of inflation, these other concerns. But really, if you look back at 2025, really solid gains across fixed income and just, again, collecting that coupon. Doesn't mean there's not volatility, but as an owner of bonds, you collect that income. So as we think about 2026, the midterm elections, still some questions around not only the labor market, but also inflation and tariffs. We think it still has an important part of our portfolio.

I mentioned this briefly earlier, but right now we're really focused on that high-quality part of fixed income. Because we expect there to be not only equity volatility, but some bond volatility, we think there will be an opportunity to really lean in more heavily on what we call the credit markets, which just means that it's not backed by the U.S. government. There may be corporate bonds or things of lower quality, but they have higher income, and we think there will be some opportunities to lean in there a bit later on. I think just patience is a virtue right now.

Oscarlyn Elder

Keith, let's talk about another topic that I believe is top of mind with so many investors, which is, how are you thinking about the decision between active and passive investment management during 2026?

Keith Lerner

The straightforward answer is there's room for both. Over the past year, many active funds underperformed because there was such concentration, or more of a narrower market. Well, what we're seeing hints of is this market starting to broaden. What I mean by that is that it's not just seven stocks moving up with the overall market. So if there's more stocks that are also participating in the stock market move up, then that should actually be a positive for active managers as well. So I think the main message is there's room for both. And I actually expect that we're going to have better performance of active managers relative to the past year, where it was really more of a struggle because of the concentration we saw in the market.

Oscarlyn Elder

What I'd like to do now is our overall view that we just talked about is one of cautious optimism, and I'd like to lean into perhaps the cautious part of that statement. And when you think about portfolio construction, what assets are you leaning into currently that might provide a potential ballast to the portfolio or to really offer diversification or exposure that is really less correlated than market exposure? So how are you thinking about kind of that third element of portfolio diversification?

Keith Lerner

Sure. And as you mentioned, we've spoken about the stock market, we talked about fixed income, and also cash has also a place as well. And then outside of that, something we've been positive on all through 2025 is gold. And we're not gold bugs, per se, but things have changed. And we still think gold as a portfolio diversifier and modest allocations can make sense. One thing that came up in our work is that when days where the stock market and fixed income markets were both down, gold tended to hold up. Again, not a guarantee that's going to happen in the future, but that's what we're looking for from portfolio diversification. And there's also some positive tailwinds with central bank buying, geopolitical uncertainty, also retail buying as well. So we still think modest allocations of gold from a portfolio diversification standpoint makes sense.

Oscarlyn, an area you're very familiar with is alternatives markets. And for qualified investors, we can help expand the playbook by bringing in other asset classes that act differently, such as hedge funds, which can help mitigate risk or private capital like private equity, where you may be looking to increase the potential return. We talked a lot about technology today. A lot of the activity in artificial intelligence is actually happening in the private markets, not the public market. So that gives you another way to access it as well. Different risk that come with this different liquidity profile, as you know, as good as anybody. But again, for those investors that are qualified and understand the risk, we think there's an opportunity well beyond the public markets.

Oscarlyn Elder

Keith, you're right. It certainly is important for folks to understand the opportunity set that's available to them as they are building and crafting their portfolio. And for clients where they're qualified and it may be appropriate, it's certainly an area where seeking additional education and awareness, and again, just understanding what's possible, the risks as well as the opportunity is just really important. And that's where an advisor might be able to help folks along that journey, if you will.

Keith, one of the pillars of the Truist investment philosophy that we talked about on your previous visit to I've Been Meaning to Do That is the concept of building portfolios with ideas and strategies that matter. What's your advice for our listeners who want to apply that principle in 2026?

Keith Lerner

I think the first thing, Oscarlyn, is what matters to you, our listeners, our clients, because you really have to start with a portfolio, not for just 2026. You have to build it for your goal, which may be 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now. So to apply the principles, I would say, what is the objective? How much return? We all want to get the most return that we can, right? What return do we need to get to that goal, and how much risk are we willing to take? And it's really the building blocks of any investment plan. And we have great advisors that can really understand our clients, what their needs are, and then use our high-level view and apply that for what matters to them. So I would really just encourage our listeners to have that conversation if they're not already with our advisors.

Oscarlyn Elder

Well, that's great advice, Keith, and it falls right in line with the overall Truist investment philosophy. I encourage our listeners to go back and download our April 2025 episode, where Keith and I talked in depth about the Truist investment philosophy that guides our advisors as they work with clients. You can find all of our past episodes at Truist.com/DoThat. I want to encourage our listeners to take advantage of the incredible resources that Keith and his leadership team publish on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. For example, Keith summarizes his analysis each month, and I've called this out already, in a newsletter on the Truist website called Market Navigator. Simply visit Truist.com/wealth/insights. And, finally, I want to encourage our listeners to download a copy of the highly anticipated annual 2026 Outlook: Seventh Inning Stretch. You can download a copy also located at Truist.com/wealth/insights. We'll wrap up our conversation with Keith Lerner in just a moment.

[Music]

Now, Keith, since you've been here before, you know that we always ask our guests about something they've been meaning to do, but they haven't gotten around to doing yet. I'll give you your choice. Batter's choice here, if you will, batter's choice. You can either update us on the task that you gave yourself during our last conversation, or you can tell us about something else that you've been meaning to do now that you'll commit to our listeners to getting done in the future.

Keith Lerner

OK, Oscarlyn. I'll take a swing at the first option, which is updating you on our first conversation. And for our listeners, I had to avoid Oscarlyn for a while because I had promised I was going to update my family estate plan, and I did procrastinate. And then I was on a market visit with one of our clients who came up to me, who listened to this podcast and said, "Keith, have you finished?" And I had to say no. But the good news is I was able to finish after several months. Our estate plan is updated. I think my wife and my family is happy and I'm happy because it takes a lot, but it's very meaningful, and I'm really glad that we did it. And I don't know that I would've finished it if I hadn't given you my word that I would. So I appreciate that nudge, and then I'm excited that we’re completed.

Oscarlyn Elder

That is really great news. And, look, it's really important. If you want to get something done and it's major and it's been hanging over top of you, to share that commitment with someone and to have some accountability, it just helps us all move forward typically. So I'm really proud of you for getting that done. And sometimes it takes us some time, but you just start moving on it one step in front of the other. Making that commitment helps, right? Voicing the commitment helps, and having some accountability partners, like an advisor, helps along the way as well.

Keith, thank you for joining me today. And, listeners, I want to thank you as well. If you liked this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast and tell friends and family about it. If you have a question for me or a suggestion for this podcast, email me at dothat@truist.com. I'll be back soon for another episode of I've Been Meaning to Do That, the podcast that gets you moving toward fulfilling your purpose and achieving your financial goals. Talk to you soon.

Speaker 3

Oscarlyn Elder and Keith Lerner are investment advisor representatives, Truist Advisory Services Incorporated. Any comments or references to taxes herein are informational only. Truist and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your individual tax or legal professional before taking any action that may have tax or legal consequences. Investing in the bond market is subject to certain risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, and inflation risk. Investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. Investing in gold and other commodities is speculative and involves a high degree of risk and is not suitable for all investors. You could lose all or a substantial portion of your investment. Alternative strategies are not suitable for all investors. Hedge funds often engage in leveraging and speculative investment practices that may increase the risk of investment loss, can be highly illiquid, and are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information to investors.

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