An update on our investment principles, the first half of 2026, and the work we are doing for you.

Dear Clients and Friends,

As we reach the halfway point of 2026, we wanted to take a moment to update you on where things stand and share a few thoughts about the markets and your long-term plan.

The first six months of the year were eventful, but broadly positive for investors, with global stocks gaining approximately 11%.¹ More importantly, we continued making progress on the things that matter most: keeping your portfolio aligned with your goals, preparing for upcoming needs, managing taxes, and making thoughtful adjustments where appropriate.

Markets will move up and down, sometimes quickly. Our job is to make sure those movements do not distract us from the long-term work your money needs to accomplish.

Market prices change every day. Your plan is built around goals measured in years and decades.

This letter is divided into two parts: a brief reminder of the principles that guide our decisions, followed by a few observations from the first half of the year.

1. Our principles

We are goal-focused, plan-driven, long-term investors.

Your portfolio exists to support your life – a retirement to fund, a family to provide for, opportunities to pursue, or a legacy to leave. Those goals are usually measured in years and decades, not weeks or quarters.

Our process begins by understanding what is important to you. From there, we build a financial plan and then design an investment portfolio to support it. The portfolio serves the plan, and the plan serves your life.

When something meaningful changes in your life, we revisit the plan. Market headlines alone generally are not a reason to change it.

We invest broadly across the U.S., developed international markets, and emerging markets. We focus on diversification, reasonable costs, tax efficiency, and maintaining an appropriate balance between growth and stability.

We do not expect to consistently predict which market, sector, or company will perform best next. Instead, we want you to participate when different parts of the global economy have their turn to lead.

The bonds and cash in your portfolio also serve an important purpose. They help fund near-term needs, reduce overall volatility, and limit the likelihood that long-term investments must be sold during a difficult market.

We do not build portfolios around predictions about interest rates, elections, economic reports, geopolitical events, or short-term market movements. Those issues may influence markets, but they are extremely difficult to forecast consistently.

Our approach is to build a portfolio that can support your plan through a wide range of environments – not one that depends on us correctly predicting the next one.

2. Observations at mid-year

The first six months of 2026 gave investors plenty to think about: conflict in the Middle East, volatile energy prices, renewed inflation concerns, uncertainty surrounding interest rates, elevated stock valuations, and a U.S. market increasingly concentrated in a relatively small number of large technology companies.

We also experiences a sharp market decline during the spring, followed by a quick recovery.

That combination can make it tempting to react – to reduce risk, move to cash, or wait for greater certainty before investing. The challenge is that greater certainty usually arrives only after markets have already moved.

Ignoring short-term noise does not mean ignoring risk. It means managing risk through planning, diversification, and discipline rather than prediction.

One question some investors may be asking is whether today’s elevated valuations justify taking money out of the market until prices become more attractive.

We understand the concern. Markets can decline sharply, and another correction will eventually occur. What we cannot know is when it will begin, how far it will go, or how quickly it will recover.

A well-known example came in December 1996, when the Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of “irrational exuberance.” His concern was reasonable, but the market continued rising for more than three years and more than doubled before reaching its peak. Even after the bear market that followed, prices did not return to their December 1996 level.

The lesson is not that valuations do not matter. They do. The lesson is that valuation alone is not a reliable short-term timing tool.

Moving long-term money out of the market creates another risk: missing the recovery. Markets often begin rising before the economic outlook feels comfortable, and some of their strongest days occur during downturns or shortly after them.

Since 1950, the U.S. stock market has experiences declines of 20% or more approximately every four to five years, with an average decline of more than 30%. Despite those temporary declines, stocks have still produced strong long-term returns for investors who remained invested.

So, what are we doing this summer?

We are conducting mid-year reviews, looking for tax-planning opportunities, preparing for required distributions and upcoming cash needs, and rebalancing portfolios where appropriate.

Rebalancing means trimming investments that have grown beyond their intended allocation and adding to areas that have fallen below their target. It is a disciplined way to manage risk and maintain the investment mix your plan calls for without attempting to predict what markets will do next.

We are also continuing to look for opportunities to improve how we serve you – through better planning, clearer communication, and more efficient use of the tools and resources available to our team.

Most importantly, please let us know when something meaningful changes in your life – a retirement date, business decision, home purchase, inheritance, new family member, or change in priorities. Those are the developments that may call for an adjustment to your plan.

Thank you for the trust you place in our team. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with you and your family and look forward to continuing the work together during the second half of the year.

With appreciation,

Castlepoint Advisory Team
CASTLEPOINT WEALTH ADVISORS

¹ Source: MSCI ACWI Index (net total return, USD), a market-capitalization-weighted index of large- and mid-cap stocks across developed and emerging markets, first half of 2026. Figure is approximate. Index returns are illustrative, do not reflect any Castlepoint client portfolio, and are not available for direct investment.

² Source: Hartford Funds and Ned Davis Research, “Timing the Market Is Impossible” (March 2026). Reflects that 76% of the S&P; 500’s best-performing days since 1995 occurred during a bear market or the first two months of the subsequent bull market. Past performance does not guarantee future results; indices are unmanaged and not available for direct investment.

This letter is provided for informational purposes only and reflects the views of Castlepoint Wealth Advisors as of the date written. It is not intended as personalized investment, tax, or legal advice, nor as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and all investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Individual client results will vary. Please contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.

THE POINT · CLIENT LETTER
Mid – Year Review | July 2026