It is a bit hard to remember that three months ago, when the United States captured Venezuelan President Maduro, it was assumed there would be a significant decrease in oil prices given the supposed direct access to Venezuela’s vast reserves. Instead, at the end of February, when the U.S. and Israel invaded Iran, significant increases in oil prices have prevailed. This has translated to an average of $4 per gallon at the pump in the U.S. This is the highest price since 2022 and an increase of $1 since the start of the war on February 28.

There have, of course, been other notable market events:

• The S&P 500 trading through the 7,000-point milestone
• Continued investment and development in AI
• The U.S. Supreme Court striking down tariffs that were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
• President Trump’s push for greater control over Greenland
• Ongoing challenges to Federal Reserve independence

But as we close out the first quarter, seemingly top of mind is the war. How long will it last? What ripple effects will it have? How soon and by how much will inflation be impacted? How is the consumer feeling?

While we cannot predict the length of the war or exact future impact, we can offer that this oil supply disruption has occurred during a backdrop of better economic conditions than in previous shocks. Yes, inflation is still higher (+2.4% year-over-year as of February) than the Federal Reserve prefers, but that number trended lower after a +2.7% year-over-year report for January. The labor market is still on solid footing with the latest unemployment report coming in at 4.4%. GDP, as recently as the third quarter of 2025, was +4.4% year-over-year and while the fourth quarter was only +0.7%, it was still positive despite the government shutdown. Lastly, S&P 500 earnings growth for 2025 was about +12% and, with the pullback in the market, valuations are increasingly more attractive. We understand that the crux of the war with Iran is not fully captured in these numbers yet. Having a strong backdrop can certainly lessen the impact, especially if a resolution is forthcoming.

So, where does the title of this piece come into play? A primary focus of what we do at WealthSouth is planning. Planning not just in the sense of traditional financial planning in which our Advisors partner with you to develop and gauge the success of your financial plan, but planning in the sense of our investment process and how it helps buffer volatility in markets, however that volatility might be created. In this instance, volatility has been created by the war with Iran. However, we have planned for this.

On the equity side, we invest in high quality, dividend-paying stocks which have outperformed growth stocks by about 13% so far this year. We invest not just in large companies, but also in medium and smaller-sized companies, the latter of which are up 0.9% as measured by the Russell 2000 Index compared to the S&P 500, down 4.6%. We invest internationally, in developed and developing markets, both of which are outperforming domestic markets and are areas we have added exposure in the last couple of years. In the real asset space, we have an allocation to natural resources (our best performing fund this quarter at +20%), along with a real estate fund, also a positive contributor to performance at +3.7% year-to-date. Within fixed income, we allocate funds to government, corporate, inflation-protection, and high-yield bonds, all of which have had positive to only slightly negative performance so far this year. All of this is to say that part of our plan is to be diversified and consistent, regardless of disruptions. That prior planning we do helps to prevent poor performance relative to standard market indices. This is not always the case as we noted in recent years when the Magnificent Seven stocks dominated the S&P 500’s performance. However, in times like these, we trust our process to help us navigate uncertainty and volatility.

We appreciate your trust and confidence in our team. We wish you and your families the best and look forward to talking with and seeing you this year. Please reach out to us with questions you might have.

Sincerely,