👋 Financial Breakaway Newsletter | July 2026
Welcome to the June 2026 edition of the Financial Breakaway Newsletter!
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend and was able to spend some time with family and friends. It's hard to believe we're already halfway through the year.
From an investment standpoint, 2026 has certainly been interesting. We started the year with plenty of uncertainty, market swings, and headlines, yet here we are with the major indexes back near all-time highs. It's another reminder that markets don't wait for everything to "feel" good before moving higher.
One of the biggest themes I've been watching lately is the market starting to broaden out. Over the last couple of years, a handful of the Magnificent Seven companies were responsible for a large share of the market's gains, creating one of the highest levels of concentration we've seen in years. More recently, we're seeing leadership expand into other parts of the market, including small-cap stocks doing really well.
It's also a good reminder that even the biggest, highest-quality companies aren't immune to volatility. Some of those Mag Seven leaders have even experienced declines of 20% or more at different points this year. That's exactly why I believe diversification matters. It's not about trying to own every winner completely outright. It's about reducing company-specific risk and building a portfolio that can participate as leadership rotates over time.
As always, I hope you find something valuable in this month's newsletter. Thanks for taking a few minutes to read it, and enjoy the rest of your summer!
Newsletter Highlights
📈 Retirement: What’s the Right Retirement Withdrawal Rate?
🛠️ Mid-Career: Space X Initial Public Offering and it’s Impact on the Market
📚 Short Shifts: Fresh reads and tools for smarter financial decisions
❓❓QUIZ TIME❓❓:
Warren Buffett is worth ~$140 billion. But here's the wild part — how much of that did he make after age 50?
A.) 50%
B.) 75%
C.) 99%
D.)85%
*Answer below
• Retirement •
What I’ve Been Reading…
Retirement Withdrawal Rates in 2026… What’s the Right Rate?
Morningstar's latest research puts the safe starting withdrawal rate at 3.9% for 2026, but retirees who are willing to build in some flexibility could start as high as nearly 6%. The idea is simple: rigid rules can lead to overspending in bad markets and underspending in good ones. Strategies that adjust with market conditions help protect the portfolio when returns are weak while allowing for more spending when things are going well. The research also reinforces that pairing a flexible withdrawal approach with a strong guaranteed income floor, like Social Security, tends to produce the best outcomes for lifetime spending.
My thoughts on this article... The 4% rule is a starting point, not a finish line. How much you can actually withdraw depends on your timeline, your other retirement income, and your willingness to adjust along the way; getting that right can make a real difference.
• Mid-Career •
What I’ve Been Reading…
Space X’s IPO and it’s Impact on the Market
SpaceX made its public market debut last week at a ~$2 trillion valuation, but only made about 5% of its shares available, a fraction of the typical 10-20% float. Retail investors responded with $117M in net buys on day one, the largest retail IPO buying day on record. Many ETFs have already added it to their portfolios. Since the IPO, the stock went up significantly, but leveled out after some time. This showed just how much demand has been pent up for one of the most anticipated public offerings in recent years.
My thoughts on this article...It was certainly exciting to watch the largest IPO in history unfold. One thing I really liked was that SpaceX made a much larger percentage of shares available to everyday investors at the IPO price than we typically see. That's a positive step.
That said, I recently recorded a short video on IPOs because it's important to understand how they work. Even with broader access, there's still a big difference between buying shares at the offering price and buying them after trading begins on the open market. The company itself hasn't changed in those first few hours or days, only the price investors are willing to pay. IPOs can be exciting, but it's important to separate a great company from the price you're paying to own it
• Short Shifts •
- 📊 Don’t Buy Into This Easy Fix for Stock-Market Craziness | Wallstreetjournal.com
- 🏠 Why Home Equity Is Becoming a Key Retirement Asset | Marketwatch.com
- 📉 How to Keep Your Cool in a Volatile Market | Morningstar.com
Quiz Answer:
A.) 99%
Source:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-accumulated-99-net-193522940.html