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Many of last year’ s forecasts failed. That’ s shaping the way advisors talk to clients about this year. By Jennifer Lea Reed

Instead, advisors spent 2025 navigating persistent volatility, a concentrated equities market and an unrelenting churn of macro and geopolitical headlines, while stocks continued to grind higher.

That experience, some advisors say, is shaping how they talk to clients as they look at 2026. The dominant theme is neither fear nor exuberance, but recalibration. Advisors are resetting expectations after a strong multiyear run, preparing clients for more modest returns, and reinforcing good ideas, namely that staying invested to thrive, especially amid a new normal of whiplash volatility, requires discipline.

At the same time, heightened risks that have nothing to do with market cycles are emerging from the dark underworld of financial crime, as the blessing of AI is twisted for nefarious purposes.

A Normal( But Less Predictable) Economy

Advisors are forecasting that 2026 will be a year of normalization rather than acceleration. Keith Barberis, a CFP and wealth manager at Barberis Wealth Management in Bethesda, Md., says his firm is“ setting expectations for a slower, more normalized economy in 2026,” with lower inflation but more modest growth and returns.

After several years of outsized gains,“ expectations are resetting toward more midcycle type returns rather than blockbuster years,” he says.“ We’ re also preparing clients for a more selective market where fundamentals, cash flow and balance-sheet strength matter more than pure momentum.”

That view is echoed by Aaron Schindler, a CFP based in New York City, who says it has become increasingly difficult to tell clients what to expect at all.

“ As it’ s nearly impossible to tell clients what to‘ expect,’ we’ re preparing defensively, especially as many of our clients are seniors and have generally had good returns,” Schindler says, adding that he would not be surprised by a correction in 2026. His firm has already reduced its equity exposure, trimming portfolios from roughly 74 % equities to closer to 62 %, while adding to fixed income, foreign stocks and cash.

Despite the caution, advisors are not necessarily positioning clients for calamity. Brett Amendola, managing partner at Wooster Square Advisors in New Haven, Conn., describes the environment as“ good”— an intentionally middle-of-the-road word.

“ I didn’ t say great, I didn’ t say terrible, I said good. Because good is a moderating word,” Amendola says.“ We came into this year not knowing what normal or normalcy would be, and I’ m not sure we totally know what it’ s going to be next year.”

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2026 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 35