2024 Annual Letter

VEERY CAPITAL. 2024 was another exciting year for Veery Capital. While the baby boom took a brief pause, we had the joy of celebrating Brianna’s recent marriage to Anthony DiFrancesco on December 6, 2024! In addition, we welcomed Celina Riccardo to our Individual Client Service team, further strengthening our firm as we continue to grow and empower a maturing team eager to take on additional responsibilities. We were also thrilled to have RJ Zoba return, contributing to the expansion of our retirement services team and the enhancement of educational resources for participants in the retirement plans we serve.  

Our goal for the year was to enhance client service through improved collaboration and technology. To achieve this, we refined our internal processes to ensure seamless communication across the firm. Additionally, we initiated due diligence on leveraging artificial intelligence to boost efficiency in the future, enabling us to dedicate more time to meaningful interactions with our clients.                                          

THE MARKETS. After back-to-back years of a concentrated S&P 500 delivering returns over 20%, and 5 out of 6 years of positive returns in the index, it is tempting to abandon investment fundamentals and drift toward an overallocation to large, U.S. technology companies. Again, powered largely by a very few of the very largest technology stocks, the past year was another exceptionally good one for the diversified equity investor. As the year came to a close, the market gave evidence of broadening to some extent. That would certainly be welcome.

The presidential election result was at least clear and uncontested, and the economic backdrop continued to be favorable. The job market remained fairly strong, though showing signs of cooling due to relatively stringent monetary policy. Corporate earnings and dividends reached record highs and are forecast to increase further in 2025. If anything, late in the year many investors feared that the equity market had gotten ahead of itself, as evidenced by somewhat stretched valuations. Since valuations have never proven to be a reliable timing tool—any more than anything else has—we encouraged clients to stay the course with their plans.  

Inflation has not gone away, and as Fed Chair Powell noted in mid-December, it’s not expected to do so anytime soon. A frothy market took this statement rather badly, as indeed it should have, in our opinion.

While the fiscal condition of the United States remains concerning, the consumer is (perhaps surprisingly) in very good shape. The household debt service ratio (debt payments as a percentage of disposable personal income), stood at 10.1% in the third quarter of 2024, near 40-year lows.  

It doesn’t seem reasonable to suppose that the broad equity market can go on indefinitely compounding at nearly 16% it’s been producing since the March 2009 Global Financial Crisis lows. Nor do we need it too for our clients to meet their financial planning goals.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. Veery has continued our strong tradition of community involvement. Through our partnership with Rise Against Hunger, we’ve packed an additional 10,000 meals, bringing us within reach of our goal of 100,000 total meals, which we aim to achieve by Fall 2025. Our relationship with the Boys & Girls Club is also thriving. With Cortney now serving on the Board, and Chris and Matt both actively engaged on committees, we remain committed to prioritizing this partnership and its positive impact on youth in Delaware.

RECOGNITION AND ADVANCED CERTIFICATIONS. 2024 was a big year for achievements and recognitions.  The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), an affiliate of the American Retirement Association, boasts over 20,000 members and is dedicated to enhancing retirement security in America. As an advocacy and research organization, NAPA supports retirement plan advisors and their firms through advanced education opportunities and special recognition for outstanding professionals.

In 2024, Cortney, who leads our Retirement Services Team, was honored with two prestigious recognitions: she was named a NAPA "Top Advisor Under 40," highlighting the best and brightest future leaders in the industry, and a "Top Woman of Excellence," recognizing the top women in the field. Additionally, Cortney’s team, alongside Brianna, RJ, Sarah, and Chris, was acknowledged as one of the top advisory teams within NAPA.

In addition, RJ Zoba earned both his Accredited Investment Fiduciary® designation and his N(k)S^TM   designation. These advanced designations provide RJ the knowledge necessary to both serve participants in our retirement plans, as well as sit on our investment committee and participate in the selection, monitoring and replacement of the investment options in the plans where we serve as 3(38) fiduciaries.

Last, but certainly not least, we are thrilled to announce that Sarah Shaw has completed the necessary prerequisites and successfully passed the CFP® exam. She now joins Matt, Kathleen, Chris, and Rob as part of our dedicated financial planning team for individual clients. Additionally, Sarah's CFP® designation further enhances the value Veery Capital brings to our retirement plan clients through the WellCents program, further strengthening our commitment to delivering exceptional financial guidance.

THANK YOU. We are deeply grateful for the trust and confidence you've placed in us. We look forward to strengthening our relationship and continuing to grow together in 2025.