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Announcements
April 2026
Dear Clients, Friends, and Colleagues,
As we step into the second quarter of 2026, we’ve seen a volatile start to the year across global markets, marked most notably by the U.S. invasion of Iran which commenced on February 28th. So far, the war has had limited economic and financial impact aside from some steep increases in the price of transportation fuels. The longer the war in the middle east rages, the more severe will be the impacts (see our US Domestic content below for more) and could ultimately trigger a recession.For cross-border clients, the interplay between currency movements, taxation updates, and evolving regulatory frameworks continues to present both challenges and opportunities. At Areté, our focus remains on helping you anticipate and adapt—aligning your strategies to capture growth, preserve wealth, and maintain cross-border efficiency through thoughtful, coordinated planning.
2026 First Quarter Investment Report - Is the Bull Market Over?
Don't let deceptively flat quarterly returns obscure the market's true downward momentum. Our First Quarter Investment Report provides the clear-eyed analysis you need, revealing how a single brutal month wiped out gains across nearly every major U.S. investment category. Inside, we dissect the impact of the Middle East conflict and oil shock on key economic inputs—from anemic GDP growth to the worrisome jobs report—helping you cut through the uncertainty and avoid the costly trap of "panic selling." Read More Here
Update: Appointed with Australian Brokerage Firms -Macquarie and NetWealth
Building a Smarter Practice for You
One of our ongoing commitments at Areté is to continuously invest in the tools and systems that allow us to deliver deeper, more precise advice — and Q1 has seen some meaningful progress on that front. We have developed a new tax-sensitive Superannuation re-contribution modeling tool, purpose-built for the complexity our clients face at the intersection of Australian superannuation and US tax obligations. This tool allows us to model re-contribution strategies in a way that is fully informed by your tax position on both sides of the Pacific, helping to optimize outcomes that might otherwise be left on the table. In parallel, we have been expanding our use of AI across the practice — not as a shortcut, but as a means of providing you with more thorough, more considered advice. This has taken tangible shape in the development of our Client Knowledge Centre, which centralizes the information most relevant to your situation, as well as enhanced recommendation documents and meeting agendas that are more detailed, better structured, and more directly connected to your financial goals. The result is advice that is not only more comprehensive, but more personalized to the nuances of your cross-border life.
Keeping You Ahead at Tax Time
As we move through what is always a busy tax season for our cross-border clients, the team has been focused on ensuring you have everything you need to navigate your 2025 filing with confidence. Midway through the quarter, once 1099’s were available from our custodians, we distributed our personalized 2025 Tax Letters to all managed account clients — a document tailored to your specific portfolio that provides a summary of realized gains and losses, a checklist of expected forms from Charles Schwab or Interactive Brokers (including your Form 1099-Consolidated), guidance on 529 Plan contributions that may be deductible at the state level, and step-by-step instructions for accessing your custodian documents. Each letter was uploaded directly to your secure client folder for easy reference. Alongside this, we completed our regular update of your Personal Events and Firm Travel — a living document that keeps your most important financial details current and centralized, so that your broader advisory picture remains accurate and actionable. These are the kinds of behind-the-scenes touchpoints that may seem routine, but are designed to save you time, reduce filing stress, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks at what is often the most complex time of year for our clients.
Personal Events and Firm Travel
Global Financial Planning Institute: Roatán 2026
Q1 has been a busy and rewarding one on the personal and professional front. In January, I had the privilege of hosting the Global Financial Planning Institute's annual gathering in Roatán, Honduras — a truly special location that brought together some of the brightest minds in cross-border financial planning for a few days of deep collaboration, learning, and more than a little sunshine. Later in January, Katelyn and I met again in Phoenix for the Advyzon conference, where I was honored to join a panel presentation and connect with advisers and technology leaders who are shaping the future of our profession. Closer to home, I made a visit to Sydney to spend time with the team at IMFG, which is always a valuable opportunity to strengthen those relationships and align on what's ahead for our shared clients.
Looking ahead to April, I’ve been training for this year’s Tour de Brisbane — a great event on my home soil — before a quick trip to Canada and the US to continue building the practice and catching up with colleagues and clients on both sides of the Pacific. It's the kind of pace that keeps things interesting, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Warm Regards,
Ashley Murphy, CFP® GFP Fellow
Principal & Founder
Areté Wealth Strategists Australia
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Q2-26 Upcoming Areté Webinars
How to Bring your US Retirement Accounts (e.g. 401(k), IRAs) Home to Australia in 2026
In this session, we’ll explore practical and compliant strategies for Australians returning home or already residing in Australia with US retirement accounts. Topics will include:
LIVE TODAY: April 14th at 7:30pm CT (Wed, April 15th at 10:30am AEST)
Register here to join us live or to receive the recording afterward!
Q1-26 Private Client Events
April Q2-26 - Portfolio Review & Allocation Adjustments (Apr 1st)
We held our Q2 Financial Market Review and Economic Update on Apr 1st where we looked at reviewed the current state of global markets, major inflection points, the financial health of the U.S. consumer and macro economic conditions. Following our economic review we looked at the "Why" behind our moves providing a clear rationale for the rebalancing we're performing.
Q1-26 Areté Webinars
This technical session tackled the significant compliance and tax pitfalls faced by US tax residents — both Australians in America and Americans in Australia — who hold Superannuation accounts. We examined the foundational challenge posed by the US Savings Clause, which means Super is never sheltered from IRS reach regardless of its concessional treatment in Australia, and the critical determination of whether an account is treated as an Employee Benefit Trust or a Foreign Grantor Trust — each carrying materially different tax consequences. Key takeaways included why making voluntary concessional contributions as a US tax resident can produce a neutral or even negative tax outcome, how foreign grantor trust treatment can expose annual growth to full US ordinary income rates without the benefit of a foreign tax credit, and the strategic use of carry-forward contribution rules for those who are no longer US tax residents. The overarching message was that Super and US tax is one of the most misunderstood intersections in cross-border planning, making proactive and informed advice essential to avoiding unnecessary erosion of retirement wealth. Click Here to Watch Now
The US Exit Tax (HEART Act 877A) and How it Works in 2026 (Mar 26)
This technical session unpacked how the US exit tax regime under the HEART Act operates in 2026 for globally mobile Americans contemplating relinquishing citizenship or long-term residency. We broke down the "covered expatriate" tests, how the deemed-disposition rules can crystallize unexpected tax liabilities, and the particular complexities arising for Australians — from concentrated positions and deferred compensation to the downstream impact on heirs receiving gifts or bequests post-expatriation. Key takeaways included the critical importance of modeling the exit-tax calculation well in advance, sequencing asset realizations and trust strategies to manage the liability, and monitoring potential shifts toward residence-based taxation under the Trump administration — all to ensure expatriation becomes a deliberate, integrated decision rather than a costly surprise. Click Here to Watch Now
Domestic Content
Oil Shock Equals Market Turbulence
The war in Iran has triggered a significant "oil shock," driving prices up to $115 a barrel and threatening higher consumer costs for fuel, airfare, and manufactured goods. While short-term market volatility has caused some investor panic, historical data suggests that brief price spikes rarely cause long-term damage unless they trigger a full-scale recession.
Economic and Financial Threats to the US and Global Economy
The global economy is in an unprecedented vulnerability situation with an unprecedented range of threats, where a single "oil domino" could trigger a stagflation crisis far more severe than the 1970s. This sharp analysis by Doug Murphy explores the logical "what-ifs" of a world facing supply shocks, rising sovereign debt, and the inevitable shift in global market power.
The U.S. national debt is passing $40 trillion, guaranteeing the next administration will face a no-win choice between an unsustainable fiscal mess and triggering a recession.
Medicare Advantage: Wigs and Weight Loss
Medicare Advantage plans are now covering chemotherapy-related wigs and weight-loss programs—but is this innovation coming at the cost of your essential medical care?
Access our comprehensive, unbiased financial guides here.
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