1 | Week In Review

A Week Rocked By The 3 R’s: Russia, Rate Hike, Recession Fears

A volatile week in the markets saw further uncertainty in Russia, the Fed raising rates and scheduling more this year, and mixed consumer sentiment. What types of companies should investors be looking at or avoiding? Annex Wealth Management’s Dave Spano and Derek Felske discuss.

2 | Poll

When you see a tv commercial with a QR code, do you use it?

QR codes are more popular, especially since the pandemic. One advertiser ran a commercial during the Superbowl that was just a QR code onscreen for 30 seconds.

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3 | Client Exclusive

Who’s On Your Team?

In this week’s iteration of “Who’s On Your Team?”, we hear from wealth manager Dave Batten about living the “vanlife.”

“[My wife and I] learned a lot during our first summer of vanlife. Most importantly, be flexible and ready for nearly anything. Many of our fellow travelers would echo that same advice. It’s a lot like financial planning in that respect.”

Camping, for me, started when I met my wife a dozen or so years ago. We had been avid tent-campers until a couple of years ago when we decided to rent a small tow-behind teardrop camper for a road-trip out to Rocky Mountain National Park. Although it seemed like great idea at the time – it was small/light enough to tow with a car, it had an “outdoor kitchen” off the back, etc. – we discovered it was a bit too small to really live out of for any extended period of time. The 10-day trip itself was wonderful: we experienced lots of great rock climbing and hiking, and we even did our first mountain climb. By the time we got home we had already decided to move up to a larger rig for the next trip.

When next time came around, we rented a Sprinter van that had been converted into a camper for a 10-day circumnavigation of Lake Michigan. This time around we were able to stand up & walk around inside the rig. We had a comfortable double bed, indoor kitchen, refrigerator/freezer, toilet & shower, hot water…all the comforts of home. It was a fabulous adventure that included whitewater rafting, rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, and biking. We were hooked on vanlife.

Shortly after returning from that trip, my wife began our search for a rig of our own. We found a 2007 Sprinter that had a very similar build-out to the one we had rented. She flew out to Salt Lake City early-February of 2021 to make the purchase and bravely drove it home through a blizzard in the Rockies that lasted through the Great Plains, arriving home at halftime of the Super Bowl.

Our first year with a van of our own has been pretty darn awesome and quite the learning experience at the same time. The flexibility of being able to look at the weather forecast for the weekend and be able to drive a few hours in any direction to find good weather for outdoor fun has been terrific. Being able to live off-grid and self-contained has given us the opportunity to overnight at some great Harvest Host destinations…vineyards, farms, craft breweries…and meet others who are living life on the road.

At this point, our favorite trip in our van has been Madeline Island and the Porcupine Mountains last summer. The relaxation of sliding open the side door of the van and having

Lake Superior as our “backyard” is hard to describe. We were fortunate to have been there when the lake was smooth as glass, and we could paddleboard for miles.

We learned a lot during our first summer of vanlife. Most importantly, be flexible and ready for nearly anything. Many of our fellow travelers would echo that same advice. It’s a lot like financial planning in that respect.

Our only mishap thus far was when we had to leave the van in Louisville to have the electronic control unit on the transmission replaced. It took a couple of weeks for the repair to be completed thanks to supply-chain issues. We made the decision to have the van interior substantially remodeled and we should have it back from the upfitter in Elkhorn, WI by mid-April and ready for more adventures on the road.

It used to be that people who lived in a van down by the river might have been thought of as shady characters…now it’s a life aspiration. Here’s to vanlife. Cheers!

Have feedback, an idea you’d like us to write about, or a story to share? Send us an email at cl************@*********th.com.

4 | Did You Know?

Annex Wealth Management produces four weekly radio shows in three markets.

With a full radio production studio at our company headquarters, Annex provides weekly radio content to a wide audience. Besides our primary hosts, each show features Team Segments that highlight various members of the Annex investment, retirement, tax, and estate planning departments.

Fox Valley listeners can catch the one-hour ‘Annex Wealth Management Show’ at 4 p.m. Thursdays on WHBY across their 4 signals (one AM and three FM translators). The show is hosted by Dave Spano, president and CEO, and Derek Felske, Chief Investment Officer.

Our flagship show, Money Talk-The Annex Wealth Management Show, is Wisconsin’s longest-running personal finance show and airs at 10 a.m. Saturday morning on 50,000-watt WTMJ in Milwaukee. That big signal covers a large portion of Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and across the lake to the west side of Michigan. Primary hosts are Dave Spano and Derek Felske.

The Investment Show from Annex Wealth Management airs at 11a.m. on Milwaukee’s WISN. Mark Beck, Managing Director of Wealth Management Services, serves as primary host, and each week welcomes a different co-host from the Annex team.

In Naples, Florida, Money Talk-The Annex Wealth Management Show airs at 12 noon on the market’s #1 rated radio station, 92.5 Fox News. Dave Spano and Derek Felske handle the hosting duties with various team members contributing content. The show also features Southwest Florida-exclusive segments.

Besides long-form radio shows, Dave Spano joins WISN host Dan O’Donnell at 9:56 a.m. every Monday morning for a market snapshot. He then joins Steve Scaffidi on WTMJ at 10:32 a.m. on Monday for a 10-minute recap of the latest market moves. The 2-minute This Week with Annex Wealth Management airs throughout the week on WISN. Annex also presents three weekly Know the Difference Minutes on the highly-rated Mark Belling show on WISN in Milwaukee.

Show planning and production is handled by the Annex marketing team including Danny Clayton, a 40-year radio veteran. Brianna Kollmorgen manages scheduling of our very busy radio talent.

5 | Ask Annex

“Are there any tax deductions for contributing to grandchildren’s 529 plans?”

– Mark

We asked Annex Wealth Management’s Tom Berkholtz, CFP®: 

Yes, using the 529 plan is an attractive way to help grandchildren with college because of two notable tax benefits associated with contributions.  

• First, contributions will grow tax-free if used for approved education related expenses such as tuition, room/board and fees.  
• Second, if you’re a Wisconsin resident and contribute to the Wisconsin Edvest 529 plan, you can deduct up to $3,560 per beneficiary on your State return. 

As an example, let’s assume you have two grandkids and wish to contribute $1,000 to each. Using the Edvest website, open two accounts which are owned by you but list a grandkid as a beneficiary on each account. In this instance, each account will grow tax free, and your total State deduction is $2,000. 

We hope this helps. When – and we know it’s likely when, not if -you have questions about 529s, tax deductions, and planning for your grandkids, please let us know if you have further questions. 

6 | Quote of the Week

7 | Annex Radio

Events & Webinars

Annex Wealth Management has always been committed to client growth and education. Planning and saving can be demanding. We’ve found that when our clients master key concepts, it often enhances working together to reach their goals. Because these are not sales presentations, our clients benefit from a truly informative experience.