If you felt like 2025 had “way too many headlines” for markets to be up… you're not imagining it. Between rate cuts, policy whiplash, and nonstop AI hot takes, it would've been easy to assume this was the year something finally cracked. And yet—stocks held up, bonds showed up, and a lot of long-term investors were rewarded for staying steady.

In this episode, Hannah Chapman, CFP®, APMA®, CRPC® and Brad Haines, CFA, FRM, Chief Investment Officer of Juncture Wealth Strategies break down what actually drove returns, why AI still looks like a boom (not necessarily a bubble—yet), and what conditions could flip that script in 2026.

Learn more:

• How interest rates could change the AI story in 2026

• What the recent wave of layoffs actually reflects

• Why earnings and cash flow matter more than headlines

• What “Trump Accounts” are and who's eligible

• How time in the market and compounding returns do the heavy lifting in growing wealth

• What details are still unresolved

Connect with Brad here:

Website: https://www.juncturewealth.com

Email: bhaines@juncturewealth.com

Connect with Hannah here:

X² Wealth Planning Website: https://x2wealthplanning.com/

Expansive CEO: https://expansiveceo.com/

Hannah's Website: https://hannahrchapman.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah.chapman.cfp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahchapmanfinancialadvisor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahrchapman/

Visibility doesn't require louder marketing, better slides, or a perfectly memorized script. What actually moves people—on stage, on camera, or in a room—is embodiment. And most entrepreneurs were never taught how to access that, especially when nerves, pressure, or people-pleasing kick in.

In this episode, Hannah Chapman, CFP®, APMA®, CRPC®, sits down with international keynote speaker and brand strategist Melanie Spring, known for her “approachable badass” energy and her work helping bold visionaries amplify their voices. Together, they explore:

• The difference between performing and embodying your message

• Why magnetism is as much about repelling as attracting

• How your nervous system affects your presence, and what it looks like to speak from integrity instead of approval

• Practical tools—including a simple essence-clarifying exercise—and

• Details about Melanie's upcoming Speak With Confidence cohort for leaders ready to be fully seen

Connect with Melanie here:

Website: https://melaniespring.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/melaniespring

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@melaniespring

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/melaniespringspeaker

Connect with Hannah here:

X² Wealth Planning Website: https://x2wealthplanning.com/

Expansive CEO: https://expansiveceo.com/

Hannah's Website: https://hannahrchapman.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah.chapman.cfp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahchapmanfinancialadvisor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahrchapman/

Interest rates are drifting lower, jobs data keeps getting revised, AI stocks are whipping around on every earnings call, and gold is suddenly back at all-time highs. If you've looked at the headlines lately and wondered, “Is the Fed behind the curve? Is AI already a bubble? Should I be buying gold… or is it too late?” — you're not alone. There's a lot of noise right now around the dollar, inflation, and what actually belongs in a long-term portfolio.

In this episode, Hannah Chapman CFP®, APMA®, CRPC® and Brad Haines, CFA, FRM and Chief Investment Officer of Juncture Wealth Strategies unpack:

• The Fed's latest quarter-point rate cut

• Which data points the Fed is watching ahead of their January meeting

• Oracle's massive new AI infrastructure spend and what it tells us about the stage of the AI cycle

• Why investor pushback on capital expenditures may actually be healthy

• Gold and silver: why these metals are hitting new highs

• How global confidence in U.S. institutions and the dollar plays into it

• Will there be a return to the gold standard?

• How to think about owning (or not owning) precious metals without making fear-based, all-or-nothing bet

Connect with Brad here:

Website: https://www.juncturewealth.com

Email: bhaines@juncturewealth.com

Connect with Hannah here:

X² Wealth Planning Website: https://x2wealthplanning.com/

Expansive CEO: https://expansiveceo.com/

Hannah's Website: https://hannahrchapman.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah.chapman.cfp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahchapmanfinancialadvisor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahrchapman/