Letter to Stakeholders, June 2026

Thursday, June 4^th, 11:03 am EST. We’re almost halfway through 2026. And we’re going to set records for initial public offerings (or IPOs). This isn’t because more companies are going public then even last year but because the dollars these previously private companies have been raising through capital markets has been extraordinary. And the biggest companies – in name and dollars – are still to come. Meanwhile corporate governance seems to be on the decent just as family governance is on the ascent and our country is still party to a war in Iran. We’re watching it all including volatile oil prices, interest rates and investor sentiment. The news cycle is spinning but we’re doing OK as are your portfolios (for a second straight month). 

SpaceX, Anthropic and Open AI, Oh My!

In case you haven’t heard, the company SpaceX is “going public” this month. It means, the company owned mostly by Elon Musk and private investors will soon offer a portion of their ownership to the public via our capital markets. They intend to raise $75 billion from the public. Anthropic – the maker of the large language model “Claude” – has also filed to “go public” soon and so has Open AI – the maker of large language model “ChatGPT.” The public markets launch of these companies will mint hundreds of new (paper) millionaires and a frenzy for public investors (and brokers) who have been waiting for these companies for at least three years. In part, because of the dollar capitalization size of these companies once they go public – measured by the number of shares multiplied by their price – these companies will be included in the stock indices within days rather than months. This means that millions of passive investors will invest in these companies by default, further feeding the market frenzy.

These companies will more than likely experience early highs and lows much like the AI company Cerebras did last month. If you have any “fear of missing out (FOMO” about these stocks are the microchip companies that have more than doubled in stock price over the last two months. You’re not alone. I have spoken to my wife and Doug about how strange it is to watch another “revolution” go by, the way I did the dot com era (1990s), the real estate run up (2000s) and the zero interest rate era (2010s) before. And then I’m heartened by the reality that each of those have been followed by a very tough year. The booms and the busts of our modern stock market are likely to continue but the buffers we’ve included in your portfolios are meant to dampen the risk while capturing much of the gain. It’s return adjusted for risk that helps all of us sleep well at night. This month we will reinvest 5% of your portfolios into one of those buffers: structured notes.

Family Governance 

One of the distinguishing markers of our firm versus other traditional wealth management firms is our focus on family governance: creating structure so family values stay aligned when access to money is no longer a problem. The value of family governance is catching on with consulting firms like Continuity Family Business Consulting where Dr. Shay Harris-Pierre, one of our firm’s strategic partners, hangs a shingle. Our previous interview with Dr. Harris-Pierre highlighted the benefits of family governance on a family’s values as well as their finances. We will continue our focus on family governance and welcome your ideas to increase the impact for your family.

Corporate Governance

As allocators of money to corporations for investment on your behalf, our focus is primarily on wealth preservation, followed up by growth. Our view is risk adjusted for return is a greater measure of success than just return. Proposed changes by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may hamper some of the transparency that helps investors judge that risk and long-term return. After writing last month about the value of being “in the room” with the SEC Chair, it was jarring to read about rule changes to corporate disclosures and proxy voting. To most investors these are arcane rules that won’t make the evening news but to those who advocate (especially) for environmental responsibility, these are BIG changes that affect an investor’s ability to observe and influence Corporate America. 

As investors, you are owners and often retain the right to “vote your proxies.” We will follow these rules as they continue to change but if you are interested in discussing corporate governance – or family governance! – just email Jason@JasonHowell.com 

Here’s to summer,

Jason J. Howell, CFP®, CPWA®, CSRIC® 

President

Earning wealth is often about proving capability. You know this because if you’re reading this, you’ve probably done it. Owning wealth is often about developing wisdom in an almost entirely new realm: the world of wealth.

One is largely about accumulation. The other is increasingly about stewardship, relationships, leadership, and purpose. And in many ways, that second transition is the more difficult one. And there are few people from whom you’re going to get a lot of sympathy. We get it. 

Families willing to approach it thoughtfully, this era in your life could become exactly what you hoped it would become when you were working so hard and/or “dreaming of the day…” 

Our firm doesn’t have all of the answers but the best partners you can work with have partners. We continually add strategic partnerships with experts in every area of managing, distributing and enjoying wealth. It’s work well worth doing. 

Jason Howell Company is a family wealth advisory firm serving families who believe that family preservation is at least as important as wealth preservation. The firm helps clients navigate “life after wealth” — particularly before and after business exits, land sales, inheritances, and other significant liquidity events.

The company’s work focuses on designing and implementing sustainable investment strategies, family governance structures, and proactive philanthropy. Through its family governance process, the firm helps connect attorneys, accountants, investment professionals, and other advisors to create a clearer “single source of truth” for client families. By reducing fragmentation across advisors, decisions, and technology systems, families are better positioned to make informed decisions, take coordinated action, and steward wealth across generations.

Jason J. Howell, CFP®, CPWA®, CSRIC® and Douglas W. Tees, MBA, CFP® CAP®, CBDA have spent decades working with families in the Washington, DC area and understand the unique ways wealth is experienced here. Successful entrepreneurs and family business owners often feel they must continually prove themselves; government contractors worry about the next contract; former Capitol Hill staffers and former agency employees privately question how to reconcile public service with private sector success. Similar tensions arise among professionals at our region’s many corporate headquarters. These unspoken dynamics can make it difficult for families to talk openly about money or make confident long-term decisions. Through a family governance approach, we help families create clarity, alignment, and structure—bringing together values, decision-making, and philanthropy so wealth can be stewarded thoughtfully across generations.

Prospective clients may be about to sell land or a business for an extraordinary "liquidity event." Regardless, we focus just as much on family preservation as we do wealth preservation. Our prospective clients recognized they:

• Need to “do something” with the cash in their checking/savings
• Need to start tax planning instead of just tax paying
• Need to reduce the isolation, guilt and decision fatigue
• Need to separate but align family wealth and individual wealth
• Need to reduce financial miscommunications between family members
• Need a plan to provide space for both family and individual philanthropy
• Need to separate business finances from personal finances
• Need to eventually diversify their portfolio away from the family business
• Need an investment strategy for income, “up” and “down” markets
• Need a plan to mitigate market, credit, inflation, and political risks
• Need to be sure they are choosing the right work benefits
• Need to plan for money while alive before what happens after death