Blog

Big Beautiful Bill 101: What You Need to Know About the New Law

Matt Roberts, MFM, CFP®, CAP®, Chief Planning Officer

President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law in early July, and we’ve compiled some of the most impactful parts for your finances and daily life, including tax cuts, credits and gifts, as well as policy updates impacting farmers and business owners.

Leaving the Nest: A Lesson from the Farm & Financial Tips for New Graduates

Damian Beard, CFP®, MBA, Associate Financial Planner

My family and I spent the first weekend of June at the family farm near Clear Lake, Iowa. To our surprise, nestled within a hose reel on the side of the machine shop, we discovered a bird’s nest with two tiny chicks and their mother. The next day, something remarkable happened — both baby birds leapt from the nest just moments apart. The moment reminded me so much of what many families have just experienced: high school graduation season.

Quarterly Market Update

Q2 market fluctuations demonstrated the importance of staying invested during a downturn. Market recoveries often happen quickly and missing even just a few days of positive returns can have a significant impact on a portfolio’s long-term performance. Chief Investment Officer Jason Gunkel shares his insights.

Finance Moment

In our latest Finance Moment podcast episode, Financial Planner Ben Geiger explains how staying the course when it comes to investments - despite market volatility - is the best decision long term. Tune into the episode here. 

Financial Update

SEI Transition

As we shared in an email to our investment clients on July 9, we are transitioning investment custodians from Schwab to SEI over the course of the next 6-9 months. Please see the full email (and related videos) explaining this change and the client account transition process here. If you have any questions, please contact your planning team at (515) 225-6000. 

Inside Look

Client Parking & Handicap Access 

While we have dedicated Syverson Strege Visitor parking spaces and stair access to our office on the northwest side of our building, we realize there are situations where our clients are more comfortable not navigating stairs or when they use a wheelchair to visit us. The map below indicates our current visitor parking, as well as additional parking spaces on the west side of our building that we recommend for our clients who need handicap parking spaces or need straight sidewalk access to our office. We are working on a better office accessibility solution, but it will likely take until sometime in 2026 to receive all approvals and for the work to be completed. If we can ever assist with office access, please don't hesitate to let us know. Thank you!

Variety Bike Build

Our team spent time in June building 20 bikes for Variety - the Children's Charity! We had a ton of fun in the sun putting together bikes that will be donated to children at Capital View Elementary School in Des Moines later this year. Variety delivers children equity, independence, social inclusion, mobility and self-esteem by funding and delivering equipment and services in a variety of ways.

Events

• Aug. 13: Older Iowans Day at the Iowa State Fair; 9a.m.-2p.m. We still have a few spots left to take clients to the Iowa State Fair for a day of fun, including transportation to/from our office, entry ticket, $10 in food/drink coupons and a cup of Barksdale cookies per person!  Must be age 60 or older to attend. Limited to the first 12 to RSVP to Deb Longseth at (515) 225-6000 or dlongseth@onlyworkforyou.com.

• 2025 Client Appreciation Events: Aug. 21 (5-7 p.m.) or Sept. 26 (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) – see invitation and RSVP links below.

NOTE: The Aug. 21 event at Spare Time is kid-friendly, so please

include children in your RSVP count for that event.

• Aug. 21: Home Sweet Home: Living Options for Your Retirement Years; 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. @ Syverson Strege Office: Join us for this panel-style lunch and learn event to hear firsthand experiences from retirees on their journeys to choosing living options for their retirement years. Chief Investment Officer Jason Gunkel will also share when and how to incorporate retirement lifestyle planning into your overall financial plan. RSVP required as space is limited. Lunch will be provided. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1492168308579?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Out and About

Planning certainly pays off – especially if you are a Caitlin Clark / Indiana Fever fan! Syverson Strege employees Jason Gunkel, Wayne Johnson and Deb Longseth planned some summer time off earlier this month to catch Indiana Fever games in Indianapolis.