Old Ideas, New Math

With Memorial Day behind us, it feels like we can all take a collective exhale as things settle down for the summer. After a thirsty spring and a soggy May, schools are wrapping up the year, people begin taking advantage of their well-earned PTO, and Fridays at Dyer & Co. start to feel a little bit quieter. The market, however, shows no signs of slowing down as we head into June. Let’s dive into this month's newsletter.

Retronyms

by Gray

Word nerds, this one's for you. I grew up in the 919 area code in a town where the phone numbers began with 969. My index finger had a callus from all those 9s on our rotary phone. Of course, we just called it "the phone." Rotary phone is a retronym: a word that gets coined when the world adds a new option and the old version suddenly needs a name. Before the electric guitar, acoustic guitars were just guitars. Whole milk is what we called milk before skim and 2% showed up.



Retronyms show up all over personal finance. The Roth IRA arrived in 1997 and suddenly we had Traditional IRAs. Index funds came along and turned everything that existed before into active investing. Of course, whole life insurance isn't a counterpart to skim life insurance. It got its name when term insurance emerged. 

Remember paper statements? They used to be statements.

As the world adds new options, the strategies and defaults for financial planning shift too. What used to be the obvious choice becomes one of several. Part of our job is helping figure out which old ways still fit and which new ideas deserve our attention.

Got a favorite retronym or word quirk? Send us an email, snail mail, call the land line, or visit our physical location.

Sell in May

by Caroline

You may be familiar with the Wall Street adage “Sell in May and go away.” The idea behind this saying is that the market has historically performed worse during summer months, so investors should cash out in May, enjoy their summer, and reinvest when markets bounce back in the fall. While there may be some truth behind this catchy phrase, it’s an overly simplistic take on the pattern.

Since 1990, the S&P 500 has averaged a 6.3% return during the November through April period, while the May through October period has averaged only 3.3%. That's nearly double the return during winter months, and the pattern is real.

But real doesn’t mean reliable. In May of 2025, the S&P 500 produced its strongest monthly gain since 1990. Anyone who followed the advice to “sell in May” missed the party. Long-term data drives this home. Over the 1976-2025 period, a $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 grew to around $295,000 when left untouched. A “Sell in May” approach, which systematically sits out of the market for half of the year, would have turned that same $1,000 into only about $46,000. Summer may be quieter, but it still beats sitting in cash.

The Boring Section

Naming a beneficiary on your IRA means the account passes directly to that person (or charitable organization) when you die. No probate. No court. No legal fees. No waiting months for an estate to settle. It takes about two minutes to set up.

Boring.

The June 30 Deadline

By Gray



If your work life centers on a June 30th fiscal year, you already know this is a busy stretch. And if you're one of our clients who supports nonprofits, this is when the solicitations ratchet up as development offices sprint to the finish.

Most charitable giving plans develop in December, but plenty of our generous clients give on nonprofits’ calendar instead of their own. If you're thinking about a gift before June 30th, we'd be happy to walk through the options. A qualified charitable distribution from an IRA, a donor advised fund, or other strategies can help your causes and ease your tax burden.

Market Update

By Caroline



The S&P 500 closed May 26th at a fresh all-time high of 7,519, with the Nasdaq also hitting a record. That puts the index up roughly 9.9% year to date. Not bad for a year that opened with a lot of hand-wringing.

A strong earnings season is largely responsible for these numbers. 84% of S&P 500 companies reporting Q1 results beat estimates, the highest rate since 2021, with earnings coming in 18.2% above expectations on average. That is the kind of broad, substantive performance that gives a rally some staying power. 

It is worth noting that a handful of large-cap technology and AI-related names are still doing most of the heavy lifting. The rally has broadened somewhat in May, but with only about half of S&P 500 stocks in short-term uptrends, the headline numbers tell a rosier story than what is happening beneath the surface. That is not a reason for alarm, but it is a good reminder that a rising index and a broadly healthy market are not always the same thing.

So what stands in the way from here? The Federal Reserve held rates steady again this month, and with inflation still running above its 2% target, cuts remain unlikely in the near term. Meanwhile, tariffs could return to prior levels by early July, keeping trade policy on investors' watch list. The result is a market that continues to grind higher on solid earnings and stable conditions, but with leadership concentration and policy uncertainty still shaping the path forward.

Meet Cathy

Dyer & Co. has concluded a competitive candidate search. We're excited to welcome Cathy Heitz as our new Client Services Associate, starting June 2nd. Cathy brings a background as a financial specialist at the old Wachovia and years of running the kind of complex family logistics that translate directly to client service. You'll be able to welcome her at cathy@dyerand.co or 704-323-6872.

We get a lot of questions about Goose. Here's a recent pic! He's growing faster than seems possible.

Thanks, as always, for your continued trust. Let us know how your summer reading list is shaping up. Did we miss your favorite retronym? And if our boring beneficiary tip got you thinking, we'd love to help you take two minutes to review or update yours.

Thank you for reading. If you liked this content, please share with a friend. You can always reach us by replying to this email or at 704-323-6872.

The foregoing content reflects the opinions of Dyer & Co. and is subject to change at any

time without notice. Content provided herein is for informational purposes only and should

not be used or construed as investment advice or a recommendation regarding the

purchase or sale of any security. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions or

forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct.

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Indices are not available for direct

investment. Any investor who attempts to mimic the performance of an index would incur

fees and expenses which would reduce returns.

Securities investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no

assurance that any investment plan or strategy will be successful.