Lake Hills Wealth Management

10/09/2026

Bond yields just hit their highest close since 2002. Are they topping?

History leans yes over the next six months. It also says tops take time, and while the Fed is raising rates, the risk of yields going higher first is real. We walk through both sides, and why our own process is waiting for confirmation before adding to bonds:

https://lakehillswm.com/the-10-year-just-hit-5-31-are-yields-topping/

For informational purposes only. Not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Historical statistics don't reflect actual trading or client results. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

The 10-year Treasury closed at 5.31% on October 5, its highest close since 2002, and the 30-year closed at 5.67% two days later. That’s 134 basis points above the 10-year’s February 27 low of 3.97%. It has eased only slightly since, to 5.22% on October 8. Oil has gone the other way. WTI crude se...

10/01/2026

Is this a market top? 📈

The S&P 500 is near a record, but most of the stocks inside it aren't. About 76% are at least 10% below their highs. That kind of narrowness is a real warning sign, and we don't ignore it.

The shorter-term data leans the other way, though. We walk through both sides, and how we manage risk either way, in this week's post:

https://lakehillswm.com/is-this-a-market-top-heres-what-the-data-suggests/

Not investment advice. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

The S&P 500 is within 2% of its all-time high. Look underneath the index, though, and the picture is very different. As of October 1, about 76% of the stocks in the S&P 500 were at least 10% below their 52-week highs, and 83% were at least 10% below their all-time highs. In our data […]

09/25/2026

"My kids don't get that money."

That's the objection that ends most charitable remainder trust conversations — and it has an answer that most people have never been shown.

The income the trust pays you can fund a life insurance policy held in a separate irrevocable trust. Your heirs receive the death benefit instead of the shares. The arithmetic is often better than people expect, because the trust is investing the full pre-tax amount rather than what's left after a capital gains bill.

But the conditions are unforgiving, and the strategy gets oversold. Insurance isn't free, and whether it works at all depends on your age and health when you start. With the federal exemption at $15 million per person in 2026, for most families this is about replacing an inheritance — not dodging estate tax.

We don't sell insurance and we earn no commission on it. When this structure fits, we say so. When it doesn't, we say that too.

We wrote up the whole thing this week: https://lakehillswm.com/your-heirs-dont-get-that-money-heres-the-part-nobody-explains/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. These trusts are irrevocable and are not suitable for every investor; work with qualified counsel and your CPA. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

09/17/2026

There's a version of this problem in a lot of Texas households: one position has quietly become most of what you own, and you can't sell it without writing a very large check to the IRS.

"You should diversify" is advice that ignores the only part that's hard.

One structure built for exactly this is a charitable remainder trust. The trust sells the shares without paying capital gains tax, reinvests the full pre-tax amount, and pays you income for life or for a set term. What's left at the end goes to charity, and you take a deduction up front.

The catch is timing. If a sale is already locked in when the shares go into the trust, the tax comes back to you. So this is a conversation to have before anything is signed, not after.

It's also irrevocable, and it's the wrong answer if you weren't planning to give to charity anyway. We wrote up both sides.

https://lakehillswm.com/the-stock-you-cant-afford-to-sell-theres-a-structure-built-for-exactly-that/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. Charitable remainder trusts are irrevocable and involve the permanent transfer of assets; they are not suitable for every investor. Any such strategy should be confirmed in advance with your certified public accountant and attorney. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

09/03/2026

If your income lands between $505,000 and $606,000, there's a tax cost most people never see coming.

The 2026 SALT deduction cap is $40,400. But above $505,000 of income it shrinks by thirty cents for every additional dollar you earn — so you're paying your tax bracket and losing deduction at the same time. Your next dollar costs somewhere between 42 and 46 cents, depending on where you land.

In Texas this is all property tax. For a family carrying a $38,000 Travis County bill, that's real money.

The moves that fix it happen before December, not at filing. We broke down which ones work — and why one line on your tax statement may not be deductible at all.

https://lakehillswm.com/your-property-tax-bill-is-finally-deductible-your-income-may-undo-it/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. Figures reflect the 2026 tax year and are adjusted periodically; individual results depend on your own facts. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

08/27/2026

If your company's deferred comp enrollment opens this fall, the deferral percentage isn't the decision that matters most. The payout schedule is — that one follows you for a decade, and it runs into your retirement date, a possible business sale, and even which state you live in when the payments start.

While you're in that file, check your RSU withholding too. Vests come out at a flat 22%, which under-withholds badly if you're in the 35% or 37% bracket.

We wrote up what to look at before you sign: https://lakehillswm.com/your-deferred-comp-election-is-due-december-31-the-payout-question-is-the-one-that-costs-you/

Educational only. Not tax or legal advice. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser.

Nonqualified deferred comp enrollment usually opens in the fall, and whatever you elect for 2027 pay has to be irrevocable before January 1. Performance-based compensation gets a longer runway — up to six months before the performance period ends. Miss your window and the year is gone. The form as...

08/06/2026

Pay cash or finance? For years, financing was the obvious move — money was nearly free. Not anymore.

With cash finally paying a real yield, the smart answer depends on your liquidity, your taxes, and what the debt is secured against. We run the numbers so you don't have to guess.

Read this week's Perspective: https://lakehillswm.com/pay-cash-or-finance-the-math-just-changed/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. LHWM is an SEC-registered investment advisor.

08/06/2026

Pay cash or finance? For years, financing was the obvious move — money was nearly free. Not anymore.

With cash finally paying a real yield, the smart answer depends on your liquidity, your taxes, and what the debt is secured against. We run the numbers so you don't have to guess.

Read this week's Perspective: https://lakehillswm.com/pay-cash-or-finance-the-math-just-changed/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. LHWM is an SEC-registered investment advisor.

Every high-net-worth family we work with hits the same question eventually: pay cash for the big purchase, or finance it? The house, the second home, the business outlay. For fifteen years the answer was easy—money was nearly free, so you financed and kept your cash working. That math flipped. Wit...

07/28/2026

You own an S&P 500 index fund — so you're diversified, right? Not as much as you'd think.

Just seven tech companies now make up about a third of the index, the most concentrated it's been since the early 1970s. These are great businesses, but when one theme drives most of the market, a single worry can move all of it at once.

The point isn't to sell. It's to know what you actually own — across every account — and decide on purpose.

We break it down in this week's Perspective:
https://lakehillswm.com/your-index-fund-isnt-as-diversified-as-you-think-this-week-shows-why/

Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Educational only; not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

07/23/2026

Everyone will be watching the Fed next week. We're watching something more useful.

The 30-year TIPS real yield just hit 2.97% — nearly 3% above inflation, and the highest since 2002. In plain terms: for the first time in over two decades, you can lock in a return that stays ahead of inflation for as long as you hold the bond.

For families near or in retirement, that reshapes the math on safe, inflation-protected income — whether through individual TIPS, a ladder held to maturity, or a low-cost TIPS fund. There are a couple of catches worth understanding first (duration and the "phantom income" tax quirk), and windows like this tend to close when the Fed starts cutting.

Our latest Perspective breaks it down:
https://lakehillswm.com/the-fed-meets-next-week-the-more-interesting-number-is-nearly-3/

Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Educational only; not investment, tax, or legal advice.