Zhang Financial

06/17/2026

Deeply Humbled and Grateful

This past Sunday — the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity — several Catholic parishes in the Kalamazoo area, including St. Mary Catholic Church and St. Philip Roman Catholic Church in Battle Creek, recognized Zhang Financial in their parish bulletins for our support of the Catholic Charities Bread of Life food program.

Every day, families across our region turn to Bread of Life for help — struggling with job loss, rising food costs, medical expenses, and housing pressures. This remarkable program feeds nearly 3,000 individuals each month across 9 counties, powered by the collective generosity of an entire diocese.

Seeing the community come together like this is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. We are proud to call Kalamazoo home. We are proud to invest in our local communities, and we are grateful to the dedicated teams at Catholic Charities Diocese of Kalamazoo for the life-changing work they do every single day.

Give where you live. 🌱

06/12/2026

The Atlanta Federal Reserve increased its Q2 GDP forecast from 3% to 3.3%, and the FOMC will meet next week for the first time under new Chair Kevin Warsh. No interest rate movement is expected. The S&P crept up 0.15% this week, despite the magnificent 7 dropping 2.4%. Year-to-date, the equal-weighted S&P 500 has outperformed the standard (market-weighted) S&P 500.

Watch: https://youtu.be/20g_zimCXhI
Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021410/episodes/19337168

06/08/2026

Better-than-anticipated economic numbers came out last week, led by non-farm payrolls nearly doubling expectations (+172,000 actual vs. +96,000 expected). This led markets to price in a lower chance of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, and instead potentially raising them later this year. Markets tumbled as a result, with the S&P 500 losing 2.55% on the week. International markets fell too, but by a smaller margin.

Watch: https://youtu.be/cRAt9albtq8
Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021410/episodes/19315603

06/01/2026

Economic indicators were mixed last week, with PCE coming in better than expected while initial jobless claims and personal income fared worse than anticipated. Still, the S&P 500 rose 1.44% as growth outperformed value. Additionally, international markets continued to climb, with emerging markets gaining 4% last week alone. Emerging markets are now up 25.6% YTD, despite the drag from underperforming Chinese equities.

05/26/2026

Anticipation for a potential end to the war in Iran caused inflation expectations to drop, and the Atlanta Fed raised it Q2 GDP forecast from +4% to +4.3%. Interest rate hikes, rather than cuts, are expected by the end of the year; however, no change is expected at the next meeting in June. The S&P rose 0.91% last week, driven by small-cap and non-Magnificent 7 companies. International markets performed well, as both developed and emerging indexes climbed over 1% last week alone.

Watch: https://youtu.be/oEVuaQDVSRk
Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021410/episodes/19244562

05/26/2026

The Portage Zhang Farmers Market celebrated its ribbon cutting today ahead of the pavilion's official opening this Sunday. More than a home for the market, the new pavilion was created as a place for connection, conversation, and community — bringing people together at a time when so much of life has moved online.

As Lynn Chen-Zhang shared during the ceremony:
"Nowadays we do everything online — we shop online, order food online, even have meetings online. While technology provides convenience, real human connection has become more rare. That's why I'm extremely proud that, as everything goes digital, we as a community decided to invest in something physical that provides neighbor to neighbor connection"

We're proud to support a space that will continue bringing together local farmers, small businesses, families, and neighbors for years to come.

05/20/2026

Join us on Tuesday, May 26, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony as the market officially opens its new permanent home at 125 East Centre Avenue, next to the Zhang Senior Center!

Beginning May 31, the Portage Zhang Farmers Market will hold weekly markets at its new location, continuing a tradition that has brought together local farmers, vendors, and the community for more than a decade.

We’re excited to celebrate this next chapter and hope to see you there!

05/18/2026

A few weeks ago, markets were anticipating an 80% chance of no interest rate changes for the rest of 2026. That has since dropped to 49%, paired with a 39% probability of one rate hike due to higher-than-expected inflation. US markets remained positive, with the S&P 500 rising 0.2% last week, now +8.7% YTD. This exceeds developed international markets, sitting at +6% YTD, but still trails emerging markets at +19.5%.

Watch: https://youtu.be/aYedul8oZKM
Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021410/episodes/19198252

05/15/2026

Thank you to WWMT News Channel 3 for featuring our Founder and President, Charles Zhang CFP®, MBA, MSFS, ChFC, and CEO Lynn Chen-Zhang, CFP®, CPA, PFS, MBA, MS, as they are honored with the 2026 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Congratulations to Charles and Lynn on this well-deserved honor and for the many ways they continue to serve clients and community.

Read the full story below.

A well-known philanthropic couple around town is receiving prestigious, national recognition.

05/11/2026

Non-farm payrolls landed at 115,000, exceeding the predicted 73,000. 89% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q1 earnings, and 84% of those have beaten expectations. Moreover, the average outperformance is 18.2%; this caused the index to rise 2.4% last week, and it is now +8.5% YTD. However, international markets continue to outperform, with emerging markets up +6.9% last week alone and +22.5% YTD.

Watch: https://youtu.be/yo3ltzjXhCY
Listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021410/episodes/19159998