Chris Rondinelli of Seven Fields Wealth Management

03/13/2026

Why is beating the S&P 500 so difficult?

Because markets are highly competitive systems.

When you buy or sell an investment, there is someone on the other side of that trade. That person may be another individual investor — or it may be a large institutional firm with significant research resources and advanced tools.

Public markets incorporate information quickly. Earnings reports, economic data, and interest rate decisions are reflected in prices as investors respond in real time. By the time a headline reaches most of us, thousands of market participants have already acted.

This doesn’t mean markets are perfect. It does mean that consistent outperformance is harder than it appears.

There’s also a mathematical reality: before costs, the average active dollar earns the market return. After costs, the average active dollar must underperform. That’s not opinion — it’s arithmetic.

In competitive environments, long-term success is often less about prediction and more about structure, cost control, diversification, and discipline.

That shift in perspective changes how portfolios should be built.

In the first post of this series, we introduced the idea of a disciplined, evidence-based framework for investing. That framework begins with a simple question: How do markets actually work? Before…

03/10/2026

Why is beating the S&P 500 so difficult?

Markets are competitive environments — and that changes the odds.

In Part 2 of my investing series, I break down:
• Why outperformance is rare
• The math behind active management
• What research from Sharpe, Fama, and SPIVA suggests

Full article here:
👇

In the first post of this series, we introduced the idea of a disciplined, evidence-based framework for investing. That framework begins with a simple question: How do markets actually work? Before…

02/27/2026

Investing often feels harder than it should.

One day you’re told to stay invested.
The next day you’re warned that “this time is different.”

Meanwhile, different experts offer completely different answers.
The problem isn’t a lack of information—it’s a lack of framework.

A smarter way to invest doesn’t start with predictions or products.
It starts with clear beliefs about how markets work, sound principles that follow from those beliefs, and a disciplined process for making decisions—especially when markets are uncomfortable.

Uncertainty never goes away.
The goal isn’t certainty—it’s better decision-making under uncertainty.

That’s the focus of this new series on evidence-based investing.

If you’ve ever felt confused by investing advice, you’re not alone. One day you’re told to “stay the course.”The next day, headlines warn that this time is different.Some experts swear by stock pic…

02/25/2026

Conflicting advice and market noise make investing harder than it needs to be.

This new series focuses on an evidence-based way to invest—clear principles, disciplined decisions, and fewer emotional mistakes.

👉

If you’ve ever felt confused by investing advice, you’re not alone. One day you’re told to “stay the course.”The next day, headlines warn that this time is different.Some experts swear by stock pic…

01/26/2026

Retirement projections can feel incredibly reassuring.

They show neat charts, long-term balances, and often a simple conclusion: you’re on track. But behind every one of those projections is a set of assumptions—about markets, spending, taxes, and even your own behavior.

Most of those assumptions stay hidden.

They assume spending stays “average,” even though retirement costs tend to come in waves. They assume markets deliver smooth returns, even though timing matters far more than averages. They assume today’s tax rules will last forever. And they assume you’ll stay calm and perfectly disciplined when uncertainty shows up.

None of that makes projections useless. But it does mean they’re only as reliable as the assumptions they’re built on.

The real value of a retirement projection isn’t in how confident it looks—it’s in how well it prepares you for when things don’t go according to plan.

Retirement projections are comforting. They turn an uncertain future into a clean line on a chart. A set of numbers. A probability of success. And often, a simple conclusion: You’re on track. It’s …

01/22/2026

Most retirement projections look comforting. Few show you what they’re quietly assuming.

I wrote about what’s usually missing from those forecasts - and why it matters if you’re relying on one to make real decisions.

Read more here:

Retirement projections are comforting. They turn an uncertain future into a clean line on a chart. A set of numbers. A probability of success. And often, a simple conclusion: You’re on track. It’s …

01/08/2026

Most retirement plans look reassuring.

They’re filled with charts, long-term projections, and precise numbers that extend decades into the future. And in calm markets, that can feel comforting.

But the real value of a retirement plan doesn’t show up when everything goes right. It shows up when something changes.

Markets decline. Expenses surprise you. Health, family, or priorities shift. In those moments, a plan that simply projects outcomes isn’t enough.

A good retirement plan helps you think clearly under uncertainty. It’s flexible rather than fragile. Simple enough to understand. Clear about what matters—and what doesn’t.

The plans that hold up best over time aren’t the most sophisticated on paper. They’re the ones built for real life.

Most retirement plans look reassuring at first glance. They’re neatly organized, full of charts and projections, and often conclude with a comforting takeaway: “You’re on track.” When you see clean…

01/05/2026

A retirement plan can look great and still fall apart at the wrong moment.

I wrote about what actually makes a retirement plan hold up over time—and why clarity and flexibility matter more than perfect projections.

Read here:

Most retirement plans look reassuring at first glance. They’re neatly organized, full of charts and projections, and often conclude with a comforting takeaway: “You’re on track.” When you see clean…

09/29/2025

You’ve worked hard to save for retirement. The last thing you want is for hidden tax traps to erode your savings.

Here are 5 to watch out for:
⚠️ RMD spikes at age 73 or 75
⚠️ The Social Security “Tax Torpedo”
⚠️ The Medicare “IRMAA Cliff” (with a 2-year lookback)
⚠️ Tax bracket creep over time
⚠️ Estate & legacy surprises — from state-level inheritance taxes to capital gains and income taxes on IRAs

Knowing about these ahead of time — and planning around them — can save retirees thousands and give more peace of mind.

09/23/2025

New on the blog: 5 Retirement Tax Traps That Could Cost You Thousands.

Even in retirement, taxes don’t go away — they just change shape. From the Social Security Tax Torpedo to the Medicare IRMAA Cliff to estate & legacy surprises, these rules can catch families off guard.

👉 Check it out here:

When most people think about retirement, they picture more free time, less stress, and the chance to enjoy the lifestyle they’ve worked so hard to build. What many don’t realize is that retirement …

09/11/2025

Seeing the market drop can feel unsettling — but downturns aren’t just setbacks, they’re the very reason long-term investing works.

Here’s why:
➡️ Risk and return are linked.
➡️ Higher risk means higher expected return, but also the chance of losses.
➡️ The “risk premium” is the reward for staying invested through uncertainty.

Volatility isn’t a flaw of investing — it’s the price of admission. Without down markets, there would be no up markets.

Read the full blog post here:

Nobody who’s invested in the stock market enjoys seeing it go down. It’s instinctual.You check the markets. You see green. You feel good.You see red. You feel uneasy.It’s only natural to wonder: Wh…