There goes another one.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking thin after Caroline Crenshaw stepped down last Friday. A commissioner since 2020, Crenshaw was a persistent crypto skeptic and the last remaining Democrat among the SEC’s top ranks. “She has been a steadfast advocate for the agency’s mission — demonstrating clarity of purpose and generosity of spirit,” Chair Paul Atkins and commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda said in a joint statement. Her departure follows Democrat Jaime Lizárraga’s exit in January 2025.

Instead of five commissioners, the agency is now down to an all-Republican trio. Commissioners are appointed by the president with Senate confirmation, and no more than three may belong to the same political party. While there appears to be no firm deadline to fill the two vacancies, there are a few possible replacements, and a lingering question of whether it even matters who gets the seats.

“Pundits of the SEC like to say the bipartisan construct somehow ennobles the system, making it better and providing more thoughtful debate,” said longtime securities lawyer Bill Singer. “Whoever nominates the chair winds up putting the commission three to two.”

Just Sending 100,000 Emails

Crenshaw’s exit wasn’t a surprise. Her first term ended in June 2024, but she stayed on under a holdover provision. That same year, President Joe Biden nominated her for a second term running through 2029. The Senate Banking Committee never advanced the nomination, though, amid intense opposition from the crypto industry and allied lawmakers. Supporters of the Stand With Crypto nonprofit sent more than 100,000 emails to senators urging them to block her reappointment.

Crenshaw never softened her stance. She dissented from spot Bitcoin ETF approvals in early 2024, opposed the SEC’s settlement with Ripple Labs last May, and as recently as December warned that tokenized products are “far from one-to-one replicas” of the assets they are designed to track.

“There have been very rare examples where one person goes against the grain and upends the majority,” Singer told Advisor Upside.

Help Wanted. That leaves two commissioner seats open, and an open question about who would want them. Peirce’s term ended last summer, and she’s been serving on an extension, but she’s likely to be replaced with another Republican.

Singer said a few possible replacements for the Democratic seats include:

• Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Kara Stein;
• Former PCAOB Chair Erica Williams;
• and Georgetown Law professor Chris Brummer.

Still, there is likely little room for a minority-party commissioner to exert real influence. “I just don’t know who would want to come in as a Democratic nominee knowing they’re unlikely to get anything done,” Singer said. “And not that it would be career suicide, but who wants to leave the private sector right now, when the market is soaring, to sit on the SEC?”

Let’s go abroad.

The US may be home to the biggest stocks on the planet — ahem, Mag 7 — but it’s not the only game in town. International markets had an exceptional 2025, with the MSCI All Country World ex-US Index jumping more than 30%, compared with the S&P 500’s roughly 16% gain. It’s the former index’s best performance since 2009, when it surged 37%. That means US clients with meaningful international diversification were rewarded, leaving the obvious question: Will 2026 be round two?

“I’d expect another good year simply because foreign markets were down for quite a few years,” said Daniel Galli, a CFP and founder of Daniel J. Galli & Associates.

Foreign Exchange Program

Looking beyond the US is a common diversification tactic, but it paid off in a particularly big way for American investors in 2025 thanks to a convergence of factors:

• The dollar posted its weakest year in nearly a decade. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell more than 8% in 2025, boosting returns for US investors holding foreign assets. That trend could continue in 2026 if the Federal Reserve continues to cut rates.
• Valuations also played a role. Stocks in Europe, Japan and emerging markets entered 2025 trading at steep discounts relative to US equities, according to Hartford Funds. During the first half of the year, the MSCI ACWI ex-US Index was priced at roughly a 35% discount to the S&P 500, giving international markets more room to run.
• Semiconductor and artificial intelligence exposure lifted Japanese and South Korean equities, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 surging about 26% in 2025, CNN reported. European economies were boosted by government defense spending.

Not So Fast. While that all sounds exciting, there’s little reason to overhaul allocations, said Hardik Patel, founder of Trusted Path Wealth Management, who plans to keep international equities at just over 30% of clients’ stock portfolios. “The rationale remains the same: diversification, currency exposure, valuation opportunities and differentiated economic drivers,” Patel said. “While risks remain, we believe they’re balanced by long-term tailwinds and the risk-reduction benefits of global diversification.”

January is a time of new beginnings for everyone, and wealth managers are no different.

The end of December can be an especially busy time for advisors, who are dealing with everything from taxes to estate planning for clients in the upcoming year. There’s also the extra work of creating plans for new clients or setting fresh goals for existing ones. But the new year can be a great opportunity to connect with clients by scheduling “clean slate meetings,” said Nicholas Erwin, a CFP and senior managing director at US Capital Wealth.

“In January, I get lots of phone calls from folks focused on the legacy and philanthropic strategy side of it,” he said. “[They] use the new year as an excellent catalyst to reach out to us and their advisory team and say, ‘We want to get together and come up with a strategy on the wealth transfer aspect.’”

New Year, New Me

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions for clients is getting more organized, said Joon Um, a financial planner at Secure Tax & Accounting, and advisors can be there to help. This can include consolidating accounts, cleaning up old retirement plans and simplifying finances. Others want to save more intentionally, whether it’s by increasing retirement contributions, building emergency reserves or automating savings. “Better outcomes usually come not from radical changes, but from small improvements applied consistently,” Um added.

Another way to help clients is by pushing back against so-called lifestyle creep, or the increase in spending that usually accompanies an increase in earnings. “Year-end raises and bonuses feel like ‘extra,’ and are well-earned throughout the year, but if they aren’t intentionally directed, they’re quickly absorbed in cash flow,” said Matthew Hess, CFP and financial advisor with Berman McAleer. “I’m encouraging clients to automate savings and investments tied specifically to new or elevated compensation. This way, the financial momentum increases without changing how they live.”

Ahead of the Curve. As for advisor priorities in 2026, AI and getting to know the next generation of clients are top-of-mind this year. “I definitely see the value of getting to know the second generation and spouses of each of the families that we work with,” said Erwin. “We’d like to get to meet each of them, if we don’t know them already.”