A plan-based benchmark changes the advisor’s role from portfolio reporter to progress partner. Instead of reviewing performance against a market index, the discussion can focus on metrics such as cash flow resilience, adherence to the risk budget, and after-tax outcomes.
President Donald Trump has promised to address housing-market dysfunction and a lack of affordability in 2026. While we don’t know what the White House has planned, previous talk has included a (much criticized) suggestion for 50-year mortgages and exhortations to builders to do their duty and build more housing.
Silver’s parabolic rise has been remarkable. In this article, we examine the two similar price surges to provide context for what may be occurring today and, importantly, for what might cause this bubble to pop tomorrow.
Advisors who run or plan to run ETF-based portfolios need to have a formalized trading methodology. For those who haven’t yet developed one, this article is intended to help accelerate progress and avoid some risks that may not be obvious to anyone who is primarily experienced with trading mutual funds.
To help our clients and the marketplace navigate this evolving landscape, in the following sections, we’ve identified five key ETF industry themes to watch in 2026. These areas reflect the ongoing growth, innovation, and strategic shifts shaping the ETF industry, and they will be critical in understanding where opportunities and challenges lie in the year ahead.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF delivered a standout 29% return in 2025, defying an industry downturn by stretching the definition of “financial technology.”
Hedge funds are racing to Caracas to scout assets following the high-stakes removal of Nicolás Maduro by the Trump administration. Investors view the potential reintegration of the oil-rich nation into the Western financial system as a historic opportunity for restructuring debt and infrastructure.
US oil stocks jumped in premarket trading on Monday after President Donald Trump pledged to revive the Venezuelan energy sector following the capture of Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.
In 2026, AI hectacorns might go public. That process, historians would tell you, was a harbinger for the dot-com bust as hopeless balance sheets were ignored in favor of overhyped promises that eventually collapsed.
US initial public offerings delivered underwhelming results in 2025 as equity-market volatility and increasing scrutiny around themes such as crypto and artificial intelligence hit some of the year’s most high-profile listings.
From an AI-fueled stock rally to China shaking off US tariff threats and earning a record trade surplus, 2025 was full of economic marvels. Don’t expect debates over innovation and economic disruptions to disappear in 2026.
Major hedge funds achieved historic returns in 2025 as tariff-driven market volatility created ideal conditions for macro and multi-strategy trading.
Michael Saylor has long noted that Bitcoin’s volatility “is a feature, not a bug” when pitching his cryptocurrency accumulator Strategy Inc.
Emerging-market stocks posted a strong start to 2026, following a $7.2 trillion annual rally, as Asia’s expanding role in artificial intelligence lifted Chinese technology shares to their biggest gains since September and pushed benchmarks in South Korea and Taiwan to record highs.
The S&P 500 Index climbed at the open on Friday as investors bought tech stocks ahead of next week’s massive CES conference and cheered signs President Donald Trump was easing up on tariff policies.
Gold and silver rose as 2026 trading kicked off, building on their best annual performances since 1979.
US Treasuries rose on the first trading day of 2026, getting off to a positive start after notching their best annual return in five years.
Investors were rationally exuberant in 2025. US consumers remained remarkably resilient, keeping the world's largest economy out of recession. The tariff blizzard waxed and waned, eventually settling at levies still compatible with maintaining global growth, albeit at an anemic level.
The most-read practice management articles of the year touch on topics ranging from helping clients retiring early get suitable health insurance to dealing with conflicting political views held by clients or colleagues.
Trillions of dollars hang in the balance of two questions that dominated this year and loom perilously large over the next. “Will the artificial intelligence bubble burst?” and “Will China beat the US?”
Step aside, artificial intelligence. Another transformative technology with the potential to reshape industries and reorder geopolitical power is finally moving out of the lab: quantum.
In 2025, Advisor Perspectives’ most-read commentaries mainly centered on uncertainty around U.S. equities and on record-high valuations, in particular. Key themes included the bleak forecast for U.S. equities and the opportunities presented by non-U.S. stocks. Other articles weighed in on the risks around private equity that await retail investors delving into the space and on the investment potential of utilities due to AI and the shift to clean energy.
Like previous generations, most young people are going to end up owning homes. The housing market is in transition, and despite the current lack of affordability, there’s compelling evidence that we’re grinding back toward more normal levels.
Retirement dominated 2025’s top articles, featuring insights from William Bernstein and Allan Roth among others. Key highlights include critiques of retirement calculators, Vanguard’s expectations for the next decade, Roth IRA strategies, and the nuances of dividend investing for long-term portfolios.
At the big banks and the boutique investment shops, an optimistic consensus has taken hold: the US stock market will rally in 2026 for a fourth straight year, marking the longest winning streak in nearly two decades.
Bitcoin briefly topped the $90,000 mark on Monday before tumbling, leaving traders waiting on a potential breakout after the token missed a Santa rally that sent stocks to record highs.
SoftBank Group Corp. agreed to acquire private equity firm DigitalBridge Group Inc. in a deal valuing the data center investor at $4 billion including debt.
When the year began, a billionaire with close ties to the White House was a lock for the most newsworthy tech titan of 2025. But 12 chaotic months later, Larry Ellison, not Elon Musk, can justifiably lay claim to the title.
Bitcoin’s 30% slide from its all-time high is creating conditions financial advisers say are likely driving more tax-loss harvesting in digital assets than in previous years.
Nvidia Corp. agreed to a licensing deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq, furthering its investments in companies connected to the AI boom and gaining the right to add a new type of technology to its products.
Gold, silver and platinum jumped to all-time highs to extend a historic end-of-year rally for precious metals, with support from escalating geopolitical tensions and US dollar weakness.
What will 2026 be like? There are reasons to be optimistic, as many were a year ago. Here are five of them.
Intel Corp. shares fell in premarket trading Wednesday after a report said that Nvidia Corp. halted a test to use Intel’s production process to make advanced chips.
Copper extended a powerful December rally that’s carried prices for the industrial metal to unprecedented highs above $12,000 a ton on fears over a tighter global market in 2026.
Planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions kept rising in 2025 and country pledges to cut them are nowhere near where they need to be to avoid catastrophic climate change, but there were silver linings too.
Gold rose to an all-time high above $4,500 an ounce on escalating tensions in Venezuela and expectations for more US rate cuts. Silver and platinum also advanced to records.
As traditional markets move into the final days of the year with a burst of seasonal optimism, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has barely stirred. Bitcoin is trading around $87,370, pinned in a $85,000 to $90,000 range and showing little sign of life — an asset built on hype, volatility and disruption ending the year in a standstill.
No one can tell you what’s right for you, so don’t take advice from well-meaning people around you. Do your own due diligence and then decide. Often there are no “right” answers — there are only best answers with all things considered.
Well-written compliance policies aren't sufficient. Firms must demonstrate active implementation and enforcement. Annual compliance reviews must be substantive exercises that identify genuine issues and drive meaningful improvements, not checkbox exercises that rubber-stamp existing practices.
Preparing for the eventual transition of an RIA practice requires early strategic planning to ensure long-term stability and employee loyalty, regardless of how far off retirement may seem. This guide explores the distinct advantages of internal succession, external sales, and hybrid models, while highlighting key value drivers like organic growth rates and recurring revenue.
The dollar is heading for its weakest annual performance in eight years, and the options market is signaling that traders are preparing for more downside in the final sessions of 2025.
Companies across the US and Europe are preparing to sell a record amount of high-grade bonds in 2026, testing investors’ appetite as yields drift lower.
With less than two weeks to go, 2025 is set to be a record-breaking year for the $13 trillion US exchange-traded fund industry: new high-water marks in flows, launches and trading volume. It’s up for debate whether the next few years will be as kind.
US economic growth is set to accelerate with cheaper oil. Federal Reserve rate cuts are likely with inflation cooling.
Gold and silver rallied to all-time highs on escalating geopolitical tensions and prospects for more US rate cuts.
Instead of repeating standard advice about budgets, credit cards, and planning ahead for next year, my holiday wish is that you give yourself the gift of curiosity and awareness.
Many people only respond financially to the end-of-season of income changes like job raises, bonuses, and commissions. Carey tapped into something much smarter: letting a single holiday song transform into an evergreen asset that pays her consistently every Christmas. That can apply to your own personal finances as well.
Every situation is a chance to strengthen relationships and align wealth with purpose, but some carry more urgency. The coming tax changes are a prime example, requiring action before year-end. Still, urgency should never overshadow meaningful dialogue. A deadline may start the conversation, but understanding is what sustains it.
Emerging markets are poised to start 2026 as a favored trade on Wall Street, with money managers betting a multi-year cycle of investment inflows is underway.
It’s crystal ball season again on Wall Street — the time when strategists attempt the impossible task of divining where the S&P 500 Index will end the next calendar year.
