Outside Business Activities (OBAs) are more than just side hustles for financial advisors – they’re ethical minefields that have drawn increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies like FINRA. Since intensifying its focus in 2018, FINRA has highlighted the importance of transparency and adherence to compliance in these endeavors in its most recent report.
Bonds investors now balance the potential risks and rewards of taking on longer duration exposures in the current environment.
The article explores why the Federal Reserve might face pressure to raise interest rates rather than lower them in 2024, contrary to conventional expectations. It delves into the current phase of the business cycle, particularly focusing on the bullish trend for commodities and its implications for inflation.
If you’re not sure what direct indexing means, you’re not alone. Even after the recent growth, direct indexing remains relatively unknown. As our compliance team never fails to remind us, you can’t invest directly in an index. So what exactly is direct indexing?
The stronger U.S. dollar is benefiting America, but creating troubles in other geographies.
Recent media coverage about how best to construct and manage portfolios has many wondering whether institutional investors are facing a paradigm shift right now.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Xtrackers US Green Infrastructure Select Equity ETF (UPGR) with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.” The pair talked about several topics regarding the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF overall.
The Franklin Templeton Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (FLMI) represents the best ideas of the issuer's municipal bonds research team.
Two years after Wall Street’s love affair with fast-twitch stock options began, Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey suggests the unprecedented boom still has room to run — even as almost half of respondents fear an eventual blowup.
Among all economic indicators, some of the most closely watched are those surrounding the labor market. They provide insight into the health of the economy. But they also impact individuals’ lives and play a central role in government policy decisions.
Behavioral traits and cognitive biases are anathemas to portfolio management as they impair our ability to remain emotionally disconnected from our money. As history all too clearly shows, investors always do the “opposite” of what they should when it comes to investing their own money.
Among the 11 global industry classification standard (GICS) sectors, tech is not the best performer since the start of 2024. Not even close, nor is it the worst offender. Technology remains the largest sector exposure in a variety of domestic equity benchmarks. That cements its status as a must-watch group.
There are attractive investment opportunities in private credit against a backdrop of a U.S. economy that continues to outpace the eurozone and the U.K.
I’m entering my annual post-SIC decompression period. I say that only half-jokingly. The last two weeks were my version of a dive deep into the sea, where you see shocking things and endure crushing pressure. The weeks of preparation are fun, but the sheer volume of information creates its own kind of pressure. You don’t just shift back into normal life after that.
The current macroenvironment could spell opportunity for active bond funds as bond yields may have peaked.
While S&P 500 index-based ETFs were down 4% in April, they remained positive for the year. We believe as more institutional and retail investors turn to ETFs, these products will further swell in size.
I had the opportunity this week to speak at the London AIM Summit, where presenters and attendees were cautiously optimistic about the economy.
The latest run of unchecked optimism might just be over.
Markets started the year anticipating several U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts in 2024, but by the end of the first quarter, a continued string of stronger-than-anticipated economic data readings led to a significant dialing-down of expectations.
The Federal Reserve just wrapped up another policy meeting, and markets continue to push back their expectations of a first rate cut.
The Federal Reserve is looking for more confidence that inflation is headed back towards its 2% target before commencing with rate cuts.
John Hancock Investment Management has added a new ETF to the company's growing lineup. JHHY primarily invests in high yield bonds.
Investors seeking energy sector exposure but concerned about oil and gas volatility should look to midstream master limited partnerships.
With yields at current levels, bond funds can lock in longer term yields, offer price appreciation potential and overall serve as a hedge against a possible hard landing. Though elevated cash balances worked during the Fed’s hiking cycle, we believe now is an opportunity for clients to consider adding duration given the potential for a Fed pause.
Apple Inc. shares jumped the most in almost a year-and-a-half after the company posted stronger-than-expected sales last quarter and predicted a return to growth in the current period, sparking optimism that a slowdown is easing.
Treasuries surged and traders ramped up bets on how soon the Federal Reserve will begin to cut interest rates this year after a US labor-market report trailed estimates.
Here’s a conversation starter ahead of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual meeting on Saturday: Warren Buffett should buy Boeing Co.
April’s sell-off isn’t dissuading investors from taking a closer look at adding bonds to their portfolio. The price dip is giving prospective bond investors a chance to take action on higher yields now before the U.S. Federal Reserve eventually cuts rates.
Inflation and interest rate hikes have not been kind to REITs and the funds that own them. However, their low valuations could indicate an opportunity for investors.
As expected, the Federal Reserve kept its policy rate unchanged at the May meeting, but left the door open to rate cuts later this year if inflation declines.
The S&P 500 experienced its first 5% pullback since October 2023, but the long-term outlook remains positive.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post on November 5, 2010, Ben Bernanke did a victory lap, praising the Fed’s efforts in stemming the financial crisis. In the article, he discusses how QE and other Fed policies eased financial conditions, bolstering investor confidence.
Advisors can already pick from dozens of tech products that use generative AI to automate aspects of their work. How long will it be until we see an end-to-end generative AI platform that does everything a human advisor can do, just as well as they can - if not better?
The prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates is weighing on crypto, underlined by deepening Bitcoin losses after the token’s worst monthly drop since the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire in November 2022.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell kept hopes alive for an interest-rate cut this year while acknowledging that a burst of inflation has reduced policymakers’ confidence that price pressures are ebbing.
When Berkshire Hathaway Inc. devotees gather in Omaha on Saturday for its annual meeting, there will be a noticeable void on stage.
ByteDance Ltd.’s Hail Mary legal effort to avoid selling or shutting down TikTok relies on convincing a judge the social network will disappear entirely, squashing the free speech rights of millions of Americans.
The rise of index funds has provided millions of Americans with a cheaper and more efficient way to invest. With more than $23 trillion in assets between them, BlackRock Inc., Vanguard Group Inc. and State Street Corp. have become the top shareholders in many US-listed companies.
Once again, the Fed kept rates unchanged at the May FOMC meeting. As a result, the Fed Funds trading range remains in the 5.25% to 5.50% band introduced in July 2023 and still resides at a more than 20-year high-water mark.
No shortage of things to discuss after today’s Fed statement and subsequent press conference.
How and why more advisors are tapping into alternatives—Tony Davidow, Senior Alternatives Investment Strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute, shares insights from a recent gathering.
The first-quarter GDP report supports the view that the US economy has not landed. While some economists are concerned about stagflation, the real worry is that taming price pressures may require a mild downturn, given strong consumer spending and inadequately restrictive monetary policy.
Despite lingering economic fears, concerns over the timing and pace of rate cuts, sticky inflation reports, a crisis in the Middle East, and a looming close U.S. presidential election, stocks marched higher, and sentiment remained optimistic.
High quality short-term bonds offer a number portfolio benefits while putting excess cash to work, but what's under the hood matters.
Looking to make a midcap allocation? Midcaps can stand out relative to small- or large-caps thanks to its combination of growth and size.
Elevated all-in yields in high yield credit present an attractive opportunity for income-seeking investors to lock in higher levels of income. Of course, that comes with a much higher degree of risk as compared to sitting in cash.
When one is running their own business, it can be easy to try something, and if it works, then great; if it doesn’t, then you simply move on to the next thing.
A lot of financial planning software today is built to solve math problems, but what advisors really need to do is solve human problems.
Attention-grabbing performances from the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Tesla swayed market sentiments back to growth.
Investors are plowing into technology-tracking ETFs at a record clip as conviction builds that the market’s biggest stocks can thrive in almost any economic cycle.
