If you have ever filed a homeowners insurance claim, you know it can feel more like an endurance test than a straightforward process. While insurers are legally required to honor valid claims, they have strong financial incentives to delay, underpay, or deny them whenever possible.
US consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in four months in February, offering some reprieve ahead of tariffs that are expected to drive costs higher.
President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports came into force Wednesday, triggering concern across export-reliant Asia and immediate reprisals from the European Union and Canada as the global trade war enters a rocky phase.
Treasuries fell despite evidence of cooler-than-expected US inflation as the data ignited a rebound in stock prices that eroded demand for bonds.
President Donald Trump is attempting the most sweeping transformation of government and policy in decades. The White House is moving furiously to slash spending, expand tariffs, repeal regulations and rewrite tax rules.
Europe’s plan to rearm in the face of Russian aggression and US detachment has already delivered a bonanza to equity investors. Credit funds are scrambling to get a share of the windfall, too.
While restrictive covenants serve an important role, their enforceability hinges on their scope, the dictates of state law and, ultimately, public policy considerations regarding balancing employer business interests with employee rights to pursue their careers.
As we wade into March, market volatility is at the forefront, leaving investors grappling with uncertainty surrounding tariffs and mixed economic signals. Though the S&P 500 experienced a bounce towards February's end, it slipped 1% overall, revealing lingering challenges for iconic tech stocks and the broader equity landscape.
As the consumer goes, so goes the U.S. economy. Consumers make up roughly 70 percent of U.S. GDP.
Volatility across financial markets has become a persistent theme in 2025. The recent volatility has stemmed from a range of factors, including:
For decades, the U.S. dollar’s dominance has rested on two pillars: America’s deep capital markets and its global security alliances. Today, both are under strain.
Global investment themes are shifting toward infrastructure, cybersecurity and energy expansion as demand outpaces supply in key sectors.
Economic growth, earnings performance, and rising fiscal spending coupled with "America First" policies are driving international stock markets.
Short-term deadlines will complicate long-run plans.
Parametric’s tax optimized ladders (TOL) solution may help to enhance after-tax yield by seeking to optimize the allocation between tax-exempt and taxable bonds, based on an investor’s own tax rate and the relative value between sectors.
The EV shakeout is underway. When the dust settles, only a few players will remain. Many more will be relegated to the scrapyard of failed ambitions.
Precidian’s Stuart Thomas spotlights the firm’s innovative ADRhedged ETFs and explains the rationale for removing currency exposure. VettaFi’s Kirsten Chang discusses several recent ETF launches, including offerings from State Street, VistaShares, Quantify Funds, and Roundhill.
This video looks at the 10-year Treasury yield's historical trends since 1962, exploring its relationship with key economic indicators like the Fed Funds Rate (FFR), inflation, and the S&P 500.
When clients are scared, you want to be there for them and respond to their concerns. However, if you don’t pause from time-to-time to make sure you are responding in the most effective ways, you will find yourself continually frustrated and even possibly resentful of the interruption.
Understanding your clients isn't just about knowing who they are – it's about seeing how they fit into your business. By writing, visualizing, and analyzing, you can uncover the hidden patterns that are holding you back.
Modern direct indexing tools, using sophisticated technology, can identify tax loss opportunities on a daily or even minute-by-minute basis. As time progresses, I believe more advisors will see the potential of direct indexing.
Costco's earnings may have disappointed in the near-term, but the company may be in a prime position to perform during a tariff showdown.
Stock/bond divergence allows investors to reap the benefits of portfolio diversification, giving bond exchange-traded funds credence.
As more advisors look to private equity as an effective means of diversifying their clients’ portfolios and providing a fertile source of uncorrelated alpha, the middle market merits a closer look.
The virtue economy, the only bubble I have ever called, has now completely burst.
Blackstone Inc. has won approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its newest private credit fund, one of the latest efforts to give individuals access to assets that are mostly backed by institutions.
As Donald Trump’s tariffs send markets into a tailspin, pressure is mounting on the president to speed up his main proposal for juicing the economy: a sweeping tax bill.
US Treasuries surged and investors boosted their bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts Monday as fear of a economic slowdown took hold across US markets.
Apple Inc. is preparing one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history, aiming to transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad and Mac for a new generation of users.
At the start of the year, our Investment Strategy Committee outlook was positive for both the economy and the equity market, supported by strong consumer, labor market, and corporate fundamentals.
Though mergers and acquisitions were expected to roar back in 2025 thanks to the new administration, uncertainty around Washington policy appears to be holding back new deals.
Trade policy clarity is a long way off.
Last week brought another wave of volatility to the markets, with investors grappling with mixed economic signals, geopolitical developments, and ongoing trade policy uncertainty.
It is true that tariffs are a tax. It is also true that tariff policies have been volatile…on and off again…different carve outs…different countries…phone calls that change things. All of this clearly has an impact on the market. So, we are not surprised to see stock market volatility.
There’s a lesson for financial advisors in this story. If you demonstrate a genuine intention to engage and connect with your female clients, it will build relationships that could drive the growth of the business for years to come.
Investor’s bearish sentiment has surged to levels that generally align with previous market corrections and crashes.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth talks about the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) with Money Life host Chuck Jaffe. The pair covered a range of topics related to the fund, providing investors with a deeper understanding of the ETF.
Join Meb Faber and the other experts at Cambria Investment Management for a free educational webcast exploring an endowment style strategy.
WEIRDness provides rewards – wealth, the pursuit of happiness, political freedom – that should cause it to succeed, over the long run, in the Darwinian competition between social systems that we call “history.” I hope it wins. WEIRD is good.
The PPA has made a mistake in designating an MA as a QDIA. Perhaps the drafters of the PPA were thinking about accounts that are actually managed, but those participants do not default, so that flavor of MA is not a QDIA, and is typically reserved for executives of the sponsoring firm.
On February 19, 2025, the Fed made a confounding statement about QT, aka balance sheet reduction. Per its latest FOMC minutes: “several participants suggest halting or slowing balance sheet reduction pending debt ceiling resolution.” Might the Fed be offering investors a liquidity warning cloaked as a reaction to a fiscal crisis?
One of the bond market’s favorite trades is getting fresh momentum in Europe, as the worst rout in German bonds in more than two decades propels selling of long-term debt.
Learn how this hybrid approach is revolutionizing industries like logistics, space exploration, and disaster response while laying the foundation for the next wave of smarter, more capable robots.
A chorus of Wall Street strategists is warning about rising volatility in the stock market, with Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson the latest to sound the alarm on slumping economic growth amid President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
Some of Asia’s biggest central banks are getting a painful refresher in economic theory.
Emerging-market stocks declined for a second day and currencies halted a four-day rally as concerns grew that China’s deflation is spreading to its consumer economy and Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten US growth.
A lack of affordability has hindered housing transactions the past two years, frustrating would-be buyers and, more recently, hammering the stocks of developers.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week, shifting the market’s focus to signals about what comes next.
Last week's economic reports presented a narrative similar to what we’ve seen over the past few months: growth coupled with concerns.
