A reduction in situational awareness occurs in a profession when everyone does the same thing and gets similar results.

A new form of digital money is going viral, capturing tens of millions of users, billions of transactions and the attention of global central banks. No, not Bitcoin, which is trading at around $68,000 and closing in on a fresh all-time high.

Despite what headlines say, expensive M&A isn’t the only way to grow a firm.

The sharp rally in US stocks this year has left strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. divided about whether a market bubble is forming.

Washington DC continues to spend much more than it gets in revenue. In the Calendar Year of 2023, the federal government spent $6.3 trillion but only collected $4.5 trillion in taxes.

Crypto exuberance is hitting overdrive thanks to the game-changing launch of Bitcoin ETFs — with seven issuers now pushing US regulators to greenlight funds tracking Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.

In previous missives, we have gone into considerable detail regarding the historic ascent of index concentration, coupled with the heightened prevalence of passive investing.

22%. That is the average increase in potential retirement spending that individual savers in defined contribution plans can achieve when they embed guaranteed retirement income solutions into a target date fund. For lower-income workers, it’s a 25% increase.

Many fixed income investors have started venturing out in duration in portfolios. When interest rates are cut, high-quality duration could serve as an important hedge for a bond portfolio.

After a stellar 2023, the magnificent seven are mixed through the first two months of 2024. Nvidia (NVDA) is on a breathtaking pace higher while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is up 10%.

VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the T Rowe Price Small-Mid Cap ETF (TMSL) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”

This lessening of government involvement, and the change in the corporate culture, together with a new or reinterpreted economic philosophy all combined to produce an unraveling of the United States that had for some time been incredibly materially productive for the benefit of all.

There’s been a lot of excitement and reporting about a new ETF: the Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF (ticker BOXX), designed to give investors the return of short-term US Treasury Bills with the tax character of long-term capital gains.

With the US economy booming, the job market growing and inflation retreating, the consensus is near-unanimous: Bidenomics has been vindicated.

I revisited that original post a couple of weeks ago as the market approached its 5000 psychological milestone. Since then, the entire market has surged higher following last week’s earnings report from Nvidia (NVDA).

Nvidia Corp.’s rise is captivating the stock market and driving the S&P 500 Index to new highs. But it also raises cautionary reminders of another investor darling that soared on dreams of a technological transformation, only to tumble back to earth when those hopes turned to disappointment.

To Jamie Dimon, it's no better than a “pet rock.” To the late Charlie Munger, longtime lieutenant to Warren Buffett, it's “massively stupid.” And to US Senator Elizabeth Warren, it's a great tool if you’re a terrorist, drug dealer or fraudster.

In my last blog, I talked about how strong Januarys historically tend to lead to strong returns throughout the remainder of the year.

Ed Perks, Chief Investment Officer of Franklin Income Investors, explores the impact of these changes on the fixed income and equity markets and offers insights regarding opportunities in different asset classes.

Equity investors didn't mind the extra day this February as both domestic large-cap stocks and small-to-mid-cap stocks saw steady gains through the month, bringing both groups into positive territory year-to-date, though the latter continues to lag.

The markets these days have been especially sensitive to economic data, as any indication of weakness could mean rate cuts may finally be close. That, in effect, should also push the S&P 500 to even higher heights.

The Equity Symposium on March 13 is shaping up to give investors critical insights into the equity space. This free event will provide CE credits. VettaFi is fresh off the smashing success of Exchange and continuing to provide the insights investors need to navigate today’s complicated environment.

Another day, another record across the booming world of Bitcoin ETFs – fueled by fear of missing out on the latest crypto rally.

A group of systematic investors betting on large Chinese companies has emerged largely unscathed from this year’s “quant quake” that’s sparked turmoil in the stock market and a crackdown by regulators.

OpenAI leader Sam Altman made headlines earlier this month, touting a semiconductor project requiring trillions of dollars.

Investors continue to turn to low-cost core taxable bond ETFs in 2024. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the iShares Core Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) gathered $2.5 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively, as of late February.

Today, we have a different kind of letter. I’ve been in California for some rather innovative and hopefully life/health span-extending medical treatment.

Bitcoin and gold were both top of mind at this past week’s 2024 Investment U Conference in Ojai, California, which I had the privilege of presenting at.

An investment program with dedicated but limited internal resources can extend its staff through a strategic partnership with an external investment solutions provider.

Multi-asset income strategies are becoming more popular, but some may bake in more risk than expected. The key is designing complementary exposures.

China’s equity investors will be watching for trading cues from policy priorities and signals about fiscal stimulus at a meeting of the country’s top officials next week.

This week bitcoin prices reached over $60,000 — the highest level since November 2021. Since the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in early January, demand continues to pile on. So far the nine new spot ETFs (ex-GBTC) have seen over $7 billion in net inflows.

Bitcoin has long been referred to as “digital gold.” In what would likely amount to good news for the cryptocurrency and related spot ETFs launched in January, at least one expert believes bitcoin could eventually wrest market share from the yellow metal.

Recently, retail investors have started chasing small-cap stocks in hopes of both a rate-cutting cycle by the Federal Reserve and avoiding a recession.

One of the hottest products for retail investors the last couple of years is the single-stock option-income exchange-traded fund. While the basic idea is similar to the old and respectable covered-call writing strategy, the modern versions grabbing attention and dollars are supercharged, promising income yields of 100% or more.

The frenzy around AI stocks has blindsided Wall Street forecasters, spurring a race among strategists to keep up with a stock market rally that’s already blowing past their expectations when 2024 began.

The only thing that matters to Alphabet Inc. investors is whether it can get artificial intelligence right.

Why the traditional methodology for bond index construction needed a new, investor-focused approach.

Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and investors still holding out hope that rate cuts will happen at some point, global equities are marching higher. That rally could eventually spill over into other assets like international bonds.

The Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is higher by 6.7% year to date. That confirms tech stocks remain in strong form. Still, some market observers are concerned valuations in tech and other high-growth sectors are becoming somewhat frothy.

We hope you enjoy the latest Newsletter from Harold Evensky.

Like travel agents, real estate agents will need to offer more value and be more available to those willing to pay. They can also be my friend, so long as they don’t charge too high a commission.

If you need to sell your home in the next few months, I’d get on with it. As we enter the spring selling season, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the period during which sellers had the leverage in the housing market is over.

A major rally in Bitcoin is refueling gains in shares of cryptocurrency-linked mining and trading companies, putting the group back on track to add to last year’s big run.

Adding real assets to a stock and bond portfolio can help boost returns and smooth volatility when inflation runs above 2%.

Despite conventional wisdom, political uncertainty doesn’t necessarily pose acute risks to the healthcare sector.

Dina Ting, Head of Global Index Portfolio Management for Franklin Templeton Exchange-Traded Funds, delves into these positive developments and sheds light on Japan’s expanding economic prospects.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses the reason behind the recent resiliency of stocks, despite rising rates.

The next bitcoin halving – the process through which mining of the cryptocurrency becomes more difficult – is about two months away and will officially arrive when 840,000 blocks is reached.

A retreating dollar is exactly what gold needed to put the precious metal back into the investment spotlight. Hotter-than-expected inflation in January pushed the yellow metal below the $2,000 mark. But it has been rising again with geopolitical factors providing tailwinds along with a weaker greenback.