Cathie Wood made a wild prediction almost two years ago: Annual economic growth could accelerate to as much as 50%, thanks to breakthroughs in the world of artificial intelligence.

NVIDIA’s spectacular quarter and forecast are dominating headlines this week.

Cash may still be king for the moment, but after more than $1 trillion flowed into money-market funds last year as short-term rates rose, investors are trying to figure out where it goes next.

All three major American stock indexes stormed to fresh all-time highs Thursday as Nvidia Corp.’s results rekindled faith that breakthroughs in artificial intelligence will boost profits and give stock prices further room to run.

GMO has published a new 7-Year Asset Class Forecast.

The Magnificent Seven stocks (Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla) have been the largest driver of equity returns in recent years and were again the dominant contributors in 2023, accounting for more than half of the market increase.

Active ETFs had a big, big year in 2023. At the recent ETF Exchange conference in Miami, active strategies dominated the discussion, with growing interest among issuers and investors in actively managed funds.

Even if you have not heard of the Magnificent Seven stocks as a group, you likely know the companies. The Magnificent Seven comprises Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA), and Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL).

Bitcoin recently had a scorching hot run. It has some crypto market observers believing new all-time highs are right around the corner. Additionally, it’s having the predictable, though still welcomed, effect of lifting some stocks with intimate ties to the largest digital currency.

The relatively new category of buffered or “defined-outcome” ETFs has grown to $30 billion in assets, with more than $10 billion in inflows in 2023 alone. Amid significant uncertainty surrounding the Fed's trajectory for rate cuts, geopolitical tensions, and a presidential election year, investors are seeking new ways to mitigate risk in their portfolio while still participating in the returns of the equity market. AllianzIM entered the ETF market in 2020 to address this need with a growing suite of buffered ETFs. Buffered ETFs are a powerful tool for advisors and their clients to reduce volatility and diversify a traditional allocation.

With US valuations ostensibly high compared to global peers, many investors are asking themselves if now is the time to dip their toes into international equities. They’re asking the wrong question.

They call them the Seven Samurai. Analysts from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. caused a stir in Tokyo this week with a well-timed report highlighting a group of stocks that could serve as Japan’s equivalent of the Magnificent Seven that have come to dominate US equities.

Outside the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida last week, dozens of drones moved slowly through the night sky, projecting the Bitcoin symbol far and wide above one of the largest ETF gatherings of the year.

The current speculative environment seems to increasingly resemble the Technology Bubble of 1999/2000. All bubbles eventually burst and the burst of the Tech Bubble led to the so-called lost decade in equities.

Regarding the surprisingly strong employment data, Fed Chair Powell said the quiet part out loud. The media hopes you didn’t hear it as we head into a contentious election in November.

The chip sector comes into sharp focus ahead of a key earnings report, with signs of divergence in the sector.

Higher for longer. This was the key message to me from advisors and ETF industry folks at the Exchange conference when talking about fixed income.

What do passive ETFs really do? Many investors are used to the comfort of simply allocating to a big index and almost forgetting about it, only checking in every so often.

“Sometimes I don’t even know why I am invited to the meeting, and even after it ends I don’t know why I was there!”

The $1.4 trillion US junk-bond market is getting junkier, as more debt gets either downgraded or elevated out of the high-yield universe altogether, leaving greater potential risks for investors.

None of the Magnificent Seven companies existed in the heyday of the Nifty Fifty, but a unique valuation and narrative thread aligns the companies.

It’s been blamed for fueling stock volatility and dismissed as the latest case of market speculation gone too far.

Looking back, I believe the financial advisors who were most willing to adapt to changing times were generally more able to set themselves apart from the crowd and experienced a higher rate of success.

The real estate sector represents a mere 2.31% of the S&P 500. Just two sectors – materials and utilities – command smaller allocations in the benchmark domestic equity gauge. That low weight garnered by real estate stocks and REITs belies the popularity of those assets among investors.

With one month in the books for 2024, and markets still waiting for a sign from the Fed, many investors may be looking to shake up their portfolios. What worked in 2023, after all, may not necessarily work in 2024.

This year continues to follow in the footsteps of 2023, marked by increased investor optimism but ongoing uncertainty. For now, much remains unknown, and a higher January inflation print only proves the challenges that still lie ahead.

Patience is required when embracing long-dated bonds and corresponding exchange traded funds. In standard market environments, intraday price action for long duration Treasurys usually isn’t breathtaking. Nor are investors expecting it to be.

VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Capital Group Core Plus Income ETF (CGCP) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”

The biggest trend in the advisory profession over the last year was the integration of AI into practices. Using generative AI for finance allows advisors to enhance their efficiency across multiple areas of their business, letting them do more with less. Increasing their productivity in investment management allows them to spend more time with their clients, and AI – which can reveal relevant news items for advisors – gives them natural touch points to reach out to their clients more often.

VettaFi’s Lara Crigger goes in-depth on the Simplify Tail Risk Strategy ETF (CYA), which is down nearly 100%. PIMCO’s Greg Hall discusses the potential benefits of active management in fixed income and highlights the firm’s expanding ETF lineup.

Investors are turning toward active ETFs and away from mutual funds thanks to the ETF wrapper, per data from Trackinsight’s Global ETF Survey. The survey, which came out this week, showed growing investor favor toward active strategies.

Millions of people in the U.S. have a great offense when it comes to earning money that could provide them financial security. Yet it does not, because their defense in protecting and creating that security is gravely underperforming.

Just months after setting a 2024 target for the S&P 500 Index, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists have boosted their forecast for a second time, reflecting Wall Street’s optimistic outlook for earnings.

Going forward, we will increasingly hear the term “shared-service provider.”

Investors are beginning to war-game how the Federal Reserve can manage a US economy that just won’t land, with some even debating whether interest-rate hikes will be needed only weeks after a steady run of reductions appeared all but certain.

While the bulls remain entirely in control of the market narrative, divergences and other technical warnings suggest becoming more cautious may be prudent.

Even at the risk of sounding like a parrot by repeating the same thing again and again, we think that it is, once again, appropriate at this time to do so: “One data point doesn’t a trend make.”

Investors looking for a “story stock” need not look much further than semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA). Proving that lofty valuations aren’t detriments to the upside, the stock is higher by 46.72% year-to-date. Additionally, it is now the third-largest U.S.-based company by market capitalization.

WisdomTree’s Head of Distribution, Americas, Joe Grogan, sat down with VettaFi to discuss the firm’s message to advisors, its digital assets and tokenization capabilities, model portfolios, and more at the recent ETF Exchange conference.

More than just demographics, Head of Franklin Templeton Institute Stephen Dover and Investment Strategist Kim Catechis think education and government policy are of critical importance to economic growth.

A record month of issuance in January and still relatively high yields could be prime drivers of demand for corporate debt in the current market environment. With that, an all-encompassing approach to corporate debt is available in the Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF ETF Shares (VTC).

With added excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, the Magnificent Seven may be one of the easiest ways to play this trend without investing in obscure small-cap stocks.

US new-home construction fell in January, indicating the recovery in the housing market will be gradual as many buyers await a further decline in mortgage rates.

Approximately 80% of all S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter earnings as of today, and of those, 75% have reported earnings per share (EPS) above estimates. That’s well above the 10-year average, according to FactSet.

There is some conventional wisdom as it pertains to how interest rates affect stocks. For example, the real estate and utilities sectors are viewed as negatively correlated to 10-year Treasury yields. That explains why those sectors struggled last year.

In the wreckage of China’s stock market meltdown, some traders are making long-shot bets that officials in Beijing can stoke a recovery.

The not-so-secret ingredient that’s been fueling gains for big tech since its fourth quarter has definitely been artificial intelligence (AI). The lack of AI tailwinds for Tesla could be pushing the company’s stock down further.

Tesla Inc. is a car manufacturer that pitches itself, very successfully, as a technology hothouse. So perhaps it will take the most tech-like step possible in 2024: Announce a big stock buyback.

Bond traders are turning their attention to the latest reading on inflationary pressures in the US economy as concern mounts the recent selloff has further to run.

In the face of still elevated inflation, the U.S. consumer remains a force to be reckoned with. Obviously, that’s a plus for the consumer discretionary sector and ETFs such as the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (RSPD).