One or a few high-performing stocks can provide a big boost to portfolio values. But they’re hard to come by and often struggle to maintain their momentum over time. Because these stocks increase portfolio concentration, investors must balance the risk of overexposure against the tax cost of diversifying. A thoughtful, tax-aware plan may help bring portfolios back in line.
Don't let September's macro headline noise fool you. Today’s economic backdrop won’t likely trigger a broad market freeze like 2022, but there will be winners and losers. Cash-rich mega-caps, AI infrastructure plays, and scaled market leaders (the SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI tier) command their own gravity.
U.S. equities were little changed on the week – the S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent, the NASDAQ gained 0.4 per cent, and the Russell 2000 added 0.12 per cent – but those modest moves masked a far more turbulent week in the global rates markets.
Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators we update on a monthly basis.
Based on August's S&P 500 average of daily closes, the Crestmont P/E of 44.9 is 191% above its arithmetic mean, 220% above its geometric mean, and is in the 100th percentile of this 14-plus-decade series.
The Q Ratio is the total price of the market divided by the replacement cost of all its companies. As of August 2026, the latest Q-ratio is at 2.12.
The inflation-adjusted S&P Composite Index was 227% above its long-term trend at the end of August.
Inflation rose 3.4% year-over-year in August, as it did for the 12 months ending July. The headline figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was in line with economist estimates.
With a handful of stocks attracting most of the recent headlines, it’s easy to forget that investors continue to find opportunities across a broad range of sectors.
US convertible bond sales have reached their highest annual total on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as companies look to fund heavy artificial intelligence-related spending.
Wall Street has a rule for how equity bull markets end: the economy rolls over or the Fed tightens until something breaks. Neither is in place right now, but rate risk is creeping back.
US stocks fell for a fourth straight day, their longest slide since June, as the relentless climb in oil prices and fresh evidence of sticky inflation boosted Treasury yields and bets the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates.
A quarter-century after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, families returned to the World Trade Center site on Friday to read aloud the names of the dead, marking a milestone anniversary of a tragedy that reshaped America.
A key gauge of US consumer prices rose by more than expected last month, bolstering the case for Federal Reserve officials to raise interest rates next week.
As wealth management firms scale, sustained organic growth increasingly depends on strong business leadership. Firms that build scalable client acquisition strategies, develop talent and create operational infrastructure can position themselves to grow beyond founder-led models and capitalize on the industry’s long-term opportunities.
History suggests slower Fed tightening tends to support stronger market returns and firmer economic growth, while faster hikes typically deepen drawdowns.
While the name is new, Syzygy is not. Syzygy, formerly Research Affiliates, will extend our multi-decade sub-advisory relationships in asset allocation and long-only active equities and expand into other active diversification strategies in the coming quarters.
In this article, Russ Koesterich argues that momentum remains supported by strong earnings growth, making the factor attractive despite market risks.
Portfolio Managers Jonathan Coleman and Aaron Schaechterle outline why they believe momentum in small-cap stocks relative to large caps can continue, highlighting favorable earnings growth prospects, appealing relative valuations, and other structural tailwinds.
2026 began with 10-year Treasuries right around 4%, which many viewed as a comfortable place. The comfort came from some simple math—2 plus 2 equals 4. The long-term real yield on the 10-year Treasury was around 2% and the Fed’s inflation target is 2%.
Market volatility persisted in August as investors were again forced to reassess escalating tensions and an exchange of military strikes in the Middle East, while softer labor-market data was countered by mixed inflation readings.
With so much attention focused on what the Federal Reserve (Fed) might do at its policy meeting next week, it’s a good time to look back at history to get a sense of how stocks might respond should the Fed hike rates as the market (barely) expects.
Benchmark-Free has been a flagship strategy for half of GMO's history. As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2027, Ben Inker reflects on our first 25 years of Benchmark-Free investing.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), providing forecasts for energy markets. This article presents the annual production outlooks for crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), comparing the September 2026 projections against the previous month's estimates.
Elevated interest rates have investors scrambling for yield, and munis have been ready to answer the call with tax-exempt income.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) was up 0.4% in August, better than expectations.
Join the investment strategists at WisdomTree for an educational webcast that explores portfolio position going into the second half of 2026.
Federal Reserve officials have signaled they’re prepared to raise interest rates if inflation doesn’t improve soon, but they may find their main policy tool will do little to restrain some of the forces pushing up prices now.
Meta Platforms Inc. was upgraded to overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Thursday, the latest example of how sentiment toward the Facebook parent’s position with artificial intelligence has been improving.
Gold hovered near $4,400 an ounce, as traders awaited US inflation data due later this week for clues as to whether the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this month.
The midterm election season has entered its final stretch, and Wall Street is busy drawing up game plans for a range of scenarios. Yet, in a fortuitous turn of events, the best outcome for markets is also looking like the likeliest one.
Brent oil spiked to $105 a barrel as rising tensions in the Middle East heightened concerns over global supplies.
For much of the past decade and a half, investors saw little reason to favor bonds over equities. Yields were low and returns were muted, especially in passive strategies. Equities seemed to offer a much clearer path to long-term capital appreciation. For many investors, bonds were, at best, ballast: a dull but generally stable component of a broader portfolio. Then the experience of 2022 had investors questioning even that view, as areas of high quality fixed income generated equity-like losses that eroded much of the prior decade’s real return.
As students get closer to making a final college decision, the last two years of high school are particularly important. Parents will want to review their financial strategy to meet the costs of college, including a review of current savings, financial and merit aid, scholarships and loan options.
The August employment report was much stronger than expected and reinforces my view that the U.S. economy remains remarkably resilient. Payrolls increased by 162,000, above every estimate, while revisions added another 55,000 jobs to the previous two months. The workweek increased by one-tenth of an hour, the household survey was extremely strong, and the participation rate finally moved higher.
On Friday, the August U.S. employment report surprised to the upside, with 162,000 jobs added during the month. Year to date, the labor market has shown impressive resilience, with hiring also becoming more balanced across sectors than in previous years.
Before Friday’s jobs report, it was roughly a toss-up in the financial markets whether the Fed would raise rates at the next meeting in mid-September. Now, the odds favor a rate hike and it’s not hard to see why.
When markets become volatile, many investors gravitate toward assets they perceive as “safe.” Cash, certificates of deposit (CDs), money market funds, U.S. Treasury securities, and high-quality bonds can all play an important role in a diversified portfolio. But “safe” doesn’t necessarily mean “risk-free.”
LPL Research analyzes rising U.S. debt, Treasury yields, and fiscal trends, highlighting implications for markets and investors.
Target-date funds have become a staple qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) because they help participants invest appropriately without requiring them to act. But as retirement nears, income needs become more pressing and financial situations diverge—a situation dynamic defaults seek to address.
Brent crude oil rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since July, while the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crossed $95, with varying impacts on energy ETFs. The price surge followed escalation in the Middle East conflict, including U.S. military strikes on five Iranian oil tankers and Houthi attacks on Saudi energy facilities.
From an earnings perspective, this summer proved to be a largely fruitful one for many companies within the S&P 500.
Join the experts from Stance Capital, SS&C ALPS Advisors, and VettaFi for an educational webcast to learn all about the mechanics of Section 351 and how to determine if an investor qualifies under IRS regulations.
The alternative is to be proactive by helping a grieving client name and address the financial concerns that loss creates, without ever rushing them. Doing that well takes two things: an understanding of how grief actually unfolds and a deliberate process for the conversation itself.
As clients come to advisory shops more informed, due to the plethora of financial advice available online, firms will need to be able to “stress test the information or bias” they arrive with. A comprehensive team, with training across advisory areas, can offer clients more depth of service.
When navigating leadership decisions that leave a team feeling underappreciated, offering benefit of the doubt can reduce personal frustration and help maintain productive daily interactions.
Every year, Americans send hundreds of billions of dollars of retirement savings to life insurers in return for annuities that promise a future income. It’s an industry built on trust and prudence.
Apple Inc.’s $570 billion summer surge is saddling new Chief Executive Officer John Ternus with high expectations heading into the company’s most anticipated event in years: the unveiling of the foldable iPhone on Wednesday.
At least a third of all Federal Reserve officials have said they would consider meeting less frequently to set interest rates, giving Kevin Warsh an early opening for one of the biggest structural changes he’s proposed as the central bank’s new chairman.
Defiance ETFs has submitted paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a series of leveraged funds that would seek to double the moves of some individual stocks — over periods measured in just hours, rather than days.
