Our view from the portfolio management desk is that there seems to be a concurrent affordability crisis in the public stock markets as well. The biggest names appear to be “priced for perfection” at this moment.
2025 will go down as another year of record-breaking achievements for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Among the past year’s highlights was a record number of mutual funds converting to ETFs, as noted by Ben Johnson, Morningstar Head of Client Solutions, via a LinkedIn post.
U.S. fourth-quarter earnings season began with major banks reporting results that were generally stronger than expected. Most large banks beat earnings forecasts, with many also exceeding revenue expectations, reinforcing our view that the U.S. economy remains in a healthy state.
Investors have reaped the benefits of good market conditions in many of the recent years. These periods are ideal for wealth accumulation.
US stocks extended gains on President Donald Trump’s retreat from tariff threats while traders’ appetite for artificial intelligence bets returned.
A quiet but telling shift is unfolding in the crypto derivatives market, as one of the most reliable money-making trades shows signs of breaking down.
Trend-following funds are starting 2026 with fresh momentum, outperforming stocks and bonds after a year of false starts.
Investors are pouring cash into emerging-market funds at a record pace as momentum builds for a rotation out of US assets.
There is a natural human tendency to assume that your generation has it harder than everyone else. Even by those standards, however, baby boomers (and some older millennials) are on the receiving end of an extraordinary amount of resentment.
The key point, in our view, is that this combination of shocks is not likely to be an isolated occurrence in 2026 or beyond.
Despite the broadening-out call in early 2024, narrow market breadth persisted through 2025. In 2025, around one-third of S&P 500 constituents beat the overall Index, but more than 60% are outperforming year to date in 2026.
Residential mortgage loans offer insurers a combination of yield, diversification, capital efficiency and liquidity that we think is difficult to replicate elsewhere in private credit. In a market shaped by structural housing undersupply, strong borrower credit and expanding non-agency issuance, we believe residential mortgages present a timely and scalable opportunity.
As the new year begins, one market theme is already attracting plenty of attention, and that is the dispersion and broadening out in the stock market that has occurred during the first two weeks of trading.
Greenland has reemerged as a center of geopolitical attention. Its location midway between Washington and Moscow, combined with its position along maritime routes linking the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, has long made it a focal point for trade.
The $5 trillion hedge fund industry posted its best returns since the Global Financial Crisis last year, a welcoming reprieve for an asset class that has been overshadowed by the rise of private alternatives. Before declaring the worst is over however, boutique funds have one more myth to bust.
Geopolitical tensions have escalated following President Trump’s renewed intent to acquire Greenland. Franklin Templeton Institute’s Kim Catechis explores the implications.
It was a sea of red to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week yesterday. President Trump’s ambition to annex part or all of Greenland drew backlash from European leaders.
VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the T. Rowe Price US Equity Research ETF (TSPA) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”
Join the professionals at Sterling Capital Management for a product due diligence session that explores two unique active fixed income products. One that redefines how investors can approach their core bonds and another that uses a multi-sector strategy.
For newly widowed clients, the question of whether to move or not is rarely just about real estate and finances. It’s about finding a sense of belonging, safety, and identity, and understanding how much emotional change one person can handle at a time.
With the AI market evolving so quickly, leadership is everything when it comes to differentiating the contenders from pretenders. Structured training, clear lists of approved tools, defined data sources and easy-to-understand compliance rules go a long way in building confidence.
A unified platform brings direct client benefits: strategies scale smoothly, adjustments happen safely, and proactive alerts keep portfolios aligned. With fewer handoffs and cleaner data flows, advisors can focus on what matters most, deepening client relationships.
These are times in life where any sort of note, acknowledgement or thoughtful gift is likely to be appreciated. You want to be supportive, but you also want to be careful you are taking your client’s feelings into consideration in all ways possible.
Netflix Inc. shares tumbled in early trading Wednesday after giving a disappointing forecast for earnings in the months ahead as it spends more on programming and works to close its $82.7 billion deal with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
US mortgage applications for home purchases climbed last week to the highest since January 2023, suggesting a further easing in financing costs is contributing to a thaw in the housing market.
US equities reversed early losses during Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos when the US president said he didn’t want to use excessive force to acquire Greenland
In the last 10-plus years, investors have grown accustomed to Japanese financial assets lagging their global counterparts.
PJM is the name given to the largest regional US electricity grid, stretching from Chicago to the Chesapeake. It is also synonymous with the AI-power surge, being home to Virginia’s ‘datacenter alley’ and seeing recent big increases in bills tied to concerns that the electricity needs of artificial intelligence will swamp supply.
Seven hundred billion dollars. That’s the figure being floated as the potential price tag for acquiring Greenland, according to recent reporting. Call me skeptical, but I don’t think anyone’s cutting a $700 billion check anytime soon. For comparison’s sake, that’s more than half of the Defense Department’s entire 2024 budget.
GMO has posted a new 7-Year asset class forecast as of December 31, 2025.
2026 is coming out of the gate quickly. In just the first two weeks, we’ve seen a flurry of headlines – rapid-fire policy proposals, legal uncertainties, and fast-moving geopolitical developments – all with the potential to influence the economy and financial markets.
Despite a fair amount of news and histrionics in the fourth quarter, stock and bond returns were relatively modest. The S&P 500 posted a moderate rise of about 2.5% and the TLT bond ETF lost about 1%.
Markets pushed to new highs again last week as investors looked past headline inflation noise and focused on improving breadth beneath the surface.
Several dynamics have converged to drive silver higher, including spillover effects from the gold bull market, steady industrial demand, surging investment demand, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty. However, one factor is the key driver – there isn’t enough metal.
We are in the midst of a tech-led investment boom supporting what some think is a transformational technology. The annualized pace of U.S. productivity growth was 5% in the third quarter of last year, well above the long-term average.
Bitcoin and other digital tokens, once touted as the uncontrolled and decentralized future of money, have proved to be lucrative tools for fraudsters, terrorists and rogue regimes.
After rising to its highest level in four years during the last quarter of 2024, the Late Earnings Report Index, our proprietary measure of CEO uncertainty, has now recorded five consecutive quarterly readings below the historical benchmark as companies prepare to report their Q4 results.
The MSCI Emerging Markets index rallied more than 30% in U.S. dollar terms, easily outpacing the S&P 500 and other developed market benchmarks. And many are expecting that broader outperformance to continue in 2026 – thanks to a combination of macro developments, valuations and AI exposure.
The champagne has gone flat. After months of planning the great breakaway, signing independence paperwork, and celebrating freedom from wirehouse constraints, newly minted registered investment advisors (RIA) owners face a sobering reality. They've traded a boss for a back-office burden that's quietly strangling their growth.
Are you ready for the next evolution of the ETF market? In this episode of ETF Prime, host Nate Geraci is joined by industry heavyweights Cinthia Murphy (VettaFi) and Matt Bartolini (State Street Global Advisors) to break down the biggest trends, risks, and opportunities for investors in 2026.
Join Bitwise’s crypto experts for a webcast examining how advisors’ approaches to crypto are evolving and where growth opportunities are emerging.
In order to develop prudent spending plans for clients that are consistent with their spending goals, advisors should employ reasonable client-specific LPP assumptions. The three-step process and tools highlighted in this article can help advisors get started.
For advisors breaking away to start their own practice, there’s no avoiding the risks that come with entrepreneurship — but in the current economic climate that includes high inflation, market volatility and heightened uncertainty — advisors need to be doubly prepared when going out on their own.
Gaining recognition in the media and on third-party websites can feel daunting. However, you can learn from financial advisors who have established a strong off-site strategy that increases the likelihood of appearing in AI-generated answers.
Interest rates do not exist to punish borrowers. They exist to price risk. When lenders are told they can’t charge more than 10 percent, even when the market risk calls for a higher rate, they don’t suddenly become more generous.
Wells Fargo & Co. is moving the headquarters for its wealth-management business to West Palm Beach, becoming the first big bank to run that operation from the heart of the wealth boom in South Florida.
Netflix Inc. reached an amended, all-cash agreement to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s studio and streaming business as it battles Paramount Skydance Corp. to acquire one of Hollywood’s most iconic entertainment companies.
As earnings season picks up steam, expectations remain high. Analysts forecast fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of about 8%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, with investors focused on themes including artificial intelligence spending, oil-market volatility and tariff risks.
OpenAI is ruling out the more obvious downsides for users of its free and $8-a-month ChatGPT Go tiers who will start seeing ads. Advertisers won’t influence the chatbot’s answers but rather post banners with images at the bottom of the screen.
I have a confession, shameful as it may be for someone who has spent decades studying retirement policy and advising individuals and institutions on how to save for and think about retirement: When I bought my apartment a few years ago, I raided my retirement account for the down payment.
