Coming into 2025, amid a debate about concentration and lofty valuations in the largest of large-cap stocks, as well as concerns about macro uncertainty and economic conditions, we collectively called for diversification. That diversification, among other things, singled out the opportunity in small-caps.
Aspiring homebuyers should find the US housing market slightly more affordable in 2026, even without the benefit of lower mortgage rates.
European real estate companies have been buying back junior bonds like never before, seeking to get their balance sheets in order after a tumultuous few years.
Here’s a shocker — if you give businesses more time to respond to a survey, chances are you’ll get more data back in return.
US-listed biotechnology and pharmaceutical company share sales are staging a late-year revival, as mergers and acquisitions in the industry boost valuations and stoke additional demand.
Elevated yields, steeper yield curves, and ongoing volatility make core bonds a compelling choice for total return, income, diversification, and downside risk mitigation in today’s markets. Active management is key: Historically, it has helped core bond portfolios outperform passive strategies through a rigorous, diversified approach.
Investors should treat bitcoin as the volatile, high-risk asset it is. A look at the data, along with comparisons to the Magnificent 7 stocks, indicates a small (1% to 2%) portfolio allocation for most investors would be the safest.
The Federal Reserve wrapped up its final meeting of 2025, delivering – as expected – its third consecutive rate cut. Policymakers lowered the fed funds rate to a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, signaling continued support for the economy.
During extended upward-trending markets that reward risk-takers and punish caution, everyone is a “bull market genius.” That dynamic flips investor psychology and, over time, creates a false sense of control.
Oracle Corp. shocked investors with the disclosure of $248 billion in future lease-payment commitments, primarily for AI data centers and cloud capacity, which are set to commence by its 2028 financial year but are not yet on its balance sheet.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale, co-founder of FAST Graphs and “Mr. Valuation”, continues his series on portfolio construction by shifting the focus from retirees to younger, pre-retirement investors building wealth for the future-how young investors can build a future retirement with dividend growth.
Innovation is no longer confined to tech—it’s transforming every sector of the economy, from transportation and health care to energy and retail. Learn more from Franklin Equity Group’s Matt Moberg.
We’ll call it a steady year for the box office in 2025. A handful of big-time flicks are on deck for the holidays, while studios hope for an improved macro backdrop to drive bigger numbers next year.
We’re finally breaking out of the clouds! Economists have mostly been flying blind because of the government shutdown, but this week the data really start to flow again. In particular, we get a partial report on the employment situation in October and a full report for November, retail sales in October, and consumer prices in November.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the VictoryShares Free Cash Flow Growth ETF (GFLW) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.
Ben Johnson, Head of Client Solutions at Morningstar, recaps the year in ETFs, sharing his picks for ETF Story of the Year, ETF of the Year, ETF Issuer of the Year, and more. He also looks ahead to 2026, highlighting the key industry trends and developments he’s watching.
Join the experts at Victory Capital for an educational webcast exploring the FCF metric and how investors can deploy it to capture opportunities and mitigate risk.
Preparing for the new year? It helps to look back on the big stories in fund management that can inform plans for 2026.
As more retail investors gain access to private markets, advisors should be careful to communicate the risks, and not just the potential upside, of diving into these alternative investments.
Cannabis stocks soared on Friday following news that U.S. president Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as Monday that would ultimately ease federal restrictions on marijuana.
Looking to add exposure to the Nasdaq? The key market index, with its heavy focus on the information technology sector, can help investors lean more into some key growth-oriented firms in the U.S. and global economy.
As anxiety over an artificial-intelligence bubble reached a fever pitch in recent months, no Wall Street bank helped the industry power past the noise like Morgan Stanley.
Market participants said the longer-term outlook for the sector remains upbeat as power demand is too high to be met by Big Oil alone. And the rally this year is far from overdone, with the clean-energy stock gauge remaining about 73% below its 2007 peak.
Every time there’s a raging bull market in stocks, as there is now, people start worrying about too much leverage in the market, and for good reason. When investors chase stocks with borrowed money, bad things can happen.
The goal with perpetual, unsolvable problems is to move from gridlock to dialogue. You don’t have to agree. You do have to understand.
This data shows we’ve just experienced one of the biggest periods of financial turbulence in the last 20 years, but are we, as financial professionals, acting accordingly and showing our clients enough support?
One of the most important roles of a financial advisor is to help retired clients determine how much they can afford to spend each year. It might be a good idea for advisors to ascertain whether their client’s spending goals are actually consistent with a retirement paychecks approach.
Last Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) delivered a widely anticipated 25-basis-point rate cut at its final meeting of the year. In the press conference that followed, Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that monetary policy is now much closer to neutral and that the central bank is likely nearing the end of its rate-cutting cycle.
Dividends offer a powerful dual benefit: they provide an immediate, consistent stream of passive income, while also being an incredible tool for long-term wealth building through the magic of compounding when reinvested. The yield is the essential metric that measures this horsepower, allowing investors to effectively compare and manage their income-generating investments.
ClearBridge Investments expects a broadening of market participation that should benefit more diversified portfolios in 2026.
A generation ago, a single income could support a family, buy a house and pay for a vehicle or two in the driveway. Today, even two high earners are struggling to purchase a new home.
Investors are gravitating to dollar bonds to ride the rally in emerging-markets, and have poured the most money in two years into a fund tracking the asset class.
Researching lesser-known economic indicators on the thinkorswim® platform is a low-effort way to potentially elevate an investor's game.
Despite rapid growth, including significant trading volume increases, the company faces major challenges from competitors like Robinhood and Interactive Brokers, an ongoing association with gambling, and regulatory pushback regarding its classification as a financial-derivatives exchange.
Chief Economist Eugenio J. Alemán discusses current economic conditions.
Our year ahead explores what could challenge the consensus outlook, how rate-cut expectations shape market behavior, and why quality, dividends, and broader opportunities may matter more than investors realize.
The Federal Reserve delivered a "dovish version of the hawkish cut," confirmed by the market's rally, new equity highs, and subtle shifts in leadership. The surprising effective end of Quantitative Tightening and a softening inflation framework underscore a clear turn toward accommodation and ample market liquidity.
LPL will explore current industry developments, share best practices for demonstrating fiduciary responsibility, and offer ways to support your growing practice. Learn how to discover opportunities at the growing intersection of retirement and wealth planning.
It pays to know what financial storms — and especially their underlying meteorology — look like. This reviewer has not come across a volume that accomplishes this as well — and as entertainingly — as Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History — and How It Shattered a Nation.
The flood of big money into the RIA space is a tribute to what the pioneers created. But it also represents a step backward. The new masters are profit-driven capitalists, not creative, client-focused entrepreneurs.
Clients with large, concentrated stock positions, often from vested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), face undiversified risk and a huge potential tax bill. This article introduces two new, complex methods that defer capital gains.
While the Federal Reserve is expected to cut short-term interest rates next year, these reductions are predicted to have minimal effect on long-term rates, such as the 10-year Treasury yield.
China has figured out the US strategy for allowing it to buy Nvidia Corp.’s H200 and is rejecting the AI chip in favor of domestically developed semiconductors, White House AI czar David Sacks said, citing news reports.
A flare up in high-profile corporate buyouts is likely to spread into 2026, spurring demand for leveraged financing that could double by some estimates, according to debt managers.
Emerging market carry trades, a popular strategy that returned about 17% in 2025, are widely expected to continue yielding gains in 2026 due to persistent interest rate gaps and a weakening US dollar.
It’s been three years since OpenAI set off euphoria over artificial intelligence with the release of ChatGPT. And while the money is still pouring in, so are the doubts about whether the good times can last.
As someone who views corporate finance through a pragmatic lens, I’ve been closely watching the current surge in capital expenditures (capex) tied to artificial intelligence (AI). When a company spends massive amounts of free cash flow and takes on increasing debt, does that lead to a positive outcome for investors?
Today we’ll look at government debt as a global problem because that’s what it is. Some governments are somewhat less profligate, but very few have clean hands on this. All of us are in the mud.
We expect the US economy to remain resilient in 2026, providing a constructive backdrop for risk assets, as well as corporate and municipal credit. But the mix of macro uncertainty, policy division and elevated deficits could widen the range of potential outcomes and increase rate volatility—especially as the Federal Reserve approaches the neutral rate.
Each December, those of us in the investment business lay out our expectations for the coming year. We do so with the knowledge that no one has a clear crystal ball (it’s one of the reasons I like Oprah’s quote).
