The current approach to investment management has no sound basis and doesn’t work. There is a better way.

Sand. Salt. Iron. Copper. Oil. Lithium. These, not petabytes or algorithms or innovative ideas, are the building blocks of human life as we know it. At least that’s what Ed Conway, author of Material World, tells us.

VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF (IWMI) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”

US stocks will outperform the nation’s government and corporate bonds for the rest of this year as the Federal Reserve keeps cutting interest rates, the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey shows.

Just as the industrial revolution changed the way goods are manufactured and consumed, so the technological revolution will do for services. Once something can be made at scale, the market for it can expand and be segmented. The same goes for financial planning.

Gold is what you buy when everything isn’t goldilocks. Inflation, deflation, war, pestilence — gold is a certain anxious state of mind made tangible in a seductive but mostly useless metal. In a weird spin, gold has been enjoying a goldilocks period itself, hitting a new record last week. More that that, it seems almost immune to things that would usually drag it down.

Last week, the Federal Reserve made a significant move by cutting its overnight lending rate by 50 basis points. This marks the first rate cut since 2020, signaling the Fed is aggressively supporting the economy amid a backdrop of softening economic data. For investors, understanding how similar rate cuts have historically impacted markets and which sectors tend to benefit is key to navigating the months ahead.

Two weeks ago, I began reviewing Martin Gurri’s important book, The Revolt of the Public. Rather than try to do a general review, I am going to liberally quote from Gurri’s book and interviews, trying to let him explain himself in his own words.

I attended and spoke at the European Blockchain Convention this week in Barcelona, where the energy around digital assets, Bitcoin and Web3 was palpable. Among the 6,000 attendees, there was a sense that we’re on the brink of a new era in finance and digital infrastructure.

Strategies and best practices for equity portfolios.

Gold has forged multiple new record highs so far this year, and is now up some 30% year to date, 3.5% in the past week alone.

Chair Powell successfully staved off hard landing concerns by reiterating the FOMC is confident in economic growth and inflation progress.

Chief executive officers are no longer trying to be all things to all people.

Assets held by exchange-traded funds in the US hit $10 trillion for the first time as the investor-friendly products continue their relentless takeover of Wall Street.

So far, so good. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to engineer a soft landing for the economy are going well.

If investors had known in advance the size of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate cut, would they have made big money on stocks and bonds trading on this market-moving intel?

A new exchange-traded fund attempting to carve out a slice of the $6.3 trillion sitting in traditional money-market funds is launching Wednesday.

That is much clearer and far more accurate. On Wednesday, Reuters first reported that the company is set to announce a restructuring under which its nonprofit board will lose control over the company’s core business.

Taxes can have a major impact on the long-term growth of a portfolio. Find out how continuous, thoughtful tax management can help investors maximize their wealth.

The economy is not the stock market. And that’s good news.

Regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the US presidential election in November, Chinese decision-makers expect bitter disputes over trade, technology, and Taiwan. Feeling under siege, China is girding itself for long-term enmity with the world’s largest economy.

High-dividend-yielding equity investments are likely to get closer looks in the fourth quarter after strong recent performance.

Following the first half of 2024, the NDX succumbed to significant selling pressure as investors fretted about AI-related tech spending.

Market volatility has advisors exploring defensive strategies. But a thriving portfolio requires protection and growth. In this complex landscape, buffer ETFs can keep clients invested while protecting gains.

In theory, growing a pool of wealth over decades – whether for a family, an endowment, or a pensioner – is a straightforward endeavor.

Buyout heavyweights are increasingly resorting to the old-fashioned way of making money — actually running the companies they’ve bought.

Sam Altman has his hands in countless projects while also building “mankind’s last invention”: artificial general intelligence, or AI systems that surpass our own cognitive abilities. These galactic aspirations were reinforced on Monday when Altman published a dramatic blog post reminding us that superintelligence will bring prosperity for everyone. It’s just a “few thousand days” away, he added.

Financial services, like many institutions, are losing Americans’ trust. That’s a problem. Economies depend on a healthy financial system, as became painfully evident during the 2008 financial crisis, and that system operates largely on trust — confidence that people can access the money in their bank accounts, that their investment accounts are secure, and that their trades will be filled at quoted market prices, to name just a few everyday financial interactions.

Chief Investment Officer Sean Taylor provides his insights on how the Fed’s 50 basis point-rate cut may affect emerging economies, particularly in Asia and Latin America, how it impacts portfolio allocations and the sectors he believes are poised for growth amid this shift.

When stock markets rise, the bullish narrative tends to dominate, overlooking the potential impact of market declines. This oversight stems from two main problems: a basic misunderstanding of math and time’s critical role in investing.

Policy, more likely to be dictated by economic circumstances, may not resemble generous populist proposals, which could limit their impact on stock markets.

In the span of a few days in late July, the market got live to two contrasting theories at once: that U.S. inflation is collapsing while Japanese inflation will remain stubbornly high.

In the latest episode of ETF 360. VettaFi's Kristen Chang spoke to Winslow Capital's Barry Peters about their new active growth funds

Fixed income investors may want to take a middle-ground approach with bonds and opt for debt with intermediate maturity dates.

The global market for AI-related products is ballooning and will hit as much as $990 billion in 2027, as the technology’s quick adoption disrupts companies and economies, Bain & Co. said.

They say if there’s ever a Silicon Valley Mount Rushmore, the first face to be chiseled into the stone would be that of Gordon Moore. The Intel Corp. co-founder’s famous prediction about the rate at which semiconductors would improve has provided the bedrock to American technology leadership.

Retail investors have won the battle of fees. Brokerage accounts are free. Trading commissions are history. Anyone can own the entire stock market through a single exchange-traded fund for basically nothing. It’s a huge win for investors and terrible for the investment industry.

Taxes may be the biggest fee your tax-sensitive clients are paying on their investment portfolios. And neither they nor you, their advisor, may be aware of just how big that fee is.

With their unrivaled depth and breadth, US capital markets lend themselves well to multi-asset strategies. The US equity market is a key portfolio building block and has outpaced the stock markets of other developed markets over the past decade.

Schwab Sector Views is our six- to 12-month outlook for stock sectors, which represent broad sectors of the economy. The Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR) combines a factor-based approach with a market and economic assessment to determine the ratings. For the basics on sectors, please see Stock Sectors: What Are They? How Are They Used?

The seasons are changing. This weekend marks the autumn equinox—a time of year when the days get shorter, the weather gets cooler, and the leaves start to turn (at least for our friends in the north). While our calendars will show that fall has officially arrived, it may not feel like it as much of the nation will be enjoying unseasonably warm weather.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Federal Reserve (Fed) decision to begin the easing cycle with a 50-basis point (bp) cut as the real economic data came in relatively stronger than expected.

Successful investing doesn’t have to be a thrill ride.

For families seeking to help their children save for higher education, 529 plans continue to gain broader appeal.

ETF Action’s Mike Akins offers perspective on many of the biggest stories in ETFs and looks ahead to the industry’s future. VettaFi’s Stacey Morris highlights a bright spot within the energy sector and discusses the potential impact of the upcoming election on energy prices.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, where cyber threats are always lurking, safeguarding your personal and professional information is no longer optional – it’s essential. One often-overlooked strategy in the realm of cybersecurity is the simple yet effective practice of using multiple email accounts.

The truth is, relationship-building and trust-building are mutually exclusive, like two parallel planes that don’t intersect.

On September 18, the Federal Reserve cut the Federal funds rate, as expected, announcing at the same time that the Fed will continue to reduce its balance sheet. In my view, both of these decisions were appropriate. The Fed reduced short-term rates by 50 basis points, which was consistent with economic conditions that remain near the threshold of recession.

Investors poured money into exchange-traded funds that buy emerging-market bonds last week as optimism around the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle fueled risk appetite.

Gary Gensler, chief US securities regulator, enlisted Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix’s movie “Her” last week to help explain his worries about the risks of artificial intelligence in finance. Money managers and banks are rushing to adopt a handful of generative AI tools and the failure of one of them could cause mayhem, just like the AI companion played by Johansson left Phoenix’s character and many others heartbroken.