ETF

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow), and Nasdaq Composite are all stock market indexes used to measure the performance of various aspects of the U.S. stock market. The indexes generally rise and fall together; however, the extent of gains or losses produced by each can differ depending on market conditions and the state of the economy.

Let’s start with the inverse relationship between bond price and the yield. When a bond is issued, its coupon is fixed for life. The only thing that changes is the yield that new buyers demand. Let me explain.

Nominal and real yields have risen, creating some of the most attractive opportunities investors have seen in fixed income in several years. A resilient economy, higher oil prices, sticky inflation and growing worry about the deficit have all contributed to higher yields across much of the bond market.

The employment report was extraordinarily strong, with approximately 165,000 jobs created, well above expectations, and upward revisions of 84,000 for the previous two months. Almost all the gains were in the private sector, with manufacturing adding 19,000 jobs.

Tuesday’s midterms were one for the history books. Democrats won control of both the House and Senate, and they picked up governorships in Ohio, Texas and Georgia. Kansas elected a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 1932. Our home state of Texas did so for the first time in 38 years.

Our investment teams weigh what comes next for stocks, bonds, and AI to help you explain what may come next.

Politicians, particularly when they’re on the winning end of the deal, often say “elections have consequences.” It’s true. And it’s wisdom that advisors and muni bond investors need to remember.

A global tech rout continues to remind investors that volatility can strike at any time. That’s especially true in today’s market environment, where stretched megacap technology valuations and broader equity indices have elevated concentration risk.

Chris Galipeau discusses high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

Portfolio Manager Denny Fish explains why the market was justified in assigning a higher level of regulatory risk to the AI ecosystem after the midterm elections. But in his view, the secular strength of this theme, along with the massive bottlenecks and geopolitical implications, mean that this historic investment cycle will likely continue.

Franklin Templeton Institute’s Stephen Dover and Larry Hatheway opine on the US stock market’s recent volatility in the wake of the US midterm elections and the path forward for investors.

Traditionally speaking, when one is choosing to lean into a particular sector of the equity market, they’re going to want to lean into the one that’s offering the best performance.

In recent years, getting tech exposure was easy. You bought an index fund, whether a mutual fund or an ETF, and let the biggest names carry the portfolio. Now, those names make up such a significant share of large-cap indices that advisors are getting nervous. Indeed, many are looking elsewhere for the next stretch of compounding growth typically associated with the tech sector.

Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to The Associated Press. The results set up a divided government for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. This could have repercussions when it comes to healthcare stocks.

Investors are grappling with an evolving set of risks as 2026 draws to a close. The scale of the AI build-out is influencing more sectors and industries. Rising interest rates are reshaping market dynamics as inflation threats linger.

Understanding the FAFSA process can help families navigate college financial aid. Bill Cass, director of US Wealth Planning, explores five important considerations, from income and assets to application timing and aid offers.

The 2026 midterms may have changed Washington, but they haven’t changed the macro regime. Tariffs, geopolitics, and deficits remain key forces for investors.

The votes have been cast. While control of the House and Senate has been decided, now we wait for the final tallies (and celebrate the end of the political ads — at least for another 20 months or so). We’re not political strategists, but policy does move markets, so it’s important to pay attention.

Amid a rapidly changing world, where China’s rise as an industrial powerhouse has nations around the globe on alert, we believe that American reindustrialization will be an important driver of investment returns in the decade ahead. 

We have been writing extensively about the rapid evolution of crypto ETFs, and recent data reinforces why digital assets remain top of mind for wealth managers. According to CoinShares, financial advisors hold roughly 55% of Wall Street’s total bitcoin ETF stake at the end of the second quarter, cementing their role as primary drivers of long-term digital asset adoption.

Duration management is a key function of fixed income portfolio management. However, as yields have moved approximately 100 bps in 2026 and the monetary regime has sharply changed from rate cuts to rate hikes, duration management has come into greater focus.

Municipal bonds posted their best month since 2023. See how high-yield muni ETFs help advisors capitalize on the municipal market recovery.

On the surface, financial conditions appear to be easing: the FOMC held rates steady last week, and Treasury yields have retreated from their recent highs. But that rally reflects a flight to safety, driven by growing questions about the durability and financing of the AI investment cycle.

October reminded investors that markets rarely move in response to a single factor. The US economy continued to expand at a moderate pace, supported by healthy consumer spending and solid business activity, even as markets contended with higher energy prices, renewed inflation concerns and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Following U.S. midterm results, Paul Eitelman, Chief Investment Strategist, Russell Investments, shares the potential implications for markets and the data center rollout. Views are as of 10:00 am Eastern Time on November 4, 2026.

Notwithstanding that the major U.S. equity indexes are sitting on healthy double-digit gains heading into the final two months of 2026, the calm at the index level belies a lot of churn and rotation underneath.

Taken together, these trends point to a healthier, broader economic backdrop than the AI-driven narrative alone would suggest. For us as investors, it reinforces the case for individual, fundamental stockpicking over simply riding the AI wave. There's more supporting this market than one theme, and that breadth matters for how we position portfolios.

Equity markets are caught between tighter liquidity conditions and increased geopolitical uncertainty on the one hand, and solid economic growth and corporate earnings on the other. We have consequently reduced our exposure to stocks leading into year end.

As investor interest in Anthropic’s upcoming IPO grows, ETFs are finding new ways to offer exposure to private companies through derivatives tied to perpetual futures. Recent regulatory developments could accelerate the use of these instruments across the ETF industry, but they also introduce new risks and complexities.

Fixed income ETFs shattered all-time records in October, amassing an unprecedented $74 billion in monthly net inflows. The milestone marked a record sixth consecutive month with more than $50 billion in allocations. This streak never occurred in the industry prior to this year.

One concern raised by the recent backup in rates is whether CRE is about to relive the stress of 2023, when depressed post-pandemic office demand coincided with rising rates and a regional bank crisis, including Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank. The selloff in public REITs suggests investors are repricing property values for a higher-rate world.

Almost three years have passed since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, bringing crypto and digital assets investing to a whole new audience. The asset class has evolved in that time, becoming a bigger and bigger part of investor and advisor plans.

Elevated Treasury yields have created attractive income opportunities across the fixed income markets. Corporate and municipal bonds offer additional yield opportunities, while positively sloped yield curves provide investors with further motivations to extend maturities. For many investors, the opportunity to capture higher income and lock it in for longer periods has renewed interest in exploring bond swaps.

We expect the rotation to continue. The earnings bar is high—very high. Any minor misstep has led to punishment, which has led to rotation. Rotation is not a bad thing, and if you are running a diversified equity portfolio, you should be in good shape.

The Federal Reserve meeting last week was largely uneventful. The S&P 500 and the 10-year Treasury yield ending the trading session almost exactly where they stood before the Fed’s announcements. Despite some disagreements within the Fed, there was virtually no forward guidance.

From earlier detection and more precise treatments to smarter medical technology, the healthcare sector continues to reinvent products that improve and save lives. Yet healthcare stocks have struggled to reflect that progress, overshadowed in recent years by investor enthusiasm for AI beneficiaries.

While market valuations remain on the loftier side, investors face a familiar dilemma. Chasing pure growth leaves portfolios vulnerable to sharp drawdowns, while hiding in traditional “deep value” risks inheriting mature businesses in structural decline — classic value traps.

The broad markets experienced volatility in the 3rd quarter with concerns over the impact of energy prices on inflation as well as CapEx spending by hyperscaler companies in the AI space driving technology stocks. The price of WTI Crude oil rallied sharply during the quarter by nearly 30%.

A few years back, I compared two island-nations whose leaders came to power in 1959. At the time, Cuba was by far the wealthier of the two—rich in sugar, tobacco and tourism—while Singapore was a sleepy former colonial outpost with almost no natural resources.

Last week, the AI trade began to crack further with Alphabet’s release, missing on both the top and bottom lines. Mirroring Meta’s print from the prior week, massive AI capex turned free cash flow negative, alarming investors.