Mutual Funds

For many investors, the allocation to fixed income is intended to be the ballast of the portfolio with a primary objective of preserving wealth. Investment-grade bonds, which are those with ratings of Baa3/BBB- or higher, typically make up most, if not all, of many fixed income allocations.

High-interest areas like cryptocurrencies and AI-related stocks have faced renewed volatility following the midterm elections, while the recent investigation into Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) has introduced additional unexpected uncertainty for the technology sector and broader equity markets.

El Niño is a climate phenomenon, but its effects transcend the weather map. Driving wide shifts in rainfall and temperature, it can disrupt everything from agriculture to monetary policy, ultimately affecting companies, sovereign issuers and asset prices.

The AI boom is reshaping the U.S. economy in ways that are becoming increasingly difficult to separate from the broader macroeconomic outlook. The race to build AI infrastructure has fueled a surge in imports of semiconductors, servers, and other computing equipment, while data center construction has become an increasingly important source of business investment.

Our Director and Senior Portfolio Manager Alex Cousley sees last week's sharp equity sell-off as a test of market sentiment, with the U.S. midterm elections raising new questions about the outlook for AI infrastructure investment.

The US midterm elections have brought about a major political realignment, with the Democratic Party taking decisive control of both the House and the Senate. What are the most likely implications for the economic outlook and financial markets?

The greatest investment risk at the moment is the inclination to confuse the length of time a bubble has persisted with proof that a bubble does not exist.

Voters sent a clear message about data centers on Tuesday. We take it seriously. But data centers are one node in a larger AI-infrastructure build: chips, networks, power, cooling, sites and the capital that funds them. We have to look past the heavy rhetoric to what the policy can actually do.

Dividend ETFs have long been an investor favorite for their unique defensive flavor and total-return profile in the face of sticky inflation, rising interest rates, and volatile markets. While bonds may struggle with price erosion in rising rate cycles, and growth equities may face valuation compression, dividend stocks can offer resilience through cash flow and lower equity duration.

The U.S. midterm election results could slow the AI buildout and near-term issuance but are unlikely to materially reduce its ultimate scale or financing needs. The pace of supply may slow, but concentration risk is unlikely to dissipate, reinforcing the case for diversification into high quality securitized products and emerging markets (EM).

In a week that once again featured solid economic data, stocks faltered as investors continued to question the sustainability of the AI boom.

Despite some volatility caused by the midterm elections last week, mega-cap cash flows remain resilient, earnings continue to come in better-than-expected, and corporate balance sheets remain fundamentally sound even as late-cycle pressures emerge.

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.

Rafay Farooqui, CEO and Founder of SUBSCRIBE, joins Tony Davidow to discuss the future of fintech within private markets.

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.

If you’re considering changing firms in 2027, use the remainder of 2026 to establish readiness and explore a rapidly shifting economic and geopolitical landscape. Before committing, review your restrictions, confirm client-data boundaries, assess account portability, compare the economics, and determine what your next business model requires.

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.

The most important number in October’s inflation reports wasn’t the one that made the headlines. Everyone watched the Consumer Price Index print 3.7%. Far fewer noticed the Producer Price Index for final demand. It jumped 1.3% in a single month, the largest gain since March 2022, and the annual rate hit 6.3%.

The strong October nonfarm payrolls report has effectively settled the debate over what the Federal Reserve (Fed) is likely to do at its December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. We expect the Fed to raise the federal funds rate by another 25 basis points. Beyond December, however, the outlook remains far less certain. We continue to expect the Fed to remain on hold throughout 2027.

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.

The big story last week? The Federal Reserve paused despite stronger growth and persistent inflation. It was a hawkish pause, with a December hike still the base case, according to Franklin Templeton Fixed Income. Third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy's resilience, but also its growing dependence on artificial intelligence investment, and household purchasing power took a hit.

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.

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.

A stock trading at half its former price is not necessarily a bargain. Perhaps its earnings power has halved or its balance sheet can no longer support the business. Maybe its generous dividend is being financed with borrowed money. A low valuation ratio tells us what we are paying relative to one measure of fundamentals. It does not, by itself, tell us what the business is worth or whether those fundamentals will endure.

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

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. 

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.

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.

Following the U.S. midterm elections, investors will naturally focus on what the results mean for fiscal policy, geopolitics, and the regulatory outlook. But there’s another more immediate way the midterms have already mattered for the economy: The campaigns themselves have provided a meaningful boost to U.S. growth.

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.

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.

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.

Sometimes the best lessons are the simplest ones, and right now, the market is offering a good old-fashioned lesson on the benefits of diversification. Stay invested, stay diversified, and stick to your financial plan.

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.

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.

Election Day has markets watching how divided Washington will be over the coming two years. Jeff Schulze shares insights for investors based on different potential outcomes.

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%.