Imagine an investment with stock-like returns and cash-like stability, or close to it. Many investors believe they have found such a thing. It’s called direct lending, and like countless investments before it that promised big profits with little risk, it’s probably too good to be true.

Amid fears of a recession, the S&P 500 is up more than 14% this year, and AI stocks have risen many times more than that. But the market is not in a bubble, according to Jeremy Siegel.

Regardless, the rental boom that began in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis is likely over, having peaked in the middle of 2022.

Sales of previously owned US homes barely rose in May as high mortgage rates continued to crimp demand and discourage owners from listing their properties.

BlackRock Inc.’s surprise filing for a US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund last week has led to a flurry of similar applications from rival issuers and speculation that the asset manager has key insights that will lead to approval of its application.

The collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, capping a “horribilis annus” for big-name, regulated digital currencies, combined with the demo release of ChatGPT the same month, sent venture capital money fleeing from crypto and into AI.

Open up BlackRock Inc.’s annual report and – in case you didn’t know – the company tells you what it does. “BlackRock provides a broad range of investment management and technology services to institutional and retail clients worldwide,” it states.

Bitcoin climbed to $30,000 for the first time since April, buoyed by crypto initiatives involving major players from the traditional financial sector.

Investors have just turned back the clock on the Fed’s tightening campaign and cast aside the Fed fears that ruled them for 15 months.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers expect interest rates will need to move higher to reduce US growth and contain price pressures, even though they held rates steady at their meeting last week.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is testifying before Congress this week on the state of the US economy and monetary policy, and there will be some tension.

The explosive growth of the gig economy is one of the most important labor-market trends to emerge since the 2008 financial crisis. Companies offering ride-sharing, do-it-yourself property rentals and a host of other services have upended traditional sectors.

Remember Web 3.0? No? Allow ChatGPT to refresh your memory: Web 3.0, according to GPT-4, is “the next frontier in internet technology, characterized by decentralized, user-centric applications that prioritize data privacy and foster seamless, interconnected experiences.”

A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak to the CFA Association of Russia about my most recent book. Here is my reply.

After 20 years and serving over 1,800 clients as an hourly, fee-only financial planner, I’ve concluded that hourly advisors should not give free advice to prospects.

There was nothing but worrisome news in Wednesday’s economic data releases for the UK. And the implications extend beyond Britain in a multifaceted way.

The US money-market industry, one of the big winners on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, is getting another lift with more tools at its disposal to attract investors and expand its unprecedented mountain of cash.

What was billed as the year of fixed income is morphing into a massive game of catch-up for investors trying to capture some of the stock market’s gains.

T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Allspring Global Investments and AllianceBernstein Holding LP are among investors seeking opportunities in longer-dated high-grade corporate bonds, reflecting bets that the peak in interest rates is nearing and a US recession would force policymakers to reverse course.

Here’s what is working best for my marketing and consulting firm. You may be able to use some of the same tools.

In the last couple of weeks, I have had numerous requests to facilitate discussions for large and small teams. Here are my best practices.

They’re the gilded class of high finance, whose shrewd bets and jumbo-sized paydays are the envy of Wall Street.

A type of charcoal first used by Amazonian tribes thousands of years ago is becoming a key component of net-zero goals set by Microsoft Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and other blue chip companies eager to offset their carbon emissions.

If you’re losing five, six, or even seven out of every 10 prospect each month, that’s a lot of value slipping away.

You can achieve your business goals via a sale or merger so long as you clearly access and articulate what you don’t want – essentially, your deal breakers.

Here are the key elements you need to financially “undress” to weed out the trouble spots in your practice.

The spring of 2022 was rough for the US economy. Markets plunged while inflation spiked. “Stagflation” was the word of the day, and for a period of time, there was some merit to that outlook.

As high mortgage rates make potential sellers wary of listing a home and buyers feverishly compete for disappearing inventory, some employers are stepping in to offer employees affordable housing solutions. An offer too good to refuse? It may not be as simple as that.

Analysts are rushing to raise target prices on Japanese trading companies as Warren Buffett’s increased holdings drive their shares to record highs.

Hedge funds that deploy a basket of computer algorithms for trading are gaining popularity in China after many investors got burned by human stock pickers.

One of Wall Street’s most bearish strategists isn’t giving in to the bullish about-turn in equities, saying investors may be in for “a rude awakening.”

The benchmark S&P 500 Index has been on quite a rally, having risen 24% since October. At a level of about 4,433, it's already above the median year-end target of 4,100 in a Bloomberg News survey of 23 Wall Street strategists.

While there are dozens of variables and decisions that go into transitioning to the RIA model, two of the more meaningful hurdles are registering your RIA and getting a clearing agreement with a custodian.

Believing you don’t deserve money is one of the 10 most common money scripts. But holding this belief has very little to do with whether society, friends, or family view you as deserving.

This year’s annual rebalancing of the FTSE Russell’s stock indexes, when companies are added or kicked out of the equity gauges, will be a headache for active portfolio managers.

The S&P 500 may have entered a technical bull market last week, but Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett says it’s not the start of a new major rally in equities.

Ignore the “noise” of the market and adhere to your well-thought-out asset-allocation strategy that acknowledges both the virtual certainty of recessions and bear markets while also recognizing that trying to time the market based on economic forecasts is likely to prove counterproductive.

The invasion of Ukraine may change many things, but the longest-lasting implication may be a reorienting of the post-World War II status quo and the unquestioned role of the United States dollar as the reserve currency for global trade.

Money managers are flocking to extremely precise fixed-income exchange-traded funds as a hawkish central bank and economic uncertainty batter the bond market.

The gravity-defying bull market is handing stock investors a fresh conundrum as an unusually big pile of options expires Friday: Chase gains via bullish derivatives or hedge with bearish bets?

BlackRock Inc. is trying its hand at potentially getting the first spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded fund launched in the US.

A diligent worker who invests for retirement will effectively lose the value of the dollars they’ve saved if they don’t also make an investment in their health.

Bob had lunch last week with a long-time reader and APViewpoint commentator.

Seminars and workshops are a costly and exhausting way to acquire high-net-worth clients.

Investors seeking to capitalize on artificial intelligence are harkening back to another period when a technological advancement caused a market frenzy: the dot-com era.

Bond traders are stepping up wagers that the Federal Reserve will steer the US economy into a recession.

Turns out not even hawkish saber-rattling by the Federal Reserve is enough to awaken stock investors from the spell cast on them by artificial intelligence.

Fintech can be a good way to combine the value opportunities of a technology stock with the stability often offered by financial institutions. Here’s what you need to know.

Artificial intelligence tools have demonstrated the capability to shake up nearly any industry. That includes financial advising.

The US core consumer price index — which excludes volatile food and energy prices — rose 0.4% in May from a month earlier, extending its streak of moderately bad inflation readings of roughly that size to six. On a three-month annualized basis, core CPI has been around 5% since November.