Back in the 1980s, President Reagan took enormous political heat (Sam Donaldson comes to mind) for being fiscally irresponsible. His offense? Presiding over a budget deficit that peaked at 5.9% of GDP in Fiscal Year 1983.
I write a few newsletters, and I frequently get feedback from my subscribers. Sometimes, they’re just saying hello, and sometimes, they’re ripping on me, but sometimes, they’re telling me about things they see in the economy that are of interest.
Powell’s recent Jackson Hole Summit speech was mainly as expected. Well, except for the part where Powell obfuscated the truth behind the surge in inflation.
Diversifying a portfolio means spreading the investments across a variety of asset classes, industries and geographies.
When money becomes less valuable and costs rise, the money you have saved affords you exponentially less. In the short term, you may not notice the difference.
After a slow start to asset gathering, U.S.-listed equity ETFs were in vogue during the summer. At the end of August, the asset category had $165 billion of net inflows, more than $125 billion for fixed income.
In the second part of our series on global supply chains, portfolio managers Inbok Song and Peeyush Mittal examine the regions and countries that may benefit from industries and companies shifting operations.
Seven mega-cap US-based companies – Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta (Facebook) – have stayed top of mind for many investors this year.
Last week, the VettaFi AI Symposium was one of the more popular places to be in the days before Labor Day.
Restricting the money supply will help contain inflation.
This week was packed with several key economic releases that helped provide insight into the overall state of the U.S. economy. Policymakers and advisors closely monitor economic indicators to understand recession risk and the direction of interest rates because the data can ultimately impact business decisions and financial markets.
In general, portfolios can be split into growth assets and principal protecting assets. Growth assets tend to have greater risk coupled with greater income/reward.
Bond investors have been looking for an approach that delivers attractive, repeatable, uncorrelated active returns. Is their wait over?
Last week we changed our economic forecast because the economy has remained stronger than we expected. We delayed the start of the recession to the first quarter of 2024 rather than the last quarter of 2023.
The BRICS’ invitation to six more nations to join their group is an important initiative promoting greater global influence for major EM countries.
As multi-asset income investors, we seek to help a wide range of clients meet their income needs. The benefits of an income-centric approach are especially relevant for investors as they enter retirement – and that’s especially true today. We bring that to life with two case studies.
There are differing opinions all around, but some reputable sources like Goldman Sachs are saying it’s increasingly unlikely. Yet the Fed is going to be raising rates further, from what it looks like because inflation is higher than they want.
Xylem is a leading innovator of water solutions. This Knowledge Leader harnesses smart technology to provide water, wastewater, and energy solutions to a diverse range of sectors, from agriculture and aquaculture to commercial buildings and energy.
Though it encountered some hiccups last month amid fears the Federal Reserve isn’t done raising interest rates, tech remains one of this year’s best-performing sectors. Some analysts believe there’s more upside to come for the S&P 500’s largest sector weight.
Things are not exactly going China’s way these days. One incident after the other has led to a virtual collapse of international investments in China, but that could potentially be the more benign outcome of the ongoing Chinese debt crisis.
There’s one question I try to answer with any beaten-down stock: Is this a good company with temporary, solvable issues?
About once a year, I have to address the issue of chasing the “10 Best Days” of the year.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been top-of-mind for investors for much of 2023, fueling a strong rally in the S&P 500. While it may take time for AI to have a similar impact on small cap stocks, we share the market’s enthusiasm and believe AI has the potential to become one of the most disruptive secular growth trends ever.
Stocks are up 18.7% year-to-date, which is good news for portfolios and 401(k)s, but did you know that most of the heavy lifting has been done by a very small number of S&P 500 stocks?
Look up the word “cycle” in a dictionary, and you’ll find something like this: “A regularly recurring sequence of events.” Sounds simple, but that definition leaves a lot of ambiguity.
Advisors can capitalize on the expected transfer of wealth between generations, the expected wave of retirements among older advisors, and referrals from other professionals.
The favorite in Argentina’s presidential election has vowed to eliminate the central bank and dollarize the economy. Which path will the country follow?
We believe idiosyncratic credit events may occur over the next 12 months, but systemic bank risk is remote.
A steady stream of news helped drain enthusiasm from the equities markets through most of August, snapping a five-month growth streak at a time of the year known for cool market performance despite the swelter of its dog days.
Chief Diversity Officer Regina Curry and Franklin Templeton Head of Digital Assets Roger Bayston believe creating workplaces with intentional collaborative, inclusive, and debiasing practices can power great development environments.
Credit balances are not the only consumer indicator running high.
In an environment of pronounced volatility and less-than-certain equity and bond performance in the last few years, investors are leaning toward more complex strategies such as alternatives.
Active ETFs have had a really strong year so far in 2023, picking up advisor and investor interest. Even institutional investors have increasingly turned towards specialist, responsive management.
The S&P 500 closed August with a monthly loss of 1.71%, after a gain of 3.22% in July.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale, Co-Founder of FAST Graphs, a.k.a. Mr. Valuation will analyze the upcoming spin-off of Kellogg into two separate companies and discuss whether it is a good investment opportunity.
Adjusted earnings forecasts tend to overshadow reported earnings and add uncertainty to corporate outlooks.
The resilience of US growth, earnings and markets has been the big surprise of 2023. Stephen Dover, Head of Franklin Templeton Institute, opines on the factors at play—and whether they will last.
While the S&P 500 delivered solid performance this summer, we remain cautious in the near term given the Index remains modestly above our year-end target of 4,400.
A slew of recent polls, studies, and surveys confirmed the importance and relevance of ESG investing to younger investors.
Given their overall credit risk versus safer government debt, corporate bonds may not get enough exposure in a retirement portfolio. However, they can serve a purpose as long as investors are aware of their nuances.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale, Co-Founder of FAST Graphs, a.k.a. Mr. Valuation will discuss the compelling investment opportunity in Conagra Brands (CAG).
We believe the best way to add value is through relative positioning in sector allocations, individual security selection and along the yield curve, holding duration neutral overall. That approach, however, does not prevent us from having views on interest rates and we think bonds offer good value at current rate levels.
On Tuesday, Grayscale finally won its lawsuit against the SEC (see initial coverage here). For the past few years, Grayscale has been in an ongoing legal battle with the SEC over converting its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Sometimes things sound the same, look the same, or feel the same – but they are not. It doesn’t necessarily mean one is better or worse than another but uniquely dissimilar and serving, unlike purposes.
The Fed's asset portfolio is on an uncharted course.
Although high-yield bonds have performed well so far this year, we continue to take a cautious view.
On August 30, 2023, VettaFi hosted an Artificial Intelligence Symposium which had an extraordinary turnout, with over 1,200 advisors registered for the event.
The Northern Trust Economics team shares its outlook for major markets in the months ahead.
Active ETF investing has had a big year so far, but it can still play a big role in closing out 2023. International equity ETFs can really benefit from active investing. With a strong case for international equities brewing, now may be the time to look closer.
