With the latest CPI report showing that inflation is likely here to stay, it could be time to pivot towards ETFs with downside protection.

The May release of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) places the year-over-year inflation rate at 4.25%, its highest level in over three years. This keeps inflation above the post-WWII average of 3.72% for a second straight month and marks the third consecutive month that the current rate is above the 10-year moving average, which currently sits at 3.27%.

This series has been updated to include the May release of the consumer price index as the deflator and the monthly employment update. The latest hypothetical real (inflation-adjusted) annual earnings are at $54,604, down 6.1% from over 50 years ago.

Inflation affects everything from grocery bills to rent, making the Consumer Price Index (CPI) one of the most closely watched economic indicators. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks this by categorizing spending into eight categories, each weighted by its relative importance.

Inflation surged to 4.2% year-over-year in May, hitting its highest level in over three years. The headline figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was consistent with the forecast, driven primarily by cost increases in energy, shelter, and food.

The first-ever autism ETF and the continued rise of quantum computing were both in the spotlight on this week’s ETF Prime. Host Nate Geraci welcomed Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer of Defiance ETFs, to discuss the firm’s latest launch and one of the market’s top-performing funds. Defiance has grown from roughly $1 billion in total assets in late 2022 to over $13 billion today.

The biggest problem I find is that advisors don’t have the time they need to focus on growth. Sending out a mass invite via LinkedIn is fast and easy, but it doesn’t mean it is the most effective action you can take.

Advisors now understand that clients expect a truly personalized experience. Clients no longer accept generic advice; they demand bespoke strategies, tailored communication, and engagement aligned with their unique needs and life stages.

Prepaid energy deals are complicated transactions that allow utilities to lock in cheaper prices over long periods of time. They involve a financial middleman that receives bond proceeds in exchange for making regular payments needed to procure the energy for the utility.

With a new boss at the helm and expectations of billions in surplus gas revenue, the Qatar Investment Authority spent the past year telegraphing a step-up in dealmaking. Iran’s attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure and Doha’s inability to ship products risk hampering that push.

Sentiment in the US stock market has shifted quickly from fear of missing out to fear of getting wiped out.

Ratings that underpin a growing slice of the $1.8 trillion private-credit market, the hottest corner of Wall Street in recent years, are systematically understating investment risk, according to a new study by Columbia Business School researchers.

A simple view of SpaceX is that it’s a low-cost rocket launcher that created the profitable Starlink satellite business and which is now burning cash to build orbital data centers and colonize Mars.

Tim Cook’s last annual showcase of new software as Apple Inc.’s chief executive officer also marked the start of a deepening relationship with one of his biggest competitors: Alphabet Inc.

LPL Research analyzes bond markets as yields rise, exploring Fed policy expectations, inflation trends, and whether bad news is already priced into Treasuries.

Equity markets should remain supported by strong earnings and capital investment trends through 2026, but market concentration and macro risks leave less room for error.

The war in Iran is putting pressure on airlines. Higher jet fuel prices are cutting into profit margins, and the risk of a prolonged conflict may reduce travel demand in Europe and Asia. But for lessors, these gathering clouds may come with a silver lining.

The takeaway for both HY and EM corporates is straightforward. Once oil prices are above breakeven, further moves in oil tend to matter less for credit performance.

If you think tracking error tells you how well a portfolio “tracks” the benchmark, it doesn’t. If you think it signals underperformance, that’s not right either. And if you believe high tracking error is inherently better or worse depending on the manager, that’s not the whole story.

In Part 1, we explored why Dollar Dominance Remains Alive and Well. Today, we will explore the stronger-dollar trade, the one macro trade that nobody is sized for.

The Numbers Are Staggering – The Magnificent Seven stocks now carry a combined market cap larger than the GDPs of Germany, Japan, India, and the UK combined. Meanwhile, 2025 tech-sector capital expenditures rivaled the peak-year spending of the Manhattan Project, rural electrification, the Apollo moon shot, and the Interstate Highway System — all at once.

While job growth has reaccelerated, supporting consumption, the underlying income picture is less encouraging.

Investors have enjoyed a favorable run. If the year ended today, it would mark the seventh time in the last nine years that stock portfolios generated double-digit returns. Housing prices remain near historic highs, while bond investors have benefited from elevated yields over the past three years.

Building resilient portfolios in markets delivering mixed messages can be a challenging affair. In our ongoing engagement with the retail and advisor community at VettaFi, we hear first-hand just how investors are tackling that challenge this year.

Markets have treated AI as a gold rush of LLMs, chips and cloud applications, but as the industry shifts from chatbots to agentic systems — AI that autonomously runs workflows and makes decisions — hyperscalers are now facing a brutal physical bottleneck.

Several articles enjoyed strong performance during the month of May, though there does not seem to have been a unifying theme, unless it is pointing out mistaken beliefs or unexamined conventions.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), providing forecasts for energy markets. This article presents the annual production outlooks for crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), comparing the June 2026 projections against the previous month's estimates.

Join the experts at SS&C ALPS Advisors and GSI Capital Advisors for a product due diligence session exploring their active REIT strategy.

In his new book, “Risk & Reward: How to handle market volatility and build long-term wealth,” Ben Carlson relies on history to defend investing in U.S. stocks. Carlson calls the U.S. stock market “the greatest wealth-building machine ever created,” and nudges his readers into thinking its success will continue.

Crypto has clearly matured considerably as an asset class, and it's exciting to hear more advisors speak about the opportunity it presents — without being scared away by its volatility. The real question today is how much of a portfolio allocation is appropriate given their specific objectives and constraints.

Interest rates remain one of the primary concerns for investors as Kevin Warsh has officially assumed leadership at the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed). While we believe the possibility of a rate cut has diminished considerably, we are not yet expecting additional rate hikes.

Probably the most popular insight to make its way from finance theory into everyday usage is that "diversification is the only free lunch" in investing. The idea dates back to Harry Markowitz in 1952. He, and those building on his work, demonstrated that in an efficient market, investors shouldn't earn extra return for bearing company-specific risks that can be diversified away.

The rise in US yields has extended across the entire Treasury curve, creating a charged backdrop for Fed policymakers and their new chairman, Kevin Warsh, who helms his first meeting and press conference next week.

US stocks have further to run as corporate earnings growth underpins sentiment despite some signals suggesting equities may have risen too far, JPMorgan Asset Management’s Jack Caffrey said.

The US trade deficit narrowed in April as a surge in oil exports helped offset ongoing increases in imports of equipment powering the data center buildout.

Existing home sales reached their highest level of the year in May, rising 3.2% after a 0.7% increase in April. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, surpassing the projected 4.07 million.

Interactive Brokers Group Inc. is offering exchange-traded funds from BlackRock Inc. in savings plans in Europe, the latest platform to provide the booming product that’s become increasingly popular with mom-and-pop investors on the continent.

The history of megacap initial public offerings shows that the stocks usually slump in the first year of trading. But upcoming listings from SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are big enough and systemically important enough to the market that those analogies may not apply.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index dropped 0.6 points to 95.3, reaching its lowest level since October 2024. The index remains below its historical average for a third straight month.

The U.S. trade deficit shrunk just over 1% in April to $55.88B after expanding nearly 3% the previous month. The latest reading barely missed the forecast of -$56.20B.

There is an old adage that the stock market climbs a wall of worry, which describes its ability to keep rising even amid negative economic news or events. This defies logic, yet I have watched it prove true time after time.

The job market was surprisingly strong in May with non-farm payrolls growing 172,000, beating even the strongest forecasts for the month. As a result, the futures market is now pricing in a quarter-point rate hike later this year and more likely than not another quarter point rate hike sometime in 2027.

It’s no secret that investors are on the lookout for opportunities in their fixed income portfolios. This is especially true in today’s shifting landscape. Equities are hot, perhaps too hot, and many investors want strong performances out of their bonds in order to keep up.

Fertilizers sit at the center of this transmission mechanism. As much as a third of the global supply of these commodities passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely been closed for three months. This has triggered shortages and a price spike.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, three of the world’s largest and most consequential private companies—SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI—are preparing to go public in the same year. Together, they could add nearly $4 trillion in market cap to public markets.

Labor market fundamentals have improved meaningfully from last year’s near standstill while inflation has moved higher, driven in part by the Iran conflict and the resulting increase in petroleum and gasoline prices. As a result, Federal Reserve (Fed) officials are likely becoming more concerned about the risk of broader inflation pressures, a theme highlighted in this week’s ISM Manufacturing and Services PMI releases.

As we go to press, fighting in the Mideast has escalated, sending crude higher, but stocks, in early Monday trade, have shown remarkable stability following Friday’s deep selloff.

Metals Focus has released its Gold Focus 2026 report. It includes comprehensive historical supply and demand data for 2017-25 and its 2026 forecast.

Chris Galipeau and Taylor Topoussis discuss high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

We are halfway through 2026, and the planning priorities that have defined our client work this year are in focus. Some of what we are doing is recurring: fixing compliance errors, correcting quarterly estimate miscalculations, and keeping tax positions aligned with economic reality.