Leveraged and Inverse Funds

Chief Economist Eugenio Alemán and Economist Giampiero Fuentes break down the factors likely to impact economic growth, inflation and interest rates.

After hitting nearly 80% of my predictions over the first five years, the past two years are calling into question whether I’m truly the ETF Nostradamus.

In our year ahead outlook, we unveil 5 key factors we believe offer rare certainty in these uncertain times. Discover how we’re navigating this landscape and positioning portfolios to seize opportunities and mitigate risks in the year ahead.

2024 was about as good as it gets in the equity markets – with the BGEP up 31% and the broader market as a whole posting double digit gains. Underneath the surface, we believe that there are three main drivers of the year’s solid returns. We discuss them below in our market review and outlook.

Stocks rallied in 2024, delivering a second consecutive year of gains exceeding 20%, as investors embraced cooling inflation, falling interest rates and the prospect of lower corporate taxes under a second Trump administration.

I never thought someone would label me a “Permabull.” This is particularly true of the numerous articles I wrote over the years about the risks of excess valuations, monetary interventions, and artificially suppressed interest rates.

Over the last decade, U.S. large cap growth stocks have been far and away the best performing major financial asset in the world.

If you happen to be a Bitcoin skeptic, you’re not alone. A recent Pew Research survey found that 63% of Americans are not confident in the reliability or safety of cryptocurrencies in general.

We expect the opportunity set to widen for income investors in 2025, though less clarity around the second half requires a dynamic approach.

From start to finish, 2024 was a year of change, with a multitude of implications for investors.

This brief market commentary will run through some stats and provide context to the market’s recent fluctuations.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently blocked the merger of Albertson’s and Kroger, which are the two largest stand-alone grocery chains.

In his 2025 investment outlook, Head of U.S. Fixed Income Greg Wilensky outlines the most likely scenarios for the U.S. economy and which asset classes he believes will be best positioned under each scenario.

Brent Olson and Thomas Ross, fixed income portfolio managers, believe that high yield bonds offer comfortable driving for now, but investors might need to negotiate more difficult terrain later in 2025.

VettaFi discusses the significant improvement in MLPs over the last decade.

Newly released research from State Street Global Advisors breaks down why financial advisors are embracing model portfolios more this year.

While analysts are currently very optimistic about the market, the combined risk of high valuations and the need to rebalance portfolios in the short term may pose an unanticipated threat.

In his 2025 investment outlook, Portfolio Manager John Lloyd shares his views on the attractiveness of a multi-sector approach to fixed income investing.

The transition from bank-dominated lending to a diversified financing ecosystem offers unprecedented opportunities for private credit investors.

Portfolio managers and market strategists from Payden & Rygel review the opportunities and risks ahead for four bond market sectors: high yield, emerging markets, global bonds and low duration securities.

In his 2025 investment outlook, Head of U.S. Securitized Products John Kerschner shares his U.S. securitized outlook, identifying the key trends he believes will drive investment returns in the year ahead.

We expect high yield bond issuers to maintain healthy balance sheets and defaults to remain low.

China’s economic ascent over the past four decades has been a remarkable story of growth, driven by several factors.

The U.S. economy and stock market are entering 2025 from a position of strength, but risks of volatility—especially pertaining to policy—are much higher compared to last year.

Financial markets often move in cycles where enthusiasm drives prices higher, sometimes far beyond what fundamentals justify.

Just a few short years (months?) ago, few would have believed it possible. But it happened: Bitcoin has traded above $100,000 for the first time ever.

How to unlock value in a complex market landscape.

While the economy helped President Trump win a second term, it also created expectations that could prove difficult to meet.

At the 2018 Berkshire Annual Meeting, Buffett noted that “multiple times in my life, people have felt the country was more divided than ever.

We compare investor risk-taking behaviors at the start of the bull market with those nearly 16 years later. We also analyze key market areas that can offer essential diversification to help manage overall portfolio risk.

It’s been nearly two years since generative artificial intelligence (AI) took the world by storm, with the release of large language models like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini dazzling humankind with their ability to interpret human requests and respond with the desired output.

On whole, EM growth has been resilient, while inflation has fallen closer to normal levels.

For most of the last fifty years, fixed income investing has been characterized by owning some combination of Municipals, Corporates, Treasuries and Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities.

This week, at the North American Blockchain Summit in Dallas, Texas, I had the distinct privilege of moderating a fireside chat with former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Treasury inflation-protected securities can help buffer a portfolio against inflation. However, it's important to understand their unique characteristics and complex nature.

Many of the myths and controversies surrounding the equity risk premium (ERP) are rooted in semantics: The same term is used for multiple purposes.

Why the equity market rally following the U.S. presidential election could continue into year-end.

The inverse correlation between bonds and stocks has returned, broadening potential for risk-adjusted returns in multi-asset portfolios.

We seek to capitalize on today’s attractive yields while staying mindful of economic and market uncertainties.

The current global expansion has been characterized as one of US exceptionalism. Despite many developed market economies outperforming low expectations, the robustness of the US expansion has stood out. We believe this can continue based on differences between the US and European economies.

Wait, what? The Fed cut interest rates and bond yields went up, not down. Yes, you read that right.