K2 Advisors seeks to add value through active portfolio management, tactical allocation and diversification across four main hedge strategies: long/short equity, relative value, global macro and event driven. In their fourth-quarter (Q4) 2017 outlook, K2 Advisors’ Research and Portfolio Construction teams share the key market events they have an eye on.

LinkedIn has become an effective site for communicating between advisors, prospects and centers of influence. My recent experience illustrated how advisors should respond to inquiries from a LinkedIn contact.

2008 may have generationally scarred investor psychology. As a result, many continue to disavow the current bull market and instead heed warnings of an impending bear market. We argue that fundamentals remain strong and the global equity markets are rife with opportunity.

The latest issue of the NFIB Small Business Economic Trends came out this morning. The headline number for September came in at 103.0, down 2.3 from the previous month. The index is at the 90th percentile in this series. Today's number came in below the Investing.com forecast of 105.1.

Nearly a decade after the onset of the global financial crisis, real economic growth remains constrained by high levels of household debt, particularly for those in the bottom 80% of the income distribution. The build-up of indebtedness in these households that largely pre-dated the crisis continues to cast a shadow over the real economy.

For 23 years DALBAR, Inc. has been publishing a research report reaching the conclusion, year after year, that investors underperform the investment vehicles that they invest in due to “poor investor decision making.” Wade Pfau recently discovered, however, that this conclusion is the result of a serious calculation error. Now, using Pfau’s results, I will prove that the evidence actually shows that investors do not underperform their investments.

It’s been roughly 10 years since the 2007–2009 Global Financial Crisis began to unfold. It left lasting scars on the global economy and left many investors deeply wounded, too. Here, Tony Coffey, senior vice president and portfolio manager, Franklin Templeton Multi-Asset Solutions, explains why investors who sold everything in a panic probably bore the worst scars.

A downturn for stocks may not be top of mind these days, but one will happen eventually. To prepare for that, Russ discusses why the source of the selloff matters as much as the magnitude.

Yet this is not the mood in which bull markets typically end. Central banks around the world have purchased approximately $15 trillion of financial assets since the great crisis. Outside of the U.S., the BOJ and ECB are still buying.

If we think of expected return as the likeliest long-term “destination” of our investment portfolio, we can then think of risk as the uncertainty in the “journey” to that destination. Advisors serve their clients well by helping them understand the many paths that journey can take, and by establishing a plan of action (or inaction!) for when shortfalls inevitably occur.

The third quarter of 2017 closely resembled the first half of the year – global markets continued to grow steadily, resulting in positive returns for many strategic domestic and global equity investors.

Here are the key takeaways from events and interviews for capital-growth investors during the past month. Focusing on strong companies with a competitive advantage offer opportunities, but it comes at a price.

American manufacturers grew at their fastest pace since May 2004 in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Manufacturing activity, as measured by the ISM Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), expanded for the 100th straight month, climbing to a 13-year high of 60.8. The higher above 50, the more rapid the acceleration.

We explore the reasons we believe the A-share market has become more investable, including improved corporate governance and better disclosures, the ability of companies to create value for investors, company discipline around capital allocation and the fading role of state ownership in certain sectors.

In recent weeks Brent crude oil, the global oil benchmark, has shifted into backwardation – a state when spot prices are higher than prices for futures contracts, creating a downward-sloping curve for futures prices.

With limited evidence of excess in the global financial system and mostly low interest rates around the world, we remain optimistic about global economic prospects. The expansion is poised to continue, led by growth in emerging economies.

An analysis of default rates and government intervention since the financial crisis.

Here's an interesting set of charts that will especially resonate with those of us who follow economic and market cycles. Imagine that five years ago you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500. How much would it be worth today, with dividends reinvested but adjusted for inflation? The purchasing power of your investment has increased to $18,785 for an annualized real return of 12.68%.

Last week, I got several calls asking me how U.S. tax reform will impact the price of gold. If you can answer this question, you might be able to answer how tax reform will impact other assets. Let me explain.

Here are the five things advisors should avoid to get investors to pay attention to them online.

It is a big week for economic data. The punditry will be analyzing the Trump tax proposal. Everyone will be drawing conclusions about how these factors may be linked with stock prices. Expect people to be asking: Does economic strength equal stock market strength?

This article will tackle the “p-hacking” issue and propose a framework to help those who embrace evidence-based investing to make judicious decisions based on a more thoughtful interpretation of finance research.

Tail-risk hedging strategies profit from significant market corrections. They may be used alongside or to replace traditional risk management strategies (e.g., diversification via asset allocation) where the core portfolios have a significant allocation to equities or other volatile assets. This type of insurance is now priced very attractively relative to historical levels and is a cost-effective way to insure against equity drawdowns.

Indicators of market breadth are often useful in confirming or telegraphing important trend changes in equity markets. In simple terms, indicators of market breadth measure the level of participation of individual stocks in the general trend of the market.

I’d like to take you to two places today. One is life and the pursuit of dreams. “I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth,” legendary Coach Lou Holtz begins. “You have to have something to hope for and something to dream about.” It is a six-minute happy pill. I watched it with my kids and they loved it. You’ll love it too, I promise.

Valid until the market close on October 31, 2017.

The S&P 500 closed September with a monthly gain of 1.93% after a small gain of 0.05% in August. All three S&P 500 MAs are signaling "invested" and all five Ivy Portfolio ETFs — Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU), iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury (IEF), and Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ), and PowerShares DB Commodity Index (DBC) — are signaling "invested".

We see three risks to the outlook for steady economic growth. Yet we also see opportunities for investors to target above-benchmark returns while emphasizing defense at a time of low volatility and full valuations.

Changes to the tax code and the Fed’s impact on interest rates are some of the topics we explore for income-oriented investors.

Versatile, relative-value analysis of securities across sub-sectors and hybrid asset classes can help fixed income teams negotiate a challenging, expansive, potentially rewarding terrain.

Portfolio Manager David Nadel describes why international small-cap is an asset class worth considering.