Financial Planning

The third quarter of 2026 emphasized an increasingly divided macro regime for financial advisors and institutional allocators alike. On one end, broad market hopefulness drove steady capital deployment into broad-market beta, while on the other end, raised rate volatility and geopolitical tension forced strategic pivots across fixed income, real assets, and systematic strategies, according to BlackRock’s Q3 earnings call, released October 14.

Over the last decade, a series of policy decisions in DC support the reindustrialization of the United States. Key policy movers include investments in infrastructure, tax policy that allows significant tax benefits for corporate capital expenditures (capex) and domestic research and development, the CHIPS & Science Act and tariff policies, especially the sector-specific 232 tariffs.

In this commentary, we look at three themes shaping our thinking: a shift in who is leading the market, the return of income as a meaningful source of return, and an economy that, in our view, is growing steadily rather than heading toward either extreme.

Corporate bond yields are high, but spreads are low. Low spreads are supported by strong corporate fundamentals, and high yields might help offset potential price declines.

As we enter the final quarter of 2026, the investment backdrop remains constructive but increasingly differentiated. Economic growth and corporate earnings have remained resilient, while continued investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and other productivity-enhancing technologies has supported capital spending and market sentiment.

We agree that the economy has appeared remarkably resilient at the aggregate level, and that modest further rate increases may not put overall growth at risk. But the more important question for portfolios is not the level of inflation; it is its sensitivity to rates.

If markets are good at one thing, it's reminding investors that stock prices don't simply go up, uninterrupted, forever. I have updated this report several times since it was initially published in 2008, and given recent market volatility, it made sense to do so again.

An income projection can provide an important starting point for year-end tax planning. Explore key 2026 tax brackets and income thresholds that may help inform planning decisions before year-end.

In light of accelerating global fragmentation and geopolitical conflict, many governments and businesses are investing in resilience. That imperative has coincided with the emergence of AI, a technology that can expand the frontier of what is possible. As a result, technology security is becoming a pillar of national economic security strategy.

Q3 was a period of transition in the bond market thanks to Federal Reserve changes, a surge of AI-driven debt issuance, and rising interest rates.

As AI in wealth management becomes more prevalent, recent research from Vanguard suggests that technology may actually increase investors’ appreciation for human expertise.

BlackRock, WisdomTree, and Fidelity Investments had representation at the recent Nasdaq VettaFi Asset Allocation summit.

Last week, the NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (QQQI) crossed $15 billion in assets under management. This major milestone was the result of investor demand. In the first nine months of 2026, the tax-efficient options-based ETF had $7.0 billion in net inflows. With the help of the $13 billion NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF (SPYI), NEOS has firmly established itself as a premier manager for enhanced income ETFs.

Inflation, geopolitical fragmentation and concentrated, AI-driven markets have put a premium on investors’ ability to navigate directional moves across asset classes. We think systematic trend-following strategies can help chart a course. But how they’re designed matters.

In a week marked by continued concerns about rising interest rates, the bond market found some relief after two large Treasury auctions of 10- and 30-year securities were well received by investors. The week’s most significant development came Thursday, when questions emerged about OpenAI’s revenue. Reports suggested revenue was running at a $50 billion annual pace, well below the $70 billion investors had expected.

Global income strategies offer a compelling value proposition for investors: a steady stream of income generated from dividend-paying equities, government bonds and structured instruments like equity-linked notes (ELNs) from around the world.

We see a reason for advisors to evaluate the support surrounding the strategy. Questions about onboarding existing holdings, applying restrictions, monitoring tax budgets and managing ongoing trading belong with the implementation provider. Understanding exposures and portfolio fit is where our consultation team can help.

While the current bull market celebrates its fourth birthday next week, the average bull market lasts about five and a half years. Yet there has been nothing average about this one.

Bank lending rarely commands the attention that payrolls, inflation or consumer spending do. But it helps determine how much momentum the economy can sustain. The Role of C&I Loans: Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans, the workhorse of corporate finance, pay for everything from working capital to machinery and software.

CLOs simply offer strong yield potential that often outpaces corporate bonds with similar credit ratings. Given that the ‘income’ portion of fixed income is often a key priority for investors, attaining high yield on a consistent basis gives CLOs a compelling use case.

Criticism of the AI and data center investment boom often centers on two distinct employment concerns. The first is that broader AI adoption could displace workers across industries as firms increasingly automate certain tasks. The second is that while data center construction generates jobs, these facilities require relatively few permanent employees once operational.

Our Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of Global Sustainable Investing, Kris Nelson, sees markets balancing several competing forces this week, from renewed oil-price volatility to softer labor data and increasingly demanding expectations around AI earnings.

Taylor Topousis and Christian Galipeau discuss high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

Higher interest rates are dominating the news of late, raising more questions than answers. Why are they moving up? Can they be tamed? And in the credit world, the question has arisen: as rates rise, are we at risk of loans underperforming?

As Election Day approaches, investors may be asking what the upcoming midterm elections could mean for policy and markets. While there may be potential shifts in control, the policy impact is likely to be limited. Meanwhile, political rhetoric tends to heat up as elections draw closer, which could lead to an uptick in market volatility.

By generation, Gen Z and Millennials now make up 88% of online betting activity. Gen X trails at 9%. Boomers barely register. As recently as this spring, Millennials were the bigger group. Then Gen Z passed them, and Bank of America called it a “turning point.”

Global investing is changing. Geopolitical tensions, shifting trade relationships, energy costs and divergent central-bank policies are increasingly influencing which companies and markets are best positioned to navigate the environment.

The Fed's recent rate increase may not develop into a hiking cycle as extensive as the one that began in 2022 because much of today's inflation pressure comes from supply constraints rather than broad economic overheating, where demand exceeds the economy's productive capacity.

Western Asset’s Ion Dan explains why he thinks the fundamental case for agency mortgage-backed securities has strengthened.

US Treasury yields have moved sharply higher, with the 10-year yield rising roughly 45 basis points over the past month to about 5.25%. That has understandably revived concerns about what higher bond yields could mean for equities.

Emerging markets (EMs) have historically been associated with commodity exports and low-cost manufacturing. Those characteristics remain relevant in parts of the investable universe, but the sources of competitive advantage have broadened materially.

September ETF launches highlighted active strategies and an AI hardware ETF as year-to-date inflows reached a record $1.54 trillion.

Headlines are popping up left and right about how high the 10-year Treasury yield has risen. While investors make decisions about what is the “right” longer-term cost of government debt, many journalists focus on single-factor ways of viewing it.

The U.S. economy is handing investors a muddled picture. Housing is stuck, hiring is lopsided, and households feel worse than the jobs data suggest. Add a string of geopolitical shocks and a Federal Reserve (Fed) under new leadership still establishing its reaction function, and the signals markets rely on are harder to read. Investors will have to adjust to this market, where clarity is scarce.

Investment performance is often measured by what a portfolio earns. But for investors with substantial assets across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts, what they keep after taxes can be just as important.

ClearBridge Investments: With the economy still resilient, a gradual Federal Reserve hiking cycle could help broaden market leadership beyond the Magnificent Seven.

Stocks chopped this summer as high hopes for AI product and infrastructure development were offset by rising inflation and an increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve.

For decades, investors have used growth and value allocations as a foundational block of equity portfolio construction. The distinction has been intuitive and practical. Investors expected growth to provide exposure to faster-growing companies, often with higher valuation multiples and greater sensitivity to earnings expectations.

After a nine-month rally in equity markets and a recent spike in bond yields, some investors may see fit to reduce their exposure to stocks. On the surface at least, bonds appear to offer better value than equities. The gap between stocks' earnings yields, the inverse of the price-to-earnings ratio, and bond yields is narrower than it has been in two decades.

AI's labor-market impact remains limited but uneven, as productivity and profits outpace hiring and import-heavy investment dampens U.S. job growth.

Rising interest rates can affect more than investment portfolios. Explore how changing IRS interest rates may influence several estate, charitable and tax-planning strategies.

The discipline of running a succession-ready firm makes every aspect of a business stronger, not just the eventual transaction. Advisors who operate this way attract better talent, serve clients more consistently, and create businesses that hold their value regardless of market conditions.

Inflation progress remains uneven: The latest Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index showed some improvement after revisions, but several measures suggest price pressures remain sticky and above the Federal Reserve’s target

Seven months into the U.S.–Iran conflict, few historical analogues have held. The trajectory of oil prices has been consistent with previous geopolitical shocks, but the market response elsewhere has looked strikingly different. U.S. Treasury yields have moved notably higher, for example, while credit spreads have remained remarkably resilient.

This year has marked another remarkable chapter for the global economy and financial markets. Investors have navigated no shortage of challenges, from geopolitical conflicts and trade tensions to elevated energy prices and shifting interest rate expectations. Yet despite these headwinds, the economy continues to expand, corporate earnings remain resilient and markets have steadily climbed the proverbial wall of worry.

Long before modern scanners and monitors became common, doctors often checked a patient's health with something as simple as a finger on the wrist. A pulse could reveal a surprising amount about a person's condition. Economists have their own version of this practice. Rather than relying solely on complex statistical models, they often look for signals that offer a quick health check.

In this month’s issue, AI, energy and robotics are creating new opportunities in emerging markets, but selectivity remains key as policy, cost and execution risks evolve.

Industrials are supported by increased capital spending in electricity capacity, construction around the artificial intelligence-related (AI) infrastructure buildout, defense, and energy, although higher costs and possible delays in data center construction could temper growth.

We understand that you can’t forecast the sequence of returns, but we CAN build a plan that survives a bad one. As Howard Marks puts it, you can’t predict, but you can prepare. These are the rules of engagement once you’ve crossed from saving into spending.

Today’s employment report reinforced a trend that has been evident across several labor market indicators: conditions in the goods-producing sector continue to improve after several difficult years, while hiring across the much larger service sector continues to soften.

Societal angst about AI continues to grow. Whether it’s concern about misalignment or potentially misdirected investment, the AI-may-be-bad narrative is gaining traction. In stark contrast, the AI trade in financial markets was alive and well in September of 2026.

Our real gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2026 is 2.5% (based on our Global Investment Management Survey) versus the Federal Reserve’s (Fed's) forecast of 2.2% and the Wall Street consensus of around 2%.

Long viewed as an emergency brake for macroeconomic panic, gold is starting to prove itself as much more than a crisis asset.

Executives enter the earnings season with a bit of a swagger. They won't say it out loud, of course, but consider all the headwinds CEOs of companies big and small have faced in the last few years. First, it was imminent recession fears; then it was looming tariffs (followed by the shock of April 2025).

Recent bond market repricing has pushed municipal yields to levels not seen in decades and improved the potential risk-reward profile for fixed income. Here, we examine why municipals stand out, how supportive credit fundamentals shape the opportunity and why investors may benefit from extending maturities to lock in attractive tax-exempt income.

The Fed’s latest 25 basis point hike might represent a recalibration rather than tightening. Instead of focusing on the next hike, investors should watch broader financial conditions and the long-term trajectory for interest rates.

Investors who have owned securities for many years can accumulate significant unrealized gains. Selling those investments to reposition a portfolio can trigger capital gains taxes.

Emerging markets have significantly evolved in recent years and offer a more compelling risk/reward setup than in the past. From deeper local markets to world-leading companies, Emerging markets presents a stronger opportunity than geopolitical volatility suggests.

An important decision in special needs planning isn’t necessarily one that can be found in textbooks, determined by a formula in a spreadsheet, or governed by laws or regulations. It’s the choice of the people who will surround your loved one when you can no longer.

Franklin Equity’s Grant Bowers discusses why a higher cost of capital does not change the capital expenditure outlook.