Focusing on tax planning year-round can significantly improve your financial situation. By reviewing your recently filed 1040 form, you can uncover valuable opportunities to optimize investments, maximize deductions and strategically plan for retirement, ensuring long-term financial health and tax efficiency.

Asia and emerging markets experienced extreme volatility in the first quarter of 2026 as markets surged in the first two months, supported by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and an easing of the global monetary environment.

The artificial intelligence theme is entering a more granular phase, with investors increasingly looking beyond foundational large language models (LLMs) toward the physical infrastructure required for scale.

The Middle East war has replaced tariff-driven inflation concerns with fears of rising energy prices feeding through the economy. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its March CPI report, when markets received their first ‘official’ glimpse of how the surge in energy prices has begun to impact the U.S. inflation setting.

“Diversification” has been the driving principle of investing and risk management for generations. But what does it mean to be “diversified?”

Rising oil prices and the historically inflationary aspects of war have changed expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate policy and have pulled Treasury yields higher.

In an investment world marked by ongoing macro uncertainty, more investors are seeking alternative strategies to navigate murky markets. One of the funds capturing this shift is the Fidelity Managed Futures ETF (FFUT). That fund secured the award for Best New Alternatives ETF in the 2026 ETF.com Awards.

In what should be a surprise to no one, energy has been one of the better performing sectors since the joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on military targets in Iran on February 27, although it has given up some ground since a two-week cease fire was announced last week.

Technology is transforming bond investing, across research, trading and—through optimizers—portfolio construction. We believe optimizers based on advanced digital investment platforms have a major advantage—and can create new levels of insight for portfolio managers that have them.

Despite a confluence of economic shocks in the first quarter, markets have held up remarkably well, but cracks appear to be forming beneath the surface.

The US dollar's obituary has been written many times—with increasing frequency over the past year. Each time we get a fresh round of analyses declaring that de-dollarization is accelerating, the world is reorganizing its financial architecture around alternatives and the greenback's reign is drawing to a close.

There's a fight over war funding looming in Congress after a return from the Easter break, and uncertainty around the timing of the Fed chair confirmation hearing remains.

The escalating conflict in the Middle East — especially the closure of the Strait of the Hormuz — had an adverse effect on many investment strategies in March, and gold was no exception. The spot gold price closed out March at $4,668.06.

The first quarter was defined by overlapping macro shocks and a violent shift in market leadership, punctuated by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. As capital surged into physical assets such as energy, materials, and defense, software and other digital businesses faced a historic repricing.

With Q1 earnings season well underway, it was Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) giving investors a peek at how the broader healthcare sector might perform

The war in the Middle East has brought about an elevated uncertainty quotient when examining the U.S. macro backdrop. The resultant rise in energy prices is being looked at as both a potential ‘tax on the economy’ as well as a catalyst for a near-term elevation in inflation.

Over the past several years, those patterns have been changing. The evolving flows of both tourists and emigrees will have important economic effects.

Outside of energy commodities, capital markets posted a downbeat March as cross-asset volatility spiked in response to the outbreak of hostilities in the Mideast, and kicked off April in similar, choppy fashion before posting a swift bounce following last Wednesday’s two-week ceasefire agreement.

Rapid development of AI technology poses a direct threat to the SaaS sector, but the risks are not necessarily terminal or universal and vary based on time horizon.

While infrastructure companies are not immune to a potential economic slowdown, they may provide a longer-term investment opportunity amid an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.

In a rare plot twist, Goldman Sachs front-run the banking pack today, marking the first time the firm has kicked off the earnings season ahead of JPMorgan Chase since 2018. The storied investment bank delivered notable results, comfortably surpassing analyst’s estimates on both the top and bottom-line.

Behavioral finance is the study of how emotions, cognitive biases, and human behavior may influence financial decisions, often in ways that can conflict with logic, data, and long-term goals.

Diversification is finally paying off. After more than a decade of U.S. dominance, international equity ETFs are enjoying monster inflows, outpacing their domestic counterparts for the first time since early 2023.

Rapid technological shifts and shifting interest rate expectations continue to define the current market environment. Amid the uncertainty, investors are looking for a reliable North Star to guide their growth allocations. They can start with the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF (FBCG).

Yield curves exist for many products and can be interrelated, yet they also carry distinctive characteristics. Normally, long-term rates are higher than short-term rates because investors demand a higher return for lending money over longer periods. This arrangement would create an upward-sloping curve much like the Treasury curves displayed to the right.

In a year that started with volatility, direct indexing had ample opportunity to take advantage of loss harvesting opportunities.

Tax management is about more than just deferring taxes to reduce this year’s bite. It’s also about managing where and how taxes show up over time. For high-net-worth investors with diversified portfolios, permanently reducing taxes versus deferring them may bolster long-term after-tax wealth. Many investors overlook a potent tax reduction tool: bonds.

The market remains remarkably resilient, but I have expressed a more cautious outlook in the near term as rising oil prices and a renewed pickup in money growth complicate the inflation outlook.

Beyond keeping party balloons aloft, helium plays a far more serious role in the modern economy. Extracted as a by‑product of natural gas production, it is an essential input across semiconductors, medical imaging, aerospace and defense systems.

The Middle East ceasefire sparked a relief rally last week as markets dialed back the risk of a deep, drawn‑out oil supply shock. Stocks have already erased much of the post-conflict drop. Bonds haven’t gotten the memo: Yields are still elevated, keeping a bit of extra term premium on the table.

Investor anxieties surrounding negotiations between the U.S. and Iran paused a rally on Friday, initially sparked by roughly in-line inflation data and the announcement of a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday night.

The question that is increasingly on everyone’s mind is simple: Is this time different? The answer will hinge squarely on what happens to core inflation, specifically the core Consumer Price Index and the core PCE price index.

If you expect Kevin Warsh to quickly take the helm at the Fed and start cutting rates, you need to adjust your expectations.

The first quarter of 2026 ended with a downpour of volatility as the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 69%. Nonetheless, Goldman Sachs (GS) reported first-quarter 2026 earnings that outpaced Wall Street expectations though a thick fog of uncertainty still lingers in Q2.

Michael Bell of Meketa Capital joins the Alternative Allocations podcast to explore why infrastructure investing is shifting from an institutional-only play to a foundational piece of the modern portfolio and what that means for today's market participants.

In a rapidly shifting geopolitical environment, gold continues to demonstrate both its resilience and its complexity as a financial asset.

For financial advisors, tax season should not be the only time to talk to clients about municipal bonds. However, with April 15 arriving this week, the timing is ideal to examine how muni bond ETFs are rapidly becoming a cornerstone of fixed-income allocations in 2026.

Jason Chura, head of global consulting at Voya Investment Management, outlines a behavioral framework to help advisors project confidence, build credibility, and guide clients through uncertainty.

Over the last few weeks, we have published real-time market commentary as the correction proceeded. The goal was to help investors navigate the more dire outcomes promoted on social media. A largely unexpected outcome was that the S&P 500 outlook changed dramatically in a matter of days.

New ETF launches address concentration and liquidity risks exposed by volatile markets through active and passive strategies.

It goes without explaining at this point, that advisors and investors are keeping an extremely close eye on the trajectory of the Federal Reserve’s ongoing fight against inflation. As of now, the battle certainly seems far from over. Fortunately, tools such as bond ladder ETFs can help portfolios maintain their course and mitigate the brunt of inflation.

That article digs into the plumbing behind oil shocks and recession, and exposes why, over the years, I’ve learned to distrust the loudest voices in the room.

At its core, the P/E ratio represents how much investors are willing to pay for $1 of a company’s earnings. Carnevale emphasizes that valuation is fundamentally about the cash a business generates over time. By applying a multiple (like a P/E of 15) to earnings, investors can estimate fair value and compare it to the current stock price.

Dividend-paying stocks offer an effective hedge against inflation—as well as solid long-term return potential in other environments when actively sourced from the right parts of the market.

Ever since the pandemic – when surging housing demand collided with a decade of underbuilding – housing affordability has become an increasingly important political issue and a larger focus for policymakers.

Today, I freely confess that I don’t have that 2007 certitude. I can certainly see a crisis coming in our future, but the timing, severity, and circumstances around it are cloudy at best. I can make an argument for numerous outcomes.

Over the past year, markets have been shaped by rapid advances in AI, elevated geopolitical tensions – especially involving Iran – and persistent uncertainty around global trade. In environments like this, successful investing rarely comes from chasing headlines or reacting emotionally. It’s about discipline, staying anchored to fundamentals and executing a clear long‑term game plan.

Benefit Street Partners believes private credit has faced scrutiny recently and there are four horsemen of the apocalypse charging toward private credit investors, but three are phantoms. One, however, is real.

During Exchange 2026, experts and thought leaders from firms across the country gathered. They shared different approaches and ideas for tackling the market’s biggest challenges.

A ceasefire in the Middle East is the latest twist for investors who have grown increasingly reactive to each new headline. Volatility has surged: prior to the ceasefire, the VIX had roughly doubled this year and averaged 25 in March—about 67% above year-end levels—underscoring just how uncertain the path forward has been.