Institutional investors have spent years hearing about the promise of artificial intelligence. That phase is giving way to a more practical question: not whether AI can create more scale, but whether that scale can be governed, validated, and translated into better fiduciary decisions. For OCIO providers, AI without discipline is not an advantage.
The consumer is still spending, but with a higher level of caution. Inflation remains a persistent pressure point, particularly for lower- and middle-income households. This has caused the U.S. personal saving rate to fall to 3.6% as of March 2026, leaving significantly less breathing room for discretionary purchases.
LPL Research examines rising inflation risks amid geopolitical tensions, while resilient growth and strong investment support continued expansion.
Inflation surged higher in April, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumping 3.8 per cent from 3.3 per cent in March and the Producer Price Index (PPI) up six per cent from four per cent in March. The increase in the CPI owed much to energy and food prices.
The next generation may inherit substantial assets. Whether they inherit the health to enjoy them — or the burden of managing preventable family health crises — may matter just as much. Advisors who broaden the definition of legacy planning may be better positioned to protect both.
Turns out, loading up on technology giants isn’t the only route to better returns. Value companies, too, stand a decent chance of trouncing the market — as long as several conditions are met.
For much of the year, chip stocks have been powering the market higher. Now, Nvidia Corp.’s earnings have a chance to confirm that the rally has more room to run — or add another brick to investors’ wall of worry.
Although a lot has changed since our last quarterly, its central theme – dispersion – feels like it’s only become more pronounced. We wrote last time that ‘‘we believe we’re entering a new era of dispersion in the performance of financial assets.’’
Veteran strategist Jeff Currie said the world is in the early stages of a commodity supercycle that may last another decade or more as the artificial intelligence buildout collides with chronic underinvestment in energy and materials capacity.
On Friday, May 15, the 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.59%, its highest level since February 2025. The 30-year Treasury yield closed near 5.12%, a level last seen in 2007. Those are significant moves because they reflect a repricing of the market’s inflation, growth, and Federal Reserve expectations.
Nineteenth-century oil processing plants used simple, column distillation of crude oil to produce kerosene, which was in high demand for lighting lamps. The process also yielded a dangerously flammable byproduct called gasoline which had no obvious use.
Chris Galipeau discusses high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
Markets ended last week under pressure as the optimism that had been building around a potential geopolitical breakthrough faded quickly. The China summit did not deliver the progress that had been hoped for. The Boeing aircraft order was smaller than expected; there was no meaningful movement on Iran; the Taiwan issue was brought forward in a way that unsettled markets; and the hoped-for easing of tensions around the Strait of Hormuz did not materialize.
One thing most people don’t know is that prior to the invention of the Fed, other than during wars, there was almost no inflation. Various sources including the Federal Reserve regional banks show the purchasing power of $1 in 1900 was the same as or higher than it was in 1800.
For shareholders, the upside justifies the gamble. For bondholders, the downside is real and the upside belongs to someone else. That wedge – the classic asset substitution problem – is what credit investors are increasingly pricing, and until the re-leveraging impulse shows signs of reaching a plateau, the divergence across the capital structure is likely here to stay.
Emerging market debt is compelling as a medium‑term structural allocation, particularly for investors seeking to diversify away from concentrated U.S. exposures.
Tax-equivalent yields on high-quality munis are hitting 7% to 9%. Discover how WisdomTree ETFs, WTMU and WTMY, exploit the steep yield curve.
As inflation lingers and market dynamics shift, advisors are rethinking the 60/40 portfolio with managed futures and options income ETFs.
Gas prices were relatively flat this week, remaining at their highest level in nearly four years. As of May 18th, weekly prices were down 1 cent for regular and were unchanged for premium.
The 30-year rate increased six basis points to 5.18% on Tuesday, a level last seen on the brink of the global financial crisis in 2007, rising alongside US government yields across maturities.
Investors are pouring money into commodities funds as the US-Iran war stokes inflation, according to Invesco Ltd.
The nothing-burger that came out of the Xi-Trump summit drove home a new reality for global investors. The NACHO trade, which stands for “not a chance Hormuz opens,” is on. Prospects of prolonged inflation have risen, sending global bond yields higher and the US dollar stronger.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell steps down this month after proving himself an exemplary public servant. Compelled to deal with a president intent on telling the central bank what to do, his response was exactly right. Reluctant to confront the White House until he had no choice, he then did so firmly, without needless drama or any trace of ego.
I’ve long been a student of game theory, the branch of mathematics that studies how rational actors make decisions when their outcomes depend on what everyone else does. It’s a helpful framework for understanding markets and geopolitics, and right now, there’s no better place to apply it than Taiwan.
A frequently asked question in recent weeks is whether the market is simply ignoring the risks stemming from the current geopolitical conflict, especially given the spike in oil prices that has pushed inflation pressures higher.
In this thought provoking presentation, Chuck Carnevale, co founder of FAST Graphs and widely known as “Mr. Valuation,” challenges one of Wall Street’s most accepted investing principles, the traditional 60/40 portfolio split between stocks and bonds. Drawing from decades of investment experience, Chuck explains why he believes blindly allocating large portions of retirement assets to fixed income may actually increase long term financial risk rather than reduce it.
The summit in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered little in the way of diplomatic breakthroughs but bears important cross-asset implications.
As Kevin Warsh takes over as Federal Reserve chair with his own goals, he may face challenges even beyond rate policy, from inflation to independence to a bulbous balance sheet.
Leadership transitions at the Federal Reserve (Fed) are rare. Only seven individuals have served as Fed chair since the 1970s, underscoring how infrequent turnover is at the Fed’s top job. That rarity is why investors pay close attention when a new chair is appointed, especially when the incoming leader brings a different perspective. Kevin Warsh has been a vocal critic of Fed policy and communication in recent years.
Kevin Warsh was confirmed this week as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. As we discussed in a recent article, his transition comes at a delicate time; inflation is rising, and questions about the Fed’s independence are pressing. The honeymoon period will be brief.
Vanguard research suggests that one practical answer may lie in pairing traditional target-date funds with a modest allocation to deferred-income annuities (DIAs).
Semiconductor stocks, along with some computer hardware companies, are the market’s latest AI darlings. Momentum and gamma are driving the outperformance, and, in their wake, a supportive narrative is trying to justify it.
You are undoubtedly seeing in the news that high earners are leaving New York, Los Angeles, and other metro areas. This does not begin to address the magnitude of the problem. There are dozens of cities that are trending towards fiscal collapse. Indeed, taxpayers are leaving.
What do “the utilities of retirement” refer to? Buy gas and electric stocks and live off the dividends? No. Not in this article. We’re talking about utility as an economic term of art, meaning reward, pleasure, and satisfaction.
Investors were forced to pay attention Friday, when the most interest-rate sensitive corners of the market saw big plunges in an ugly market selloff. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index dropped 2.4% for the biggest single-day decline since November.
Yields on US bonds dipped as much as three basis points Monday after Iran’s semi-official Tasnim reported that Washington proposed a temporary waiver on Iran oil sanctions until the final agreement, citing a source close to the negotiation team.
I think inflation is heading higher. That is going to take a rate cut off the table. Warsh is going to start reducing the balance sheet quickly. And will use the balance sheet contraction as a way to deal with inflation rather than actually raising rates.
Against this challenging macro backdrop, a stark divergence is expected as major retailers report earnings next week. Discounters are projected to perform well, with Walmart (WMT) expected to outpace Target (TGT) by gaining market share from high-income households trading down for groceries, while Target remains more vulnerable due to its heavier mix of discretionary goods.
The stagflation narrative dominating financial social media isn’t completely wrong. That’s what makes it so dangerous. After more than 30 years of managing client portfolios through actual inflationary cycles, not watching them on YouTube, I’ve learned that the most damaging investment advice isn’t built on outright lies.
U.S. inflation and rates remain elevated. Credit markets continue to show resilience. Opportunities are emerging across securitized and high yield assets
First quarter 2026 earnings were stronger than expected and we think that there might be continued strength in the second quarter, unless there is a major macro shift.
Yes, this time is different, but not because inflation itself is unprecedented. What has fundamentally changed is the macroeconomic starting point. Unlike the post-Global Financial Crisis period, when persistent disinflation and repeated downside surprises dominated policy decisions, the economy today is operating in a world where structural disinflation is no longer the default backdrop.
The U.S. economic landscape in April was defined by a significant rebound in inflation across both consumer and wholesale sectors, complicating the path for future monetary policy.
The United States has not felt the greatest costs of the Iran conflict, but challenges are becoming visible. Energy prices have risen, with limited prospects for relief. Inflation measures are poised to spread to other product and service categories. Inventories that helped to blunt the impact are depleting; supply chain distortions are accumulating.
Rising bond yields curbed traders’ appetite for risky bets early Friday, sending stocks lower following a weeks-long record-setting rally driven by a rush of cash into all things artificial intelligence.
Investors shed government bonds around the world, propelling borrowing costs to multi-year highs from Japan to the US amid intensifying fears that war-driven inflation will force central banks to pursue higher interest rates.
What were the key takeaways from last month’s numbers? Our corporate bond specialists look back at the market’s performance and provide incisive commentary to help you make sense of what drove the market—and what may be on the horizon for fixed income investors.
Yields for preferred securities have generally risen more than corporate bond and long-term Treasury yields over the past few months, making them more attractive to investors.
While US stocks have been going from one record to the next, global asset allocators haven’t quite kept up. And that may keep the market’s upward momentum intact as fund managers try to catch up.
April delivered a constructive backdrop for preferred securities, with the ICE BofA Fixed-Rate Preferred Securities Index rebounding 2.23% and bringing YTD returns back into positive territory at 0.8%.
