The chain-smoking protagonist of Landman, the American television drama series about the Texas oil industry, puts it better than anyone else: “You want oil to live above 60, but below 90,” says the fictional Tommy Norris. “Seventy-eight dollars a barrel, that’s about perfect.”
Assessing a bear market rally proves challenging when you experience it firsthand. It is only in hindsight that the complete picture reveals itself to investors. Of course, after a bear market rally, investors tend to review their investments and speculate on what they should have done differently.
The surprisingly large reduction in mutual tariffs between China and the U.S. announced early Monday morning has sent the markets flying. Trump has softened his approach dramatically and markets are expecting future deals. The base case: everyone at 10%, China at say 20% is still a jump, but at least will likely prevent a recession. Trade and tariffs remain the main focus for markets.
The more duration risk taken, the more reward or yield demanded by investors. This is why, historically, the yield curve provides incrementally more yield for longer-maturity bonds.
In the report, Portfolio Managers John Kerschner, Nick Childs, and Thomas Polus highlight three reasons why agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) look attractive in the present environment.
The U.S. may not walk back all of the new tariffs.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale, Co-Founder of FAST Graphs, aka Mr. Valuation discusses the volatility of the stock market, the truth about the S&P 500’s valuation, using the S&P 500 (SPY) as a proxy.
Commonwealth Financial Network®, a national RIA dedicated to providing financial advisors with holistic, integrated business solutions, has initiated a new partnership with Messina College, a two-year, all-residential degree program of Boston College that welcomed its first-ever class of students to the school’s Brookline Campus last summer.
Alexandra Levis, Founder & CEO of Arro Financial Communications, provides an in-depth look at how ETF issuers should think about approaching marketing. VettaFi’s Roxanna Islam breaks down some of the year’s top-performing ETFs, from international plays to precious metals.
Despite the recent volatility, the S&P 500 remains at record-breaking levels of concentration. At the same time, the S&P 500 Equal Weight’s tracking error is high and growing, introducing significant active risk in portfolios. The new S&P 500 Historical Weight ETF (DSPY) solves both these issues by using historical concentration levels.
While the U.S. and U.K. have different economic and regulatory landscapes, there are clear opportunities for the U.S. to improve retirement readiness by adopting some best practices from across the pond.
In 2025, liquidity is not a background variable — it's a front-line risk factor, one that’s being tested repeatedly as global markets navigate a web of geopolitical uncertainty and macroeconomic signals.
There is much serious discussion about the “rule of law” today. This discussion is good and should be applied to the affective meaning of fiduciary today. Pressures from the brokerage and insurance industries over the past 20 years have effectively nullified the clear purpose of the IAA and the Supreme Court decision in 1963.
The price of Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug, is $1,349 a month in the US; in Germany, it’s $328. The US price for Keytruda, a cancer treatment, is $191,000 a year; in Japan, it’s $44,000.
Companies are launching a number of debt deals designed to pay out a dividend to their private equity owners, at a time when buyout firms are under pressure to return money to clients.
US inflation rose by less than forecast in April amid tame prices for clothing and new cars, suggesting little urgency so far by companies to pass along the cost of higher tariffs to consumers.
Global AI, a US tech firm, plans to collaborate with a Saudi Arabian artificial intelligence venture, Humain, in an agreement expected to be worth billions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the mattter.
A wave of municipal-bond sales scheduled for this week will test a recent rebound in buyer demand after investors sold their holdings during April’s market rout.
The early-April announcement of a broad new round of tariffs against virtually all U.S. trading partners—followed by a pause for many of them—has triggered a tidal shift in the global economy. Uncertainty created by tariff negotiations, as well as burgeoning federal debt levels and other ongoing concerns, has far-reaching economic implications, leading us to reassess our 2025 outlook.
Tariff talk has been at a fever pitch for the past three months. Its dominance of the news cycle has crowded out discussion of other important economic issues, such as the sustainability of America’s national debt.
The roller coaster continues! A stronger than expected first quarter earnings season and encouraging signs on the trade front—highlighted by the US-UK trade deal—helped lift the S&P 500 from its April 8 near-bear market lows, reversing nearly all post-Liberation Day (April 2) losses.
It may seem risky to lend against recurring revenues, not earnings. With proper underwriting, it doesn’t have to be.
In the latest edition of Design Matters, titled “What’s the Frequency… Russell?” Greg Behar of Westwood’s Managed Investment Solutions (MIS) team examines how the Russell U.S. Indexes’ decision to return to a semi-annual reconstitution schedule is transforming risk management practices, market participation and the future of custom indexing.
China and the U.S. conducted their first formal trade talks of 2025 over the weekend. And on Monday, May 12, they announced the outcome of their negotiations.
The April plunge in stocks ushered in a huge washout in investor sentiment, but more so on the attitudinal side as opposed to the behavioral side.
The Q1 2025 earnings season heads into its final peak week with mostly positive results from S&P 500 companies thus far. With 90% of companies from the index now reporting, 78% have beaten Wall Street’s expectations, slightly better than what we’ve seen historically.
For my entire decades-long career in capital markets, I’ve made the case that gold is not just a shiny relic of the past, but a serious, strategic asset for modern investors. After years of pounding the table, it feels pretty good to say that the world’s central banks—and now the U.S. banking system—are finally catching up.
Back on January 10, 2025, it cost $1.024 to buy one Euro. Last Friday, the $/Euro exchange rate was $1.125 – a drop in the value of the dollar of about 10%. Similar moves in the value of the US dollar versus the British pound, Japanese yen, and Canadian dollar also occurred.
With the latest Fed meeting leaving rate cuts in doubt, advisors might want to look to active managers to navigate the fixed income space.
Kevin Flanagan, head of fixed income at WisdomTree, joined a VettaFi panel to break down the most attractive fixed income strategies.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the Unlimited HFGM Global Macro ETF (HFGM) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF overall.
Today Tesla is not trading based on car sales but on future dreams of self-driving robo-taxis, robots, semis, and whatever else Elon dreams up. The car company may be worth $100 billion to $180 billion; the rest is what investors are willing to pay for Elon’s dreams.
Are you prepared to adjust your portfolio in the coming months for the possibility that calm, tranquil markets and a resumption of the bullish trend emerge?
Fixed income investors who want to diversify their portfolios in a challenging market environment shouldn't overlook CLOs.
As April’s volatility storm fades into memory, traders are left balancing calmer markets and the ever-present risk of a fresh round of headline shocks.
For most of human history, an enchanted box that contained all knowledge and answered all questions would’ve been the stuff of allegory. For modern internet users, Google is one more thing to take for granted.
A KKR & Co. debt sale shows how far Wall Street is willing to go to keep leveraged underwriting business from slipping away to private credit after periods of turmoil.
The dollar soared and Treasuries fell as the trade war between China and the US eased, stoking appetite for risk assets.
The US and China will temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products in a dramatic ratcheting down of trade tensions that buys the world’s two largest economies three months to work toward a broader agreement.
With Wall Street kicking off another rally, American stocks are now trading like Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” shock never happened.
Chief Economist Eugenio J. Alemán discusses current economic conditions.
I’ve been writing about tariffs for a couple of months now, focusing mostly on the macroeconomic harm and the costs they impose on small businesses. Today I want to consider something else: the new risks they are adding to the financial system alongside the old risks.
While coming in much stronger than expected, the latest employment data confirmed what we already suspected: the economy is slowing.
Warren Buffett opened his 60th—and final as CEO—Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting with the same understated clarity that has defined his career: "This is my 60th annual meeting... I think it'll be the best yet."
When navigating the unknown, an experienced guide can ensure you don’t veer off the path to your chosen destination, can prevent you from stumbling across hazards, and ensure you have the tools you need to finish the journey safely and soundly.
As the effects of US import tariffs begin to emerge, we shift our stance on equities to underweight.
In the report, Portfolio Managers Andy Acker and Dan Lyons say that despite growing policy uncertainty, plenty of healthcare companies have managed to put up big returns.
In a rare moment of honesty, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell admitted he and his fellow central bankers don’t know what they’re doing as they wrapped up the May Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Bonds and stocks falling together stirs painful memories of the 2022 inflation surge. This time, trade and tariff uncertainty is to blame, along with a dose of questioning the Fed’s independence.
