I’ve been writing financial newsletters for 15 years. I have seen a few cycles. There have been good times and bad times, thrills and spills.
In our latest Quarterly Letter, Ben Inker and John Pease discuss the new economic regime, how investors can prepare for a recession, and the merits of combining high quality and cheap assets in today’s environment.
ROBO: Global Robotics and Automation Index Featuring Zeno Mercer and Jon Fee
Five out of the 12 Federal Reserve Regional Districts currently publish monthly data on regional manufacturing: Dallas, Kansas City, New York, Richmond, and Philadelphia. The September average of the five districts is -6.5, down from the previous month.
Home prices are once again on the rise following a brief decline.
The two-month selloff in US stocks threatens to intensify as options dealers on Wall Street and fast-money traders both turn against the market.
The increasing prospects of a US federal government shutdown has some Bitcoin advocates predicting a rally similar to one that happened in response to the regional bank crisis earlier this year.
The MOVEit breach affected the clients of every wealth manager in America.
However, the regulators made asset management news with their focus on “truth in advertising.” Despite their well-intentioned efforts, it will remain paramount for investors to do their homework and look inside the portfolio.
Active ETFs have scored more investor interest this year than smart beta ETFs—but does that mean the latter will soon be out of the game completely? David Mann, Head of ETF Product & Capital Markets at Franklin Templeton, opines.
With the Fed pausing rate hikes this month as announced this week, investors now look nervously toward October. While earlier this year markets were even considering the possibility of rate “cuts” this year, now further hikes may be in the cards.
Historically, government shutdowns have not caused a major reaction in the markets. But shutdowns can increase market volatility, and an extended shutdown could have an impact on the overall economy.
EnerSys is a leader in stored energy solutions. Based in Reading, Pennsylvania, this company makes batteries, chargers, and accessories for transportation, aerospace, and defense.
VettaFi’s vice chairman Tom Lydon discussed the MUSQ Global Music Industry ETF (MUSQ) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”
A financial crisis, following the 5.50% hike in Fed funds and similar increases in all bond yields, is virtually inevitable.
The Census Bureau has posted its advance report on new orders for durable goods for August. This series dates from 1992 and is not adjusted for either population growth or inflation. Let's review durable goods data with those two adjustments.
We have been given the mandate to show our capabilities by growing our books of business to “earn the right” to work with clients.
A key measure of how much bond investors are compensated for holding long-term debt turned positive for the first time since June 2021, reflecting steep increases in longer-maturity Treasury yields.
This stock market rally in the first half of 2023 was built on the back of technology stocks, as investors bet on a resilient US consumer and hype surrounding artificial intelligence to keep the shares soaring.
The stock market is buckling under the weight of a simple equation: cash earns more than equities.
China’s goal of self-reliance will certainly rely on innovation. Right now, the second-largest economy sits firmly atop the list of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) when it comes to innovation on a global scale.
The Fed sent a strong signal that interest rates will remain higher for longer, as our Franklin Templeton Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai has long predicted. The Fed also started to acknowledge that the natural real rate of interest is higher than it thought.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the form of artificial intelligence that’s generating the most buzz this year. Its applications in media/content generation and video, among other related uses, is making life easier and more efficient for scores of freelancers and gig workers.
Private infrastructure offers unique investment characteristics and potential diversification benefits for portfolio construction.
Even the best scientists in the world cannot reliably forecast drug-test results, so why should investors gamble? Quality businesses are key for healthcare stocks.
You’re not there to make friends. You’re there to create trust by diagnosing their issues.
Here are the 10 best books I read from September 2022 through August 2023.
On Monday, Amazon.com Inc. made a move it hopes can turn around the perception it had fallen behind in the AI arms race.
One of the longer-term consequences of the looming government shutdown isn’t getting the attention it deserves: The youngest potential recruits are receiving yet another reminder of the challenges of public service, and at a time when they are desperately needed.
The chair of the Securities and Exchanges Commission has asked staffers to pore over thousands of messages collected from investment firms as part of its probe into industry use of WhatsApp and other non-official messaging channels, according to Reuters.
Investors that missed out on this year’s dizzying rally in Nvidia Corp. have an attractive entry point this month.
As the cross-asset sell-off engulfed Wall Street last week, hedge funds ramped up their bets against stocks while one measure of their market positioning plunged the most since the March 2020 crash.
To judge by recent history, a US government shutdown won’t be a huge event for the bond market. If anything, it could even provide a little short-term relief, since Treasuries usually rally when investors need somewhere to hide.
It might be hard to believe after the crypto winter of 2022, but monetary tightening by global central banks could be supportive of Bitcoin upside.
Ultra high net worth investors have been using direct indexing to reduce their annual tax bill for years. But thanks to breakthroughs in technology and the ability to buy fractional shares, direct indexing has become more accessible.
Today, in a shock decision, the Bank of England (BoE) left its policy rate at 5.25% by the tightest possible majority vote of 5-4. All but one of 65 economists polled by Reuters had predicted that the BoE would raise the rate to 5.5%.
Energy and Gold Produces Face Increasing Pressures, Crimping Supply.
We started RBA in 2009 primarily because we thought the US stock market was entering one of the biggest bull markets of our careers. However, most investors did not agree with our bullishness. Now, risk aversion seems a thing of the past.
VettaFi’s Todd Rosenbluth discusses potential ETF industry impact of the SEC adopting amendments to the “Names Rule” and also covers several recent topics including the first defined maturity TIPS ETFs and Schwab’s fee cuts. BNY Mellon’s Matt Camuso offers a framework for incorporating actively managed ETFs into a portfolio. Neuberger Berman’s Hakan Kaya goes in-depth on their Commodity Strategy ETF (NBCM) and offers an outlook for the commodities complex.
Investors think about companies as being either large or small. In between those extremes are midcaps. Based on historical performance and fundamentals, midcaps should command more attention.
The Big Myth is the remarkable, and largely untold, story of how America fell in love with market fundamentalism.
By applying artificial intelligence and Chat GPT to statements made by active fund managers, researchers have found that their underperformance can be partly explained by overconfidence that led to, among other things, excessive risk taking.
The hit TV series “That 70s Show” aired from 1998 to 2006 and focused on six teenage friends living in Wisconsin in the late 70s.
Bond investors face the crucial decision of just how much risk to take in Treasuries with 10-year yields at the highest in more than a decade and the Federal Reserve signaling it’s almost done raising rates.
Consumer stocks, one of the brightest corners of the market this year, are about to lose their shine as risks build for the sector, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
Looking through the lens of ROL – return on life – are you focused on each client's quality of life or just the quantity of assets?
Environmental, social, and governance policies and investing have become targets of political derision. That doesn’t dampen the need for corporations and governments to pursue agendas tied to climate change and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Financial advisors often face the challenge of transitioning a new client into their practice in a tax-efficient way.
When it comes to sheer equities performance over the last 30 years, there’s no denying the United States compared to the rest of the world. However, that could be changing according to one hedge fund manager.
Many of the speakers and attendees were bullish on the physical metal, pointing to gold’s resilience in the face of a very strong U.S. dollar and multiyear-high yields.
