With many major market forces still to be determined, it is likely that 2022 will be characterized by transitions. One such transition, a rising rate environment, has historically resulted in the underperformance of traditional fixed income. As rates increase, fixed income exposures typically fall short, leaving investors with the need to reevaluate and consider alternative solutions to enhance their current allocations. Emerging markets debt, investment grade floating rate notes and business development companies (BDCs) may provide investors with alternative yield options while also offering liquidity, credit and quality.

It's no secret that in fixed income markets, excess performance above the benchmark is difficult to achieve over the long run.

Given that (1) investors have benefitted from a market environment that reliably produced a source of positive returns from a 60/40 mix, and (2) we’ve just completed the best period for that mix in nearly 70 years of tracking, why would an investor want to consider a change?

The municipal-bond market is ending its worst quarter in about 40 years with a 6.4% loss, a dramatic pullback for an asset class that investors favor for its stability. The loss so far this year is in line with bonds globally as central banks increase interest rates to combat the fastest inflation in decades. The municipal market is still underperforming U.S. Treasuries, heightening investor concern.

As a solar panel was raised onto the roof of their ­mud-brick home in a Tanzanian village in sight of Mount Kilimanjaro, Akida Saidi and his wife felt giddy at the prospect of entering a new era. In a place where most residents make do with pit latrines instead of ­toilets and till their fields of maize and pigeon peas with hoes, suddenly having electricity would catapult them into the 21st century.

Europeans enduring an unseasonal April cold snap may be forgiven for thinking winter is back. But for the natural gas market, summer has arrived. April 1 marked the start of a new year in the energy calendar, moving the focus to injecting enough gas into storage during the coming low-demand months in preparation for next winter. It’s a race Europe cannot afford to lose, but one it will struggle to win following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes(Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.

John Vail, Chief Global Strategist at Nikko Asset Management, discusses Nikko AM’s Global Investment Committee views on current global market drivers as well as expectations for the markets moving forward.

Watch replays for CE credit. We recap the webinars presented at our Market Outlook Summit.

Retirement income planning is the key to your future success. Winning the confidence of "Boomer" women investors is the key to your future success. Shifting how you think about annuities is the key to your future success. Wait! Which one is the key to my future success? The answer is, they all are!

The first quarter of 2022 brought violence that rocked communities – and markets – internationally. We look at what aftershocks may still be yet to come.

Diverse opportunities in Global Convertibles, as well as structural features, provide tailwinds to counter rising rates and equity volatility. In rising rate environments, convertibles have historically done quite well relative to longer-duration traditional fixed income investments.

The news of Berkshire Hathaway’s purchases in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) has been seismic in our minds, but to most investors it has been but a whimper

I discuss cultural and technical challenges and ideas that will lead to a successful client relationship when working with this group of great clients.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday that consumer spending fell 0.4% in February from January after adjusting for inflation. This may not seem like much, but real spending has dropped in three of the last four months. Without strength in household outlays, the economic expansion is doomed.

The March Employment Report was strong. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 431,000 – less than expected but with upward revisions to January and February (a 562,000 monthly average in 1Q22).

The U.S. government has long offered myriad contrivances and enticements to get Americans to save enough for a comfortable retirement — so far with woefully inadequate results. But why should it be involved at all? Why can’t people be responsible enough to prepare for an entirely foreseeable event?

For more than a quarter century, the U.S. government has been sending an unmistakable message to poor, single mothers: Get married. If America genuinely wants to address poverty and achieve gender equality, this has to change.

According to LIMRA, RILA sales for the first half of 2021 were 105% higher than the same period in 2020. What’s behind the popularity of this relatively new product?

The argument goes like this: A company’s value (and stock price) is driven by its ability to earn a profit and grow its business. Its dividend policy is irrelevant at best. In some cases, paying dividends could hurt the stock. Is it true? Let’s explore this idea further.

Reflecting on the history of our family office, our investing philosophy mirrors how previous generations built their wealth through farming. They patiently waited to harvest the crops they planted; we buy securities and patiently wait for them to appreciate.

The poor performance of factor-driven value strategies over the past decade has raised the question of whether intangible assets, such as patents and proprietary software, are properly treated. New research confirms that intangibles indeed distort valuation metrices, but there is no consensus on how to address the problem.

Are the reserve banks too slow in tackling inflation? Will inflation level off by itself? Will rising rates cause a recession?

Volatility is likely to persist but the U.S. economy has room to grow.

Many of the highest earners in the U.S., including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and others, have created millions of new jobs, minted hundreds of thousands of new millionaires and literally improved life on earth.

Are the reserve banks too slow in tackling inflation? Will inflation level off by itself?

The global economy seems to be significantly changing, yet investors remain very hesitant to alter their basic portfolio strategies. As they did around 2010, investors are using the old leadership as their portfolios’ core. We think this could be a mistake.

Roughly half of adults over the age 55 say their biggest financial fear is not having enough money saved for retirement. Add in inflation, market volatility and low interest rates, and that’s enough for any investor to have serious cause for concern. Those at or near retirement don’t have time on their side.

Enter Constance. Last October, RetireOne, an independent distribution platform for fee-based life insurance products, introduced Constance - a zero-commission, flat-fee annuity built to enable financial advisors to integrate life insurance into client portfolios. With Constance, RIAs give their clients a lifetime income guarantee without cannibalizing their assets under management. By unbundling the insurance component from its underlying investments, advisors can wrap client brokerage accounts, IRAs, or Roth IRAs with lifetime income protection.

My guests today are RetireOne’s president, Ed Mercier, and Dimensional Fund Advisors’ head of retirement distribution, Tim Kohn, on the show to discuss their recent announcement and the trends facing advisors who work with clients approaching or entering retirement.

A framework for optimizing liquidity in alternative investments.

Fixed income investors faced plenty of challenges in 2021 as the global economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. With January and February returns flashing red across the board, 2022 appears to be setting up for more of the same. Columbia Threadneedle will discuss strategies that may help investors navigate the triple threat of Fed tightening, high inflation, and decelerating economic growth.

The Federal Reserve’s first rate hike in years has sparked bond volatility, pushing investors to search for yield elsewhere.

The US Federal Reserve is turning increasingly hawkish—hiking rates fast enough to slow inflation while maintaining economic growth will be a monumental task.

Add this to the pandemic lesson book: People may be willing to give up their homes in high-cost, densely packed coastal cities, but they still want their coastal lifestyles — just with a little more space, cheaper real estate and warmer weather.

Loan growth at the largest U.S. banks is finally staging a comeback after being absent for much of the pandemic, but investors are eager for signs the rebound is strong enough to withstand rising interest rates and economic uncertainty following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would expand the tax benefits for retirement accounts to bolster the savings of Americans, many of whom have nothing banked for after they stop working.

It may be inconceivable to the moneyed class, but there are in fact very good reasons not to raise interest rates quickly or dramatically. Yes, inflation is worryingly high, Ukraine is burning and Covid-19 still threatens to upend supply chains. However, the reality many Americans face — if not low-income and middle-class workers across the globe — is quite different from what the stock market and go-to suite of economic indicators tell us.

I’m one of the 45 million foreign-born individuals who now call the U.S. home. I knew enough about budgeting, but struggled with financial decisions from day one, as this was a completely new system to me.

For several years now it has been almost impossible to find dividend growth stocks with impeccable quality at reasonable prices.

ICYMI: In this roundup, we’re highlighting the five most popular pieces of content from the previous week.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a shock to the existing world order. From an economic perspective, the initial impact of the war is rising inflation given the importance of Russia and Ukraine in the supply of commodities to the world.

Many investors see gold as a sort of haven in times of turmoil, and prices have surged amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This article provides an overview of the benefits of using a Nevada Incomplete Non-Grantor Trust (NING) as part of a business sale to reduce or eliminate state income taxes and capital gains taxes.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked higher inflation, unleashed additional market volatility and will likely lead to a slowdown in global growth rates. However, we believe above-trend growth is still possible this year, provided hostilities ease and energy prices stabilize.

Signs are emerging that the resilience of American consumers is rapidly waning, potentially undermining one of the few remaining pillars supporting the bull market in equities.

Bailouts are the root cause of the dysfunction of capitalism and the demise of free markets.

The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index, a benchmark for the bond market worldwide, has tumbled 11% from its peak in January 2021, equating to a drop of $2.6 trillion in the index’s market value.

America is facing a retirement crisis. Most experts agree that a significant portion of the population will lack the resources to live comfortably after they stop working. This, in turn, will place an increasing burden on the country’s social safety net.

Investors continue to need a balanced portfolio, including fixed income. But the bond markets are challenging: Rates are low, duration risk is high, and runaway inflation is putting pressure on long-term rates. “Buy and hold” fixed-income strategies will not work as well as they have in the past. A better alternative is a tactical, disciplined approach to when and how to invest in fixed income.

Some countries have climates and athletes that are better suited for the Winter Olympic Games, and others for the Summer Olympic Games. Every country on earth had to deal with Covid, though, whether they’re hot or cold, rich or poor.

Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions.