For fixed-income investors seeking diversification, Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), specifically the VMBS ETF, are presented as a high-quality alternative to potentially overvalued corporate bonds, particularly those fueling the AI boom.

Federal Reserve officials are poised to cut interest rates again next week, but any benefit to the economy is likely to take much longer to show up than normal and may be blunted by factors that monetary policy can’t control.

In this third installment of the retirement income series, Chuck Carnevale (“Mr. Valuation”) walks through the completion of a hypothetical $2 million dividend portfolio designed for a retiree who requires at least $100,000 per year in income—equivalent to a 5% yield, with annual income growth to offset inflation.

here’s something comforting about dividends. For decades, investors have turned to them as tangible proof that a company is generating real cash flow and is willing to share it.

Investor appetites for international equities could continue after the Fed implemented a second rate cut. Investors looking to get international equities exposure would be wise to consider using an actively managed fund like the MFS Active International ETF (MFSI) .

Plenty of official economic data is already coming down the market’s chimney, much to the delight of our partners at Econoday. Now that the pesky government shutdown is over, the pace of macro updates is set to accelerate as we head into the end of 2025.

Geopolitical risks remain elevated as the markets continue to digest the impact of trade tariffs. What does this mean for private markets? Franklin Templeton Institute shares its outlook.

We expect 2026 to be another good year for fixed income investors. However, yields that are lower than where they were a year ago and less room for rate cuts by central banks likely will mean less-robust returns.

The traditional 60/40 portfolio (60% equities, 40% bonds) has long been a standard for investors. Its limitations, especially during "lost decades," suggest the need for a fresh perspective.

November’s markets were choppy but ultimately flat as investors weighed AI valuations, falling Treasury yields, and expected Fed rate cuts. This commentary breaks down what truly drove the month’s volatility and what the latest labor and policy signals mean heading into 2026.

The year 2025 has been a "baffling" year for markets, with surprising outcomes like gold and silver surging while stocks rose despite global conflicts, proving that "macro is hard."

Following the 2021–2022 inflation shock, the historic negative correlation between stocks and bonds—the foundation of modern portfolio diversification—temporarily broke, fueling debate over whether the "Greenspan Put" era of Fed-induced market stability has ended.

A mid-month bout of volatility focused primarily on the AI tech giants gave way to a broader rally in November’s final days amidst renewed expectations the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the coming weeks.

Indexed ETFs can provide an easy, cost-effective alternative for fixed income exposure that draws from myriad sources. However, investors could be missing out on the advantages associated with active management. Given the current macro environment, it’s almost a necessity.

Inflation is the number-one public concern in Japan. But one section of the economy is proving to be invulnerable to rising prices: pop idols, YouTubers and cartoon characters.

November ended with modest index gains masking a deeper rotation beneath the surface, as markets wrestled with December Fed cut odds, AI fatigue, and how to position portfolios into year end.

As we put the finishing touches on Outlook 2026, here are several other key factors that will drive markets in 2026 that investors will want to keep in mind.

While US investors focus on growth, international markets may remain the best places to find value opportunities in 2026, says Franklin Mutual Series.

The reopening of the US government and the release of delayed economic data did little to calm markets. The long-awaited September jobs report finally arrived last week, showing job gains of 119,000, surpassing expectations but accompanied by downward revisions to previous months and a rise in the unemployment rate.

Here’s how Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin treasury company Strategy Inc. is supposed to work: The firm raises funds to buy Bitcoin; that buying drives up the price of Bitcoin; the share price of Strategy follows suit. Rinse and repeat

If there’s one thing Democrats and Republicans have agreed on in recent years, it’s to ignore the rapidly deteriorating finances of Social Security and keep its unsustainable benefits intact. The longer they dither, the worse the problem will get.

In the ten years prior to the onset of COVID, the consumer prices index rose at an average annual rate of 1.7%. Since the onset of COVID the overall CPI has risen at a 4.2% annual rate. Inflation peaked at about 9.0% back in 2022 but is still hovering between 2.5 and 3.0%, which is above the Federal Reserve’s official target of 2.0%.

US Federal Reserve officials would rather “stick to their knitting” than confront the complex forces that are reshaping the economy. Unless the next Fed chair shakes the institution out of its complacency, continued policy-induced volatility and intensifying political attacks are all but guaranteed.

The recent Thanksgiving week provided a crucial snapshot of the changing economy, highlighted by a shift in holiday shopping to early online sales and a significant drop in the 10-year Treasury yield below 4%.

Yields on the bond market have incrementally adjusted to introduce a new variable: a fiscal premium. Yet, this is not a new form of risk; it represents a new form of information. Investors still believe they will get repaid; they just believe they are entitled to a higher return to facilitate it.

No matter how long you delay taking Social Security, it likely won’t cover all your living expenses. But that doesn't mean you should take it early.

In the ranks of the world’s 20 best-performing stock markets this year, every second index is European.

This has been a bumpy year for the US economy. Although there was a massive boom in AI-related investments in 2025, policy-induced uncertainties and disruptions to official data releases clouded the picture.

This article argues that the Federal Reserve's decade of ultra-loose monetary policy following the 2008 crisis, including nearly ten years of near-zero rates, has warped the perception of a "normal" interest rate environment.

Despite the "America First" focus of the current administration, international markets, particularly emerging markets (EM), have outperformed domestic financial markets. This surprising trend is highlighted by the strong performance of EM debt and equities, driven primarily by U.S. dollar weakness and corresponding monetary easing by EM central banks.

At Vanguard, we are always working to make our target-date funds (TDFs) better. That means regularly reviewing our glide-path design and diving into specific asset allocation topics to ensure that our strategies evolve with the market and continue to meet our clients' needs.

Corporate America delivered another exceptional earnings season, with third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth tracking over 13% and achieving one of the highest beat rates ever recorded. Companies successfully adjusted to shifting macroeconomic pressures, including tariffs, as expectations continued to rise. The impressive results were bolstered by robust revenue growth and significant investment from mega-cap technology firms.

Although most economists have issued dire warnings about the damage tariffs and other ill-advised policies would cause, the US economy’s aggregate indicators have remained quite robust. Some of the costs may simply have been postponed, but rapid advances in AI could well offset them when they fall due.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) is a simple computation: You take the civilian labor force (people aged 16 and over employed or seeking employment) and divide it by the civilian non-institutional population (those 16 and over not in the military and or committed to an institution). As of September, the labor force participation rate is at 62.4%, up from 62.3% the previous month.

Investor certainty about a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December has surged to approximately 80%, driven by signals from Fed officials and recent mixed economic data, especially regarding the labor market.

As investors shift away from volatile artificial intelligence stocks, the health-care sector has emerged as the clear winner this month, with the S&P 500 Health Care Index up 10%. This rotation, fueled by aggressive buying from hedge funds and mutual funds, reflects investor interest in defensive value amid concerns over an AI stock bubble.

Jeff Schulze, Head of Economic and Market Strategy at ClearBridge Investments, discusses key spending, employment and other policy factors he is following as we look forward to 2026.

Like ducks on a pond, markets often appear calm on the surface while churning furiously underneath. For financial markets, above the surface, attention has focused on equity market valuations and record-tight levels of credit spreads, but a deeper look reveals even more extreme dynamics below.

In a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey sits down with Jordan Roy-Byrne, CMT, MFTA, editor and publisher of The Daily Gold, to unpack where gold and silver are in the current cycle.

Yes, we may be in the second market bubble of this century. Alternatively, the market may be pricing in a shift as fundamental as the transition to either electricity or the internet. Either way, investors must think clearly, act deliberately, and avoid the kind of blind speculation that turned past booms into bloodbaths.

This article reviews historical and contemporary attempts by world leaders—from Nixon's price controls to European energy subsidies—to contain costs, ultimately illustrating the limits of policy intervention in combating inflation. While some measures provided temporary relief, the persistent challenge of high prices remains a central political concern.

This article explores gold's role as a distinct, independent alternative asset class, discussing its diversification benefits, and practical ways for investors to gain exposure.

Retail earnings ahead of Black Friday show a clear split: value-focused discounters like TJX and Walmart are thriving, while Target and home improvement stores struggle with consumer pullback on discretionary items. This shift reflects broader economic pressure, as consumers trade down due to high prices, weakening income sentiment, and increased reliance on credit.

Treasury yields edged lower, with the 10-year nearing 4%, as data affirming labor-market weakness and remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran bolstered expectations for an interest-rate cut next month.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang turned heads earlier this month when he told the Financial Times he believes China will win the artificial intelligence (AI) arms race due to the country’s expanding power capacity and lack of regulatory bottlenecks that slow things down here in the U.S.

Amid concerns that the traditional 60/40 investment mix no longer works, financial experts are recommending a 20 percent allocation to gold as a necessary portfolio adjustment. This shift is driven by the fact that gold is increasingly viewed as the most reliable hedge against inflation and government spending, unlike bonds which have lost their safe-haven status. Consequently, investors are initiating a "quiet revolution" by moving billions into gold ETFs.

Returns from emerging market bonds hinge on five factors, our economic research suggests. And for the first time in two decades, four of these are now favourable, heralding a new phase of outperformance for the asset class.

Although the September employment report surprised to the upside, the overall stance of the US labor market remains weak, something that was underscored by the third consecutive increase in the rate of unemployment, from 4.1% in June to 4.4% in September.

Many of you may have recently seen a chart circulating on the internet suggesting a nationwide collapse in home prices is on the way, that we are in the “biggest bubble in history,” the collapse is “inevitable and nothing can stop it.”

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he’s advocating an interest-rate cut in December, though the US central bank can probably take more of a meeting-by-meeting approach starting in January once it receives a flood of economic data.