One reason the economy is so fascinating is the way things just… happen. Growth blossoms if everyone just follows their own incentives and nothing gets in the way. The courage, vision and passion of entrepreneurs and those who risk their money backing them is one of the most inspiring aspects of modern civilization.
The Fed is poised to join the global easing bandwagon, fueling a surge in risk asset prices. As market distortions from easy money grow, so does the importance of security selection and portfolio allocation.
This article is a refresh and an update of an article I originally posted in 2015. However, the principles I am presenting are timeless and worthy of being revisited.
The recent outperformance of momentum gives us an opportunity to talk about this style of investing, the theories behind why momentum has the potential to work, how momentum can be measured, the risks of momentum (and there are plenty), and how momentum can be combined with other fundamental factors to aid in stock selection.
The economic calendar is light but includes some home sales data and the (old news) Q2 GDP first estimates. Fed speakers will be on the sidelines for the pre-meeting quiet period. Earnings reports remain the most important fresh data for both traders and investors.
Don’t let short-term volatility detract from your long-term plans.
When not taking on credit risk in a bond investment, which is better: individual Treasury bonds, FDIC-insured CDs or a mutual fund?
Despite record inflows into fixed income ETFs, concerns around the growth of these funds leading to an outsized impact on the fixed income market and the distortion of bond prices are still overblown, according to the data.
As we reach the midpoint of 2019, some investors could be feeling a little queasy from the market’s ups and downs. Our advice is to remain patient. Gain more insight from our latest client-approved Investment Outlook.
Given their low yields, are TIPS are a good investment compared to nominal Treasury bonds?
All too frequently investors use the rear-view mirror to determine an investment’s attractiveness. An upward sloping price chart often automatically makes a stock more attractive. Recent performance helps determine a “good” manager. Past interest rate movements can cause changes to bond portfolio duration.
The economic calendar is a big one, featuring the employment situation report on Friday. The rest of the data – ADP employment, auto sales, and the ISM surveys – will be released over 2 ½ days. The US Independence Day celebration on Thursday will provide one type of fireworks.
There have been many comparisons about the Fed using "insurance" #rate #cuts today versus 1995. We compare the financial and economic conditions of both periods to make the case.
With the price of gold trading above $1,430 an ounce as of June 25, now might be a good time for generalist investors to consider getting exposure to the yellow metal.
A barrier to ESG and SRI adoption is the one-size-fits-all approach inherent in mutual funds and ETFs. But a new solution allows advisors to create SMAs that are customized based on each of your clients’ values, needs and preferences.
After breaking out of a five-year trading range this week, gold surged above $1,400 for the first time since 2013 on expectations of a U.S. rate cut. Meanwhile, the global pool of negative-yielding bonds hit a fresh record high $13 trillion.
The future of equity investing is changing and will soon be driven by personalization. Discouraged by the lack of personalization in many ETFs and mutual funds, clients will move towards direct indexing and customized SMAs.
We’d all like our investments to make a positive contribution to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. But, as predicted by economic theory, ESG funds have suffered a performance deficit over a long time horizon.
Stocks surged last Friday following a U.S. jobs report that, to put it mildly, fell far below expectations. At first, this might seem counterintuitive. Shouldn’t signs of a slowing economy act as a wet blanket on Wall Street?
Could buying my team a book help them be more effective at sales? I am very skeptical. Convince me.
Here’s how you can slay the tax beast and help your clients minimize the impact of taxes.
The Federal Reserve reported last Thursday that US household wealth hit a new high of $108.6 trillion in the 1Q. As I reported two weeks ago, we knew the number hit a new high, but we didn’t know exactly how high until last week. As we now know, the increase in household wealth in the 1Q was the largest ever recorded.
Vehement opposition to nuclear energy has been a core tribal marker for 40 years, despite the consensus among scientists that it must be part of the solution to climate change. But that could be on the verge of a change. The asset management industry could play an important role in that change – but, first, it must end the practice of excluding nuclear energy from ESG and SRI mandates.
It doesn’t take much of a market downturn these days for investors to pull in their bullish horns; but more may be needed for market stabilization.
For the remainder of 2019, the evidence still leans bullish. That’s not a guarantee. This time could be different because the US is engaged in a seemingly unending trade war with two major trading partners. All the market technicals, sentiment and fundamental data available cannot predict what happens next.
Recent comments from Fed Chairman Powell with respect to corporate debt echoes what Bernanke said in 2007 about subprime mortgage debt.
One of the challenges municipal bond investors face when navigating the municipal bond market on their own, is accessing bonds in the new issue market. The advent of retail order periods for some larger issues has improved retail access.
Sales and earnings growth were 6% and 8%, respectively, in 1Q19. Margins rebounded from the end of 2018 but are still below the cycle high made in 3Q18. Looking ahead, analysts' expectations for 10% earnings growth in 2019 have been revised down to 3%. The key for share price appreciation in 2019 is likely to hinge almost entirely on valuations expanding.
Many companies are staying private for longer before deciding to go public—if they do so at all. But what does that mean for investors?
Part 2 in a series focusing on different types of alternative investments.
May’s “flash” index of U.S. manufacturers registered a sharp decline to 50.6. This is only a preliminary reading, but if it turns out to be accurate, it would mark the slowest growth in the domestic manufacturing industry since September 2009
Legions of CFPs face a choice: Either act as a fiduciary, as their CFP certification will require as of October 1, or surrender their credentials in order to work for firms that push products upon their customers that meet the weak “suitability” standard.
There is simply no proof that outcomes have improved, or that risks have diminished from the proliferation of new ETF products. Instead, this has been little more than marketing to appeal to over-saturated advisors who desperately seek the next “story.”
Another year of tax filings is now in the books. It’s the first official annual filing under Trump’s new tax law, which went into effect on January 1, 2018. Governed by new legislation, many individuals were impacted differently.
As advisors have expanded their suite of financial planning services and sought new ways to add value to their client relationships, they have also committed to solutions to streamline their investment management. One of those solutions is a model portfolio, which consist of allocations to a group of mutual funds that meet the goals and risk tolerances of their clients.
A collapse in the corporate bond market could rival the sub-prime debacle a decade ago, according to Jeffrey Gundlach.
Big-ticket, ultra-short notes force muni SMAs with low minimums to buy longer-term paper at rich prices, likely giving clients more heartburn than total return.
The services that advisors provide may not change much in the coming years, but you have lots of choices to make about which services to deliver and how to deliver them. Your choices will significantly impact your future success.
Global copper capacity could be short some 41,000 tons by as early as 2021, says one commodities research firm. Meaning: We could be looking at another commodities super-cycle, with the red metal leading the way.
Friends don’t let friends buy and hold. At a minimum, you need some type of hedging program on your equity portfolios. Using a simple 200-day moving average to signal the time for going to cash, while not the best, will help protect you from the worst of a massive bear market.
What is the value of a financial advisor in 2019? We break down the full value of an advisor’s services in this easy-to-follow equation.
The secret of a great success is a crime that has never been found out because it was properly executed. The crime of Jho Low, the shadowy figure behind the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, was well-executed. But it was found out, only because it was just too big – including the most lavish networking ever done.
Emerging markets, particularly in Asia, remain one of our favored regions for several reasons including...
Non-fundamental demand shocks caused by naive retail investor fund flows help explain the momentum factor.
A new paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston explores the implications of the active-to-passive shift.
Investors were dour heading into 2019 and while the mood became sunnier in the first quarter, there’s still plenty for investors to ponder and many potential threats to the relative calm.
Surfing for opportunities while using vigilance to avoid wipeout.
Robert Kuharic, Investment Strategist, shares 3 key numbers tax-smart advisors should know that illustrate the tax pain reality of 2018.
Clearly I have been “sitting here in limbo” for the last few weeks relaxing in Key West, which is a profoundly different planet. I love it! We stayed at Casa Marina, a resort I would highly recommend to anyone. So while I was limbo, it would seem as though the stock market was in limbo, as well.
For the 20-year period, gold as an asset class had the second best annualized returns at 7.7 percent, according to JPMorgan. The S&P 500, by comparison, returned only 5.6 percent on an annualized basis, with bonds coming in at 4.5 percent.
