As political pressure on the Federal Reserve intensifies and markets ponder the nomination of a new Chair, understanding this chain of risk is increasingly important for investors. Equity valuations are heavily affected by expectations for long-term cash flows, along with the interest rates and risk-premiums that drive how much investors are willing to pay for those future dollars.

Last week in our latest Cyclical Outlook, “Compounding Opportunity,” we argued that beneath the economy’s broad resilience lies a stark divergence. U.S. policy pivots combined with the surge in adoption of AI technology have created winners and losers.

While our outlook for the municipal bond market in 2026 is positive overall, we have identified five risks that we believe should be on investors' radar.

2025 will go down as another year of record-breaking achievements for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Among the past year’s highlights was a record number of mutual funds converting to ETFs, as noted by Ben Johnson, Morningstar Head of Client Solutions, via a LinkedIn post.

Are you ready for the next evolution of the ETF market? In this episode of ETF Prime, host Nate Geraci is joined by industry heavyweights Cinthia Murphy (VettaFi) and Matt Bartolini (State Street Global Advisors) to break down the biggest trends, risks, and opportunities for investors in 2026.

For investors navigating an uncertain macro landscape, avoiding the wrong narratives may matter more than predicting the right numbers.

Nominal thinking in investing, a form of the "money illusion" bias, is the failure to account for inflation's erosion of purchasing power. The primary problems with this approach are overestimating real returns, misjudging true wealth, and making poor long-term investment decisions based on misleading nominal figures.

Another strong year for US equities in 2025 reminds us that tax loss harvesting has the potential to contribute substantial value to direct indexing portfolios—even during bull markets.

Municipal bonds enter 2026 as a compelling option for investors: attractive yields, strong fundamentals, and structural changes that continue to reshape the market. After a volatile 2025, marked by Treasury market dislocations and record muni issuance, the outlook for this year suggests more stability — and opportunity.

If you’ve been around anyone under the age of 25 lately, you have likely been exposed to the “Six-Seven” phenomenon, whereby kids react excitedly upon hearing or seeing the numbers 6 and 7 in sequence. It can come from anywhere at any time…

On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the iShares Systematic Alternative Active ETF (IALT) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.

2026 promises to be anything but dull. Rapid AI investment and adoption will likely continue to dominate market sentiment, and given the pace of technological advancement, it is hard to imagine this won’t ultimately deliver meaningful productivity gains.

ETFs have come on in leaps and bounds since the ETF rule arrived in 2019. Exchange-traded funds are taking a bigger and bigger role in the investment landscape, offering a different route into many strategies compared to mutual funds.

The ETF industry just coming off a record year with nearly $1.5 trillion in net inflows. As we head into 2026, the "ETF Playbook" is changing. In this episode, host Nate Geraci is joined by Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at VettaFi, and Cullen Roche, Founder of Disciplined Funds, to break down the most critical trends facing investors this year.

Advisors who run or plan to run ETF-based portfolios need to have a formalized trading methodology. For those who haven’t yet developed one, this article is intended to help accelerate progress and avoid some risks that may not be obvious to anyone who is primarily experienced with trading mutual funds.

The defining feature of every bubble is the same: a growing inconsistency between the long-term returns that investors expect in their heads - based on extrapolation of the past, and the long-term returns that properly relate prices to likely future cash flows - based on valuations. Every bubble smuggles the same tragic past into the same tragic future by packaging it with new wrinkles that convince investors that this time is different. Ultimately, they still end the same way.

To help our clients and the marketplace navigate this evolving landscape, in the following sections, we’ve identified five key ETF industry themes to watch in 2026. These areas reflect the ongoing growth, innovation, and strategic shifts shaping the ETF industry, and they will be critical in understanding where opportunities and challenges lie in the year ahead.

Our 2026 outlook shows fixed income continuing to benefit from elevated rates, while equities still face a narrowing edge over risk-free investments.

On this special episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, reviewed some of his biggest takeaways for the ETF industry in 2025 with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life.

Participants’ financial well-being is our top priority, and we know that they’re struggling with emergency savings, so we’re offering a way for participants to save with confidence—the Vanguard Cash Plus Account.

AI remains the economy’s most powerful growth engine, but our Small Cap Growth team believes several other areas are also likely to deliver significant upside in the near-to-medium term.

Finding ways to effectively diversify a multi-asset portfolio allows investors to maintain their strategic equity allocation while managing risk. We may be entering a period when bonds can, at least in part, start to once again fulfill that function.

With less than two weeks to go, 2025 is set to be a record-breaking year for the $13 trillion US exchange-traded fund industry: new high-water marks in flows, launches and trading volume. It’s up for debate whether the next few years will be as kind.

On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (AVUV) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.

The S&P 500 is near all-time highs, leading some to question whether markets are in a bubble. A careful analysis of past bull markets suggests this is not the case.

Ben Johnson, Head of Client Solutions at Morningstar, recaps the year in ETFs, sharing his picks for ETF Story of the Year, ETF of the Year, ETF Issuer of the Year, and more. He also looks ahead to 2026, highlighting the key industry trends and developments he’s watching.

Preparing for the new year? It helps to look back on the big stories in fund management that can inform plans for 2026.

Every time there’s a raging bull market in stocks, as there is now, people start worrying about too much leverage in the market, and for good reason. When investors chase stocks with borrowed money, bad things can happen.

Around this time, most mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers release estimates of their upcoming distributions. We track and aggregate these early numbers to help you better prepare for what to expect.

JPMorgan Asset Management is seeking to convert two municipal-bond mutual funds with over $840 million of assets into ETFs in 2026, underscoring the growing popularity of the products.

I’ve been a retirement economist for my entire adult life, and yet I am continually amazed at how America continues to get retirement saving so wrong. Now, finally, the world’s largest issuer of mutual funds is showing signs that it recognizes a major flaw in the system.

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses gold’s recent positive correlation with stocks, particularly those names showing strong price momentum.

As investors enter the distribution phase of their financial lives, the priorities of portfolio construction shift dramatically. Liquidity becomes essential, diversification grows more important, and the ability to meet income needs – sometimes by tapping into principal – must be balanced against risk and market volatility.

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.

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.

Despite facing rising tariffs and trade barriers globally since the U.S.-China trade war began in 2017, Chinese exports have surprisingly continued to grow. Total annual exports have expanded by 58% since 2017, reaching a staggering $3.58 trillion, which is a performance far better than many analysts predicted given the severity of the trade conflict.

The SEC has granted Dimensional exemptive relief to offer dual share class funds, a move that allows certain mutual funds to offer an ETF share class under the same structure. This monumental decision, following the expiration of Vanguard's patent, is expected to open the floodgates for other asset managers seeking to offer their existing mutual fund clients the tax efficiency and structural benefits of ETFs.

Vanguard continues its push into the active ETF market with the introduction of three news funds focused on equities. These are the Vanguard Wellington U.S. Value Active ETF (VUSV), Vanguard Wellington U.S. Growth Active ETF (VUSG), and Vanguard Wellington Dividend Growth Active ETF (VDIG). This bolsters the current active equity roster to now eight funds for the issuer.

This month’s Muni Monthly covers performance, supply and demand technicals, fundamentals and valuations for the month ending October 2025.

Be wary of claims that indexing and passive investing have huge hidden costs. In my view, passive investing involves owning, as close as is economically feasible, every stock weighted to market capitalization. So this means total stock index funds.

The SEC has granted Dimensional Fund Advisors approval to adopt the dual share class fund structure, previously used exclusively by Vanguard to save investors billions in taxes. This decision, following the expiration of Vanguard's patent, marks a watershed moment for the $13 trillion US ETF industry and sets the stage for a wave of similar approvals for dozens of other money managers.

As someone who’s been involved in capital markets his entire adult life, I can safely say that gold investors haven’t seen a period like this in decades. The third quarter of 2025 was nothing short of historic, and in many ways, I believe we’re witnessing the beginning of a new era for the yellow metal.

This year, Americans will give more than $500 billion to charity, according to the National Philanthropic Trust. While meeting philanthropic goals is important for donors, these gifts may also provide valuable tax benefits.

Investors are pouring money into active ETFs, but a closer look reveals a migration of assets into the wrapper instead of a resurgence in alpha-chasing bets.

In this article, Russ Koesterich explains why the technology sector will likely continue to dominate equity returns into 2026.

On this special episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed record ETF inflows with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed why this might be happening, highlighted some standout funds, and more.

In anticipation, Nasdaq is looking to add not only in the exchange-traded product group in the coming weeks, but also in the legal and compliance side, according to Giang Bui, head of US equities and exchange-traded products. The exchange hired Kristian D’Agostino as senior director of ETFs last week.

As the Federal Reserve continues to cut rates, the yields on money market funds are on a decline. For investors who prioritize safety, liquidity, and enhanced income, low duration bond strategies present a compelling solution. These strategies offer a balanced approach to navigating the current financial landscape.

Actively managed ETFs, particularly those of the fixed income variety, are among the fastest-growing ETF segments today. That growth has been facilitated in part by advisors moving away from higher-fee mutual funds and issuers converting popular mutual funds to the ETF wrapper, among other factors.

The all-ETF portfolio is becoming a reality, as product offerings have evolved into a comprehensive tool kit for total portfolio construction.