As 2025 comes to a close, I am using this column to offer high-impact strategies for you and your team to implement before the year ends. While you are likely focused on tax planning, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), and the other client necessities, it is equally important to address the operational and strategic health of your practice.

Gold ETFs globally reported net inflows of gold for the sixth straight month, driven by a strong surge in Asian investment.

With macro drivers continuing to reshape markets, Ali Dibadj explores key investment themes for 2026 to help actively position portfolios for resilience and growth. He also explains how asset managers need to evolve to best work together with clients.

Rising margin debt levels signal increasing speculation and leverage in the market, with the cost of carrying this debt nearing historical peaks that have typically preceded significant stock market corrections.

Three years with five reliable recession signals, five recession scares, and no recession. Why? And what comes next. A useful framing of the economy for the last three years and why a recession isn’t imminent now.

Active fixed income ETFs took center stage at VettaFi's recent 2026 Market Outlook Symposium, with two industry leaders sharing thoughts.

I’ve lived through several bubbles and read about others, and they’ve all hewed to this description. One might think the losses experienced when past bubbles popped would discourage the next one from forming. But that hasn’t happened yet, and I’m sure it never will.

On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the Goldman Sachs Corporate Bond ETF (GIGL) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.

Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector & Industry Research at VettaFi, shares her perspective on several recent ETF developments, including Vanguard opening brokerage access to spot crypto ETFs, Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of Innovator ETFs, and the SEC’s pushback on filings for 5x leveraged products. Petra Bakosova, CEO of Hull Tactical and Portfolio Manager of the Hull Tactical U.S. ETF (HTUS), explains the firm’s approach to delivering tactical, risk-managed S&P 500 exposure.

NextEra Energy, once the "tech darling" of the utility sector due to its vast renewables business, is pivoting its strategy to navigate political uncertainty and the booming power demands of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Shares of Apple Inc. were battered earlier this year as the iPhone maker faced repeated complaints about its lack of an artificial intelligence strategy. But as the AI trade faces increasing scrutiny, that hesitance has gone from a weakness to a strength — and it’s showing up in the stock market.

Recessions are less common today than they were before the 1980s. Some argue that the reason is that we have become better at conducting fiscal and monetary policy to reduce the ebbs and flows of economic cycles.

A conventional data center uses between 5,000 and 15,000 tons of copper. A hyperscale data center, on the other hand—the kind being built to run artificial intelligence (AI)—can require up to 50,000 tons of copper per facility, according to the Copper Development Association.

To understand where we're headed, let's look back at the late 1990s — the height of the dot-com bubble. The internet was going to change the world, and it did. That's a fact. During the bubble, internet stocks soared. Then they crashed.

This focus on payout growth and a relatively higher tech allocation suggests OUSA may be well-positioned for performance in 2026, even as corporations globally favor share buybacks over dividend payments.

The field of quantum computing has shifted its focus from the short-lived concept of "quantum supremacy" to a more measurable goal: quantum advantage, which emphasizes reproducible, domain-specific results that verifiably outperform classical systems.

Advisors should avoid centering long-term investment strategies on predicting the Federal Reserve's next interest rate move, as tactical bets based on the Fed's near-term calls often cause investors to miss out on returns.

Due to the federal government shutdown, official jobs data remains incomplete, forcing the Federal Reserve to rely on alternative private-sector reports to gauge the labor market. These alternative data sources, such as the ADP report and Revelio Labs estimates, indicate a widespread and concerning slowdown in employment, with job creation stalling, openings shrinking, and layoffs rising across many sectors.

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.

Bitcoin options traders are currently betting that the largest cryptocurrency will remain range-bound in the near term, a sentiment reflected by higher open interest in short-dated contracts due to the selling of volatility.

While some corners of energy markets have looked pretty frothy of late, one segment has Wall Street betting it won’t get trapped in a bubble: grid tech stocks

For over eighteen years, we have maintained the same investment discipline and the same eight criteria for stock selection. We have deliberately sought opportunity in the sectors and structures the market has decided are too complicated, too cyclical, or simply no longer fashionable.

Amidst geopolitical tensions, global defense has become one of the most persistent and outperforming investment themes in 2025, even in the absence of a major crisis. Investors are increasingly diversifying into international defense markets through new and existing ETFs, recognizing the exposure to rising non-U.S. military budgets and the resilience of long-term contracts.

The economic narrative last week was dominated by a mix of cooling inflation and a softening labor market.

Wall Street is gearing up to lend massive amounts of money to the biggest players in artificial intelligence — and simultaneously trying to figure out how to protect itself from any bubble that its financing may be helping to inflate.

When developing research strategies to achieve positive alpha, there are typically two methodologies: quantitative and fundamental. Discerning investors who have a predilection for one or the other no longer have to choose with the MFS Blended Research Core Equity ETF (BRCE) and the MFS Blended Research International Equity ETF (BRIE).

While AI adoption is becoming ubiquitous across all segments of society, a significant bottleneck is emerging that could slow its expansion: a critical power problem. AI data centers consume massive amounts of electricity—up to the equivalent of 100,000 households—with projections showing they will account for nearly half of US electricity demand growth through 2030.

State Street Corp. is deepening its expansion in Saudi Arabia as it looks to cash in on booming demand for exchange-traded funds and growing appetite for alternative investments from clients including family offices.

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.

Join Cynthia Murphy, Investment Strategist at VettaFi as she speaks with David Harden, CEO and CIO of Summit Global Investments (SGI), about the firm's history, its proprietary managed risk philosophy, and how its ETF strategies are built for today's dynamic market environment.

The Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is now close to modernization as it seeks proxy votes from shareholders to approve a reclassification.

Gold holdings in exchange-traded funds climbed to a month-end peak, a sign that investor inflows are continuing to add fuel to bullion’s scorching rally.

Polymarket has been recruiting new staff members for an internal market making team that could face off against customers on the company’s exchange, even though a similar feature has exposed its chief rival to criticism.

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) .

After a difficult 12 months, India's equity story is quietly regaining its rhythm. Valuations that once looked stretched have compressed to more defensible levels, policy continuity after the 2024 election has reassured markets and the long-term growth engine, powered by demographics, digital infrastructure and industrial reshoring, remains intact.

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.

Despite nearly a 5% deficit mid-month, the S&P 500 finished November with a modest 0.1% gain, fueled by strong earnings, AI optimism, and hopes for Fed rate cuts. This rebound helped repair technical damage, lifting the S&P 500 above its 50-day moving average, though retail investors remain hesitant to re-engage.

While 2025’s market performance has been mostly highlighted by large-cap growth equities benefiting from the theme of artificial intelligence (AI), investors might be overlooking one key ingredient in their portfolios: commodities.

Given the relatively mixed signals that the U.S. stock market is seeing in the months ahead, some sectors of the global market could compel.

Join ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman and his team for a look at why so many covered call ETFs fall behind when stocks rise, and how newer approaches aim to strike a better balance between income and long-term equity potential.

Across April and May, the bond giant’s positions in 5- to 10-year Treasuries and mortgages were getting hammered. First, after President Donald Trump’s punitive “Liberation Day” tariffs, and then amid the burst of “Sell America” calls that followed.

The passage of new US stablecoin legislation has intensified Wall Street debate over the tokens' potential to significantly boost the dollar and become a multi-trillion-dollar source of demand for short-dated Treasuries.

While volatility around holidays makes the single week's number choppy, this trend supports the view that actual job losses remain limited, allaying concerns about a rapid deterioration of the labor market. The overall low-fire, low-hire market, however, has made it difficult for out-of-work Americans to find new employment.

Vanguard, a major global asset manager, is planning to significantly expand its US offshore wealth services, primarily by tripling its team in Miami and growing in other US cities like Houston and California. This strategic move aims to cater to wealthy Latin Americans who increasingly seek to move their assets abroad, often preferring the US for its stability.

Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg is expected to meaningfully cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort that he once framed as the future of the company and the reason for changing its name from Facebook Inc.

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.

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.

Thanks to AI-generated power demand, the utilities sector is losing its traditional defensive role. Is this a permanent move, or will utilities ultimately regain their place?

The ETF pulse report features key investment themes we’re seeing across equities and fixed income, how to play them through ETFs, and ETF industry trends.