In this video, Chuck Carnevale, co-founder of FAST Graphs and known as “Mr. Valuation,” explains a fundamental truth every investor must understand: valuation matters, and it matters a lot. Responding to subscriber questions about software companies, AI disruption, and specific stock requests, Chuck uses real examples to teach the core principles that drive long-term investment success.
The global energy transition is accelerating, and 2026 is shaping up to be an active year for renewable energy development. As we see it, private credit’s central role in financing the power build-out and its ability to structure flexible solutions for borrowers is likely to generate attractive return opportunities for investors.
Raymond James Chief Economist Eugenio J. Alemán discusses current economic conditions
Get ready each week with high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
As we expected, the Supreme Court struck down most of the new tariffs President Trump had imposed since taking office thirteen months ago.
Income rather than price is the primary driver of FRN returns. As policy rates and SOFR move, FRN coupons adjust accordingly, allowing income to rise in higher-rate environments and decline when rates fall.
The placid surface of an equity market that’s treaded water for months is masking dramatic swings underneath, as stock moves whipsaw traders and threaten more turbulence ahead.
The central theme of 2025 was the disconnect between market sentiment and economic reality. The year began with widespread apprehension regarding aggressive tariffs and forecasts of a recession.
Pay for top bosses at the biggest US banks has reached new records in the past couple of years, surpassing even what chief executive officers got in the pre-crisis peak of 2007. Someday these vast rewards might run dry. After all, in the age of artificial intelligence, what is a CEO even for?
“China is dumping US Treasuries to get out of the dollar.” This claim has been circulating the mainstream feeds lately, with the narrative that the “end of the dollar is near,” or “the US will lose its funding base,” and “bond yields will surge.” But are those claims valid? Such is what we will explore in more detail.
Is inflation rising or falling? Is unemployment solid or are there significant issues? Given the massive revisions of labor data, how can we base decisions on employment numbers? And what happens when the various collected data conflicts with themselves?
Since the dawn of retail, merchants’ primary job has been to tempt human shoppers to part with their cash. Now they have a new customer to woo: the bots.
Investment strategy is never easy, but we have started this year with a remarkable confluence of shifting factors: technological, economic and geopolitical. Understanding how they will play out and interact becomes crucial to asset allocation.
It can sometimes be hard to tell whether the US housing market is hot or cold. Currently, existing-home inventory is tight and prices are stable—indicators of a hot market—while sales volume is down and home price appreciation has slowed. So, what’s the temperature?
While the Court did not explicitly order refunds to be paid — instead sending that decision to the lower courts — by some estimates this decision opens the door to potentially as much as $175 billion in tariff reimbursements to U.S. importers.
In recent editions of Macro Signposts, we’ve emphasized how U.S. policy changes coinciding with the emergence of a new general-purpose technology (AI) may be accelerating adoption and diffusion of that technology – while also driving economic adjustments.
As investor expectations evolve, and tax awareness becomes more central to portfolio construction, active tax management has emerged as a defining feature of sophisticated investment strategies. Across both equities and fixed income, disciplined processes may help investors retain more of what they earn.
Many software stocks have been under pressure in recent months, as investors have started to perceive them as vulnerable to emerging artificial intelligence technology. As highlighted in the “6-Month Price History of the S&P Software and Service Index” chart, software stocks have declined roughly 27% from their September 2025 high.
Today, the Supreme Court stripped away the Trump Administration's power to impose sweeping tariffs through emergency authority—but the battle over US trade policy is far from over.
Income ETFs have become a key part of the ETF landscape in recent years. With their ability to use tools like call options and FLEX options, as well as dividend-focused stocks, income ETFs can help investors meet their goals.
Municipal bonds have posted strong performance so far this year, despite a news cycle that has many investors questioning the path forward.
Investors have long known balance is a key aspect of portfolio design. It presents a chance to achieve long-term growth and protect hard-earned assets at the same time.
Not long ago, CLO ETFs were niche vehicles only talked about at credit conferences and in sophisticated bond manager circles. But fast forward to 2026, and they’ve entered the mainstream – drawing meaningful interest from both institutions and retail investors.
Maybe we really are headed into a future in which technological change reduces the demand for skilled labor rather than increasing it. But the job market hasn’t been turned upside down just yet.
California, like a careless heir who squanders a fortune, keeps menacing its top taxpayers. Unless lawmakers start showing some restraint, the state’s many economic strengths are likely to further erode.
Craig Ebeling, Head of ETF Strategists at Fidelity Investments, delivers an ETF “State of the Union,” outlining the key trends and themes shaping the industry today. Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector & Industry Research at VettaFi, examines the record surge in international equity ETF inflows, analyzes the drivers behind the category’s performance, and highlights standout funds beyond the ETF leaderboard’s biggest names.
To love a bubble but hate a crash is to misunderstand the market. A bubble is a crash on its way to becoming. A crash is a bull market on its way to becoming. All we can do is to accept, and as difficult as it may be – embrace – whatever form we have in the present moment, so we can do our best with each of them.
AI has evolved from concentrated innovation to increased adoption across industries, which has led to a considerable (and somewhat swift) shift in stock market leadership.
Last week’s release of the Congressional Budget Office’s long-term budget projections prompted the merest murmur of concern. That’s America’s fiscal problem in a nutshell: It greets detailed and impeccably nonpartisan projections of looming financial catastrophe with a shrug. Tell us something we didn’t know. We’re busy right now.
It is hard to say if there is much economic benefit or cost to increased bank profits. On the one hand, it may allow banks to issue more credit to lower-income borrowers with worse credit.
Raymond James Chief Economist Eugenio J. Alemán discusses current economic conditions.
Royce Investment Partners: Co-CIO Francis Gannon looks at how low interest rates, tax policy, reshoring, technology adoption, and deregulation can fuel US small-cap earnings growth.
This week’s economic releases have once again underscored the policy dynamics we outlined in our January outlook. President Trump faces a high-stakes midterm election in November, and the incentives are clear: deliver visible growth, moderating inflation, and lower borrowing costs to strengthen the administration’s hand with voters.
Join JoAnne Bianco, CFA® of BondBloxx as she explores how targeting credit rating strategies may enhance portfolio income. From BBB rated investment grade to CCC rated high yield, now investors can optimize fixed income allocations in today's market environment with the diversification, transparency, and cost efficiency of ETFs.
The article from the Wall Street Journal titled “Why My Generation Is Turning to Financial Nihilism” by Kyla Scanlon argues that Gen Z is embracing high-risk financial behavior out of despair and detachment, but the data shows something very different.
For families navigating public benefits, long-term care planning, and lifetime financial sustainability, this change represents both an opportunity and a planning strategy worth considering. While ABLE accounts can be powerful tools, they are most effective when coordinated thoughtfully with benefits, trusts, and broader financial strategies.
When uncertainty rises, volatility usually follows as the market has a tendency of pricing in worst-case scenarios quickly. AI’s evolution has accelerated rapidly, shifting from novelty use cases to broad, productivity‑enhancing applications across industries.
We’ve seen upper-income consumers power consumption growth over the past year even as middle-income and working-class households become more restrained. The message from the office market is starting to sound similar.
Stripping out more volatile food and energy prices, core CPI prices rose 0.3 percent month on month. The annual core CPI dropped from 2.6 percent in December to 2.5 percent, the lowest reading since April 2021.
Advisors can foster a stronger relationship with their clients through providing advice over charitable giving.
Before making a Roth conversion, always work with your advisor and consider the importance of timing and taxes to get the most out of the conversion. Just like Dr. Dre, you may need to make some charitable deductions to decrease your tax bill.
Early last year, the drama around tariffs dominated news headlines, market predictions, and interactions between the U.S. and our allies. Yet for most Americans, daily life went on with little obvious impact on prices for goods. At least not right away.
Fourth-quarter earnings results have been generally solid so far, albeit a bit weaker relative to prior quarters when it comes to beat rates and price reactions. On the international front, weakening global ties may lead to economic disruption and lasting investment implications. Meanwhile, bond market volatility has remained low despite economic and policy uncertainty.
Volatility was once again the theme in US markets last week as a profound alpha rotation reshapes Wall Street. Investors continued to flee mega-cap tech, software stocks, and anything considered an AI loser, in favor of more cyclical sectors such as energy, materials and industrials.
As of February 10, 2026, Victory Capital managed $20 billion in ETF assets, with an impressive $9 billion of new money flowing in during the past 12 months.
A weaker dollar, renewed commodity strength, and rising sensitivity around AI valuations are reshaping market leadership. Paul Vella breaks down what’s fueling gold and emerging markets, why SaaS cracks matter, and how disciplined diversification is helping investors navigate policy and earnings uncertainty.
Gold demand in the tech and industrial sectors was generally flat at 222.8 tonnes in 2025. This was down about 1.5 percent from 226.2 tonnes the previous year.
Diversification seeks to help manage risk, smooth portfolio outcomes, and improve the likelihood that clients stay invested and on track toward their long-term goals.
Small caps are back in the spotlight! In this episode of ETF of the Week, Chuck Jaffe sits down with Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at VettaFi, to revisit a "new-fangled" fund that has quickly gained traction: the NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF (IWMI).
Capital markets have faced quite an array of moving pieces over the last couple of weeks, ranging from equity market rotation dynamics, volatile metals and commodity price action, geopolitical flare-ups, global central bank decisions, and high-profile earnings.
