The multi-asset playing field presents income investors with broad opportunities across asset classes. But investors that rely only on traditional stock dividends and bond interest may be missing out on other attractive income sources.
Software stocks are down big YTD, but AI-targeted companies have signaled confidence through increased buyback announcements. Record YTD buyback authorizations suggest potential equity market support—but execution remains the wildcard.
Every few months, a headline appears declaring that the U.S. dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency is over. China is dumping Treasuries. Central banks are hoarding gold.
A signed will does not guarantee a smooth transfer of wealth. Families can do everything “right” on paper and still hit a wall the moment someone dies because the assets they need to gather and transfer are behind logins, devices, and two-factor authentication.
Since hostilities began in the Middle East three weeks ago, I’ve urged investors to stay calm and resist the temptation to panic-sell. While I still stand by that advice, it’s important to point out that this conflict isn’t resolving as quickly as initially expected.
The key swing factor remains oil prices. If the conflict ends within this window, we still expect only limited impacts on our economic and asset‑class outlooks.
In February, market sentiment was shaped by escalating US-Iran geopolitical tensions and sector-specific selloffs driven by concerns about AI’s potential disruption to existing business models.
Last week, on March 19th, the S&P 500 closed below its 200-DMA for the first time since May 2025. The first instinct is to panic as media headlines talk about bear markets and financial crisis events. However, as we will explore today, the data says it depends entirely on the type of break: sustained or brief.
The simultaneous patent expiry of Ozempic’s active ingredient in China and India on Friday is a watershed moment. Until now, the revolutionary weight-loss drugs have been available largely to people with means.
As has been the case from day one when the first airstrikes began, the key factor in assessing economic and market impact is the duration of the effective Strait of Hormuz closure and resulting effects on prices of energy and other commodities. Prediction markets are split on whether the conflict ends by the end of May.
When geopolitical tensions flare up, the natural assumption is that gold should immediately surge. War breaks out, markets panic… and the metal rallies as investors rush to safety.
Skyrocketing oil prices were accompanied by mixed inflation readings last week. The headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate held steady in February at 2.4 percent annually, while core CPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, rose a modest 0.22 percent for the month.
In the aftermath of the first Internet stock-market bubble of the late 1990s the economy went into a relatively shallow recession starting in 2001. That recession was precipitated by a tight monetary policy, with the Federal Reserve setting short-term interest rates consistently above the pace of nominal GDP growth (real GDP growth plus inflation).;
In our recent article, "The Value Rotation Illusion," we explained that in the recent rotation from growth to value. In this follow-up, we take the three-tier earnings valuation framework we introduced in the previous article a step further to uncover true value stocks.
The worsening energy shock from the Iran War has raised risks of a more severe crisis. It may resolve quickly, but the longer it persists, the larger the possible economic damage. Asia and Europe are most vulnerable.
Investing is an exercise in decision making under uncertainty. No single signal—no matter how intuitive or well supported by history—captures the full complexity of markets.
Chris Tessin, Founder and Portfolio Manager at Acuitas Investments, discusses the firm’s multi-manager approach to global small- and micro-cap investing, as well as the launch of its first ETF, the Acuitas Small Cap Active ETF (AIMS). Bill Mann, Chief Investment Strategist at Motley Fool Asset Management, breaks down three recently launched factor-based ETFs and how they bring The Motley Fool’s “Foolish” investment philosophy to life through systematic stock selection.
If tensions de-escalate soon, there could be relatively little impact on international markets. However, risks will rise if global energy supplies face a prolonged disruption.
2026 has kicked off with investors on the lookout for opportunities in a broadening market. While tech remains an important part of countless investor portfolios, it’s not the only category offering opportunities.
War with Iran is adding a new level of chaos to already uncertain times. What about your retirement savings? Is your investment portfolio safe? Is it time to think about pulling out of the stock market?
Markets hate uncertainty, and right now there’s plenty to go around. The outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict, following by Iranian retaliation against oil infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, has sent crude prices surging and shipping rates soaring to record levels.
In this article, we explore how this speculative environment and the aggressive trading in passive ETFs are playing out. We also examine how to identify and capitalize on sector and factor rotations, turning passive investors' aggressive behavior into an opportunity.
While we don’t find much reason to underweight our allocation to U.S. stocks based on the current high degree of concentration, we do believe that the valuation of the overall U.S. stock market today is consistent with low expected returns relative to safer fixed income investments.
Thematic exchange traded fund assets in the U.S. have surged from $22 billion in 2015 to over $193 billion today, but not all thematic funds deliver on their promises, according to a new FactSet analysis.
Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining investment themes of this cycle. Yes, we may be hearing about the AI pullback as a valuation reset. However, that doesn’t change the underlying scale of adoption for this theme. And that’s evident even “under the hood” of ETFs.
February data shows investors abandoning growth strategies for cyclical sectors as value funds attract $15 billion in new assets.
The war in Iran and the risk that it could lead to a wider regional conflict have roiled global financial markets. Oil and European gas prices have spiked while equity markets have seen sharp declines.
Notwithstanding developments in the Iran conflict, there are important leadership shifts still at play within the equity market, which emphasize the importance of diversification.
January is a time to revisit financial plans, make changes, and ensure objectives are being met. This review isn’t about exposing bad financial plans, but instead finding what is outdated and revising.
The Magnificent 7 stocks have been leading the market for the better part of three years, but time and the evolution of the AI investment cycle are revealing degrees of “magnificence” as fortunes diverge. Active equity investor Ibrahim Kanan is eyeing the race as the baton is passed to the next leg of prospective market leaders.
Looking beyond recent dividend strategies' performance, LPL Research asks and answers the question, “How should I think about dividend stocks or building an equity income portfolio?”
Stocks were choppier in January, but most areas of the market showed gains. The one laggard was large-cap growth, which was strong in recent years and for most of 2025, but trailed other stock indices.
Is quality broken? This has been a recurring question in our recent conversations with investors as quality has meaningfully underperformed over the past several quarters.
International value stocks outpaced US equities in 2025. See the five catalysts fueling the shift—and why investors still have time to act.
Strong performance and dividend yields amid volatility — typically, an investor may need to sacrifice one in order to maximize the other.
Our framing and outlook for the U.S. economy and markets in recent months can be summarized by what I like to call the “three Bs”: Bifurcation and Broadening, all within the context of a delicate economic Balance.
Artificial intelligence-themed companies certainly propelled the stock market to greater heights in 2025. Near the tail of end of the year, however, market experts questioned whether certain companies benefiting from the AI theme had the underlying fundamentals to support their lofty valuations.
It took a price of $111 billion, backed by $46 billion from tech billionaire Larry Ellison, plus the promise to pay $7 billion in compensation if the deal failed.
Nvidia Corp. has one of the strongest growth stories in the market after posting blowout earnings on Wednesday. So why is it trading at a level that looks like a value stock?
Let’s develop a scenario to explain the importance of foreign exchange (FX) markets and specifically, the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Say, for example, Thailand, one of the world’s major rice exporters, engages in trade with Brazil, the second‑largest cotton exporter.
In a notable shift for the start of 2026, the S&P 500 is experiencing a divergence in factor performance. Typically, high beta (aggressive, high-risk) and low volatility (defensive, safe-haven) factors sit on opposite sides of the seesaw. When one goes up, the other usually comes down.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America strategists are urging clients to buy Venezuelan global bonds with large piles of unpaid interest, betting they could outperform ahead of a potential debt restructuring.
Nvidia Corp.’s earnings report on Wednesday afternoon comes at a critical time for the US stock market with investors increasingly nervous about the outlook for artificial intelligence.
Money – everybody wants it, but few actually have it. As shown in recent financial statistics, the “wealth gap” in America continues to grow between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”
Day after day, Wall Street investors fret that artificial intelligence could disrupt white-collar industries by turning expert human judgment into code.
Fourth-quarter GDP came in at 1.4%, a sharp markdown from early estimates that were inflated by a temporary collapse in the trade deficit.
Raymond James Chief Economist Eugenio J. Alemán discusses current economic conditions
Given the divergence between the calm market surface and the volatility of its underlying stocks' returns, let's get a better grip on the market’s undercurrent and decipher what it may be trying to tell us.
Until I read Hannah Ritchie’s new book, “Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers,” I was inclined to believe the view of Mark Mills, a former senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, that a transition away from society’s dependence on hydrocarbons “is not feasible in any meaningful time frame.” But Ritchie changed my mind.
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.
