Events of the last several weeks have not changed our long-term outlook, but we have become a bit more cautious in the short term.

“Quality” stocks are said to offer a measure of portfolio stability ― a trait that becomes more valuable when markets are volatile and/or the business cycle is growing older. Both are true today. Tony DeSpirito offers his take on investing for quality.

While cash can be comforting, it may come at a cost to an investor’s ending wealth.

It’s okay to encourage and receive online reviews, as long as certain guidelines are met.

Protests in Hong Kong create a political balancing act for China. With the world watching, a patient approach may be in China's best interest.

We see several areas of opportunity for muni investors in the second half of 2019.

We believe the macro environment is supportive of stocks that are growing their dividend payments.

Don’t fall for claims by highly respected asset managers that factor-based investing isn’t working. Factor-based strategies have outperformed capitalization-weighted indices over long time horizons.

The Bretton Woods agreement established a system of fixed exchange rates that lasted until Nixon ended foreign dollar holders’ ability to swap for gold. Since 1971, most developed nations have adopted floating exchange rates and open capital accounts.

The bull market in U.S. Treasury bonds is in full swing and there is plenty more return to be made.

U.S. consumer confidence is high, but confidence in China’s economic measurements is not.

We saw the largest stock market drop of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 800 points (over 3 percent), an even bigger decline than we saw earlier this month. Plus, we are on track for the worst week of the year. It is a tough time for markets, and investors are worried. But should they be?

Yesterday, the financial media burst into flames as the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell below that of the 2-Year Treasury. In other words, the yield curve became negative, or “inverted.”

Investors are suddenly much more concerned about the political transition in Argentina. The country’s stock of debt is large but not unmanageable, with a path to avoid default and to boost growth in sight.

Each year, high-net-worth families spend huge sums preparing their assets for transition to their heirs. Why do the majority of those plans fail?

In light of the Federal Reserve’s recent interest-rate cut, our Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai takes a look at how US central bank thinking seems to have changed, and whether there’s a risk of having interest rates too close to zero.

On August 5, China allowed its currency, the yuan, to depreciate against the U.S. dollar. It wasn’t a particularly large move, a little more than 1.5%, but it breached 7 yuan per $ -- a level seen as “psychologically important.”

Sustainable investing is often misunderstood. Many investors think a sustainable agenda limits a portfolio to a narrow piece of the market. In fact, plenty of stocks can help investors create social benefits while generating strong returns—if you know how to find them.

Investors who have watched the U.S. stock market over the last decade might be wondering whether the appeal of value stocks has been whittled away by a long run of underperformance.

Current economic conditions do not look recessionary, but risks are rising and if we’re heading into one, it’s possible it already started.

Larry Kotlikoff will share some provocative ideas on what caused the Great Recession. As you’ll read, he demolishes the explanations Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue want us to believe. Instead, he argues that our financial system was built to fail, failed spectacularly, and was then rebuilt to die another day.

The last few days have highlighted the inherent fragility in markets – and the growth outlook globally.

Factors other than U.S.-China friction drive the region's progress.

The establishment of local bond markets has been the single most important structural change in Emerging Markets (EM) in the past quarter of a century. Many investors still fear local markets due to FX volatility, but EM local bonds have performed better overall than US Treasuries and US stocks.

To understand how impact management can be applied in practice, our Franklin Real Asset Advisors team, in collaboration with consulting firm Tideline, took an example from the real estate sector and considered the specific demands of social infrastructure.

On August 5, 2019, the US dollar-Chinese yuan (USDCNY) exchange rate broke above 7.0 yuan to the dollar, an important threshold for many market watchers. Not surprisingly, China and the US had very different takes on the CNY weakness.

In Part I, we referenced the basic philosophies of David Hume and Adam Smith and how their writings evolved into the economic theory of supply and demand.

People tend to think in paradigms. We adopt a certain worldview or narrative for how things work and then impose them on reality. The problem is that our worldview or paradigm may not be true.

The monthly factor report details those factors that influenced regional and global equity performance in July as well as over extended time periods.

It is no longer absurd to think that the nominal yield on U.S. Treasury securities could go negative.

Readers should be aware that tariffs are a misguided way to deal with bilateral trade deficits and misbehavior on the part of certain trading partners. Tariffs are a tax on U.S. consumers and businesses. Tariffs raise costs, invite retaliation, disrupt supply chains, and dampen business fixed investment.

The manufacturing side of the economy is showing increasing signs of weakness, but the consumer still looks healthy—which side wins and what should investors do?

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.

In July, U.S. markets were up overall, between 1 percent and 2 percent, and bonds also had gains as interest rates declined. Although international markets were down slightly, by about 1 percent or so, they remained above their long-term trend lines. From a financial perspective, July wasn’t a great month, but it was a pretty good one for investors.

Expectation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates has been a primary factor driving investor sentiment and actions in recent months. It should be noted, though, that the considerations and actions of the Fed are part of a complex ecosystem that has financial, political and behavioral components that come with considerable uncertainty.

The “dog days” of summer are upon us, and the “out of office” email bounce backs have increased accordingly. But while many Northern Hemisphere workers may be taking their summer breaks, the global economy continues to grind along.

Mixing vegetables together may be fine for food (although it’s not my favorite), but it’s nonsense in the investment world. When you hire a money manager (e.g., a mutual fund), do you really care how good his or her sibling managers are if he or she is awful? Do your due diligence on the fund, not the family.

Real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth rose at a 2.1% annual rate in the advance estimate for 2Q19, a bit better than the median forecast (+1.8%), but growth was concentrated in just two components, consumer spending and government. Everything else was down.

Russ discusses how central banks once again have investors’ backs.

I’m a firm believer that your thoughts manifest your future. It’s very hard to make money and be successful when you’re always expecting the worst to happen.

The financial press is replete with stories about what possible calamity awaits if the Federal Reserve (the Fed) does not cut the fed funds rate soon. Services that track the odds of a cut (at this writing) are calling with near certainty for one in July.

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.

There may come a time, sooner than you think, when the world economy simply cannot operate to its full potential without bitcoin, Facebook’s proposed Libra or some other large-scale digital currency.

How did active equity managers fare during Q2? Check out the latest insights from our manager research team.

The biggest threat may be the Fed and interest rates. In May, Powell said it was unlikely the Fed would cut rates. As soon as a month later, he indicated that the case for a rate cut was strengthening.

When I talk to an advisor who is unhappy with their current broker dealer firm but scared to make a change, I understand why. Here’s how I chose the wrong firm and what I would have done differently. There’s a powerful lesson in it for advisors who are making the same decision.

Retail sales results for June were stronger than expected, consistent with a pickup in consumer spending growth in 2Q19 (although that follows a weak 1Q19). Industrial production was flat, but manufacturing output picked up a bit in June (still in an overall downtrend in 2019).

The Etrade commercial aired during Super Bowl XLI in 2007. The following year, the financial crisis set in, markets plunged, and investors lost 50%, or more, of their wealth. However, this wasn’t the first time it happened.

It has been nearly 20 years since the tech bubble reached its peak. We see an investment pricing behavior similar to the tech boom. Then it was tech versus non-tech. Now, it is high growth versus everything else. As a new dementia takes over, we position differently.

Now that gold has broken through the $1,450 an ounce level, a six-high year high, the next big test is $1,500. And as I’ve said before, it can do this in the blink of an eye under the right conditions.