Last year featured a jaw-dropping list of extremes, from a once-in-a-century pandemic to record-breaking market moves. Howard Marks writes in his latest memo about approaching the investment environment left in 2020’s wake – one generating many questions and no easy answers.
Senate Democrats launched their effort to pass sweeping voting rights legislation Wednesday, which could become the centerpiece of an attempt to weaken the chamber’s filibuster rule.
The 60/40 portfolio saw investors through the cataclysm of the pandemic. The global recovery is now proving an even tougher test.
A founder-driven growth model isn’t sustainable or efficient.
For many clients, the most important benefits of a foundation are to ensure that the next generation will be responsible stewards of their values and wealth.
Relying on only historical U.S. returns creates an unrealistic picture of retirement outcomes. Our analysis shows that U.S. data are an anomaly among the broader global universe, and that our low-yield environment forebodes lower-than-average equity returns.
There are many ways to go wrong in choosing a TAMP. Here are two no one is talking about.
A little over a hundred years ago, the United States emerged from the double whammy of a world war and deadly pandemic. Eager to get back to “normal” life, Americans went on a decade-long spending splurge, buying cars and radios and stocks.
With the new SEC ad rule at the Federal Register, the 60-day waiting period is in effect. Advisory firms who take the time to plan will successfully leverage reviews to grow their firm.
Growth stocks are a different breed, and they cannot be valued in the same way you value average businesses.
In November 2020, an Hermès handbag sold at Christie’s for a cool HK$3.4 million, or US$437,330. It set a new sales record for a handbag of any kind according to the auction house, which described the item as being made from the hide of a rare white Nile crocodile.
There is significant variation in how countries have handled the pandemic, managed fiscal and monetary policy, and supported their economies, according to Templeton Global Macro.
US core inflation likely will be volatile during 2021, as underlying economic forces continue to rebalance from the pandemic.
A U.S. recovery turbocharged by President Joe Biden’s stimulus package will help power a faster than expected global economic upswing that risks leaving Europe behind, according to OECD forecasts.
Dirt-cheap fares are popping up from airlines brave enough to expand or start out amid the Covid crisis, as they try to eke out sales and get a jump on competitors that have pared back operations.
To use Asset-Map for business development, your first step is to identify a proponent of Asset-Map so that they use it and experience its effectiveness and value. The question is how to get to that point.
The region’s health care sector is setting a brisk pace for growth and innovation. Our team discusses the opportunity set.
China’s economy should see a soft landing as stimulus is reduced, but the drag on global growth may place a burden on developed economies to keep stimulus taps open for longer.
There may be some incredible opportunities for investors in companies that produce the metals, minerals and other raw materials that will be needed with an increase in spending.
The opportunity cost for inflation protection is high—is it worth the cost?
One of President Biden’s early executive orders extended the temporary national moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent that begin on September 4, 2020. The moratorium is intended to help renters struggling to make rent payments because of the economic impact of the pandemic.
Everything you’ve been taught about elevator pitches is wrong. I’m here to show you a much simpler way.
The recent selloff of US growth market darlings reflects increasing questions about whether their growth potential still justifies exceptionally high valuations. Away from the froth, growth investors can still find solid return potential in quality companies with profitable, sustainable business models.
With very low inflation expectations for this year, Rich analyzes the shifts in the global and US economies that could impact inflation and explains how to position your portfolio for this change.
I was recently introduced to an impressive tool that organizes and simplifies the planning process, and shows clients how to meet their financial goals.
As more plan participants worry about retirement income security, demand for guaranteed income solutions is growing—and plan sponsors are pondering the options.
"This pandemic has magnified every existing inequality in our society – like systemic racism, gender inequality, and poverty." Melinda Gates
Much statistical analysis in finance depends on the assumption that variables have normal distributions. This assumption is far from correct. As a result, as Nassim Nicholas Taleb has rightly pointed out, most statistical results in finance are wrong. Now, a disciple of Taleb has tried to extend Taleb’s research by relating it to an obscure mathematical concept.
The markets took a tumble to start this week as rising interest rates and inflationary pressures begin to weigh on outlooks. Those worries quickly diminished as Jerome Powell changed the rules to reassure Wall Street that “QE” is here to stay.
Yields have jumped so much, in fact, that they’re giving stocks a serious run for their money. The 10-year yield is now higher than the S&P 500 dividend yield, which may have added to the selling pressure that cost stocks close to 2.5% yesterday.
What normalcy will it be? I don’t expect to simply go back to the way things were. The economy as it was structured in December 2019 is gone forever. The world is different now. The economy will be different, too.
The Queen’s Gambit miniseries helped propel Netflix to a winning earnings report last quarter, but in fact the chess strategy it is named after has helped propel chess players to winning games for decades.
For the last year or two big tech has been hot, so has new tech. For prudence sake, it might be time to take a little money off the table. No one can time the market, and the bubble has risen far further and for a lot longer than any rational person could have predicted.
Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Draghi, has a well-earned reputation for turning around difficult situations. But can he reverse Italy’s relative economic decline? And what does his program mean for Italian bond yields?
Even the most promising future can change drastically by a life-threatening event. A healthy individual may require around-the-clock care and supervision after an accident, creating the need to solve complex financial planning problems.
Rather than worrying about the prospects of higher long-term expected inflation, the US Federal Reserve is exuding confidence that it can maintain price stability should the need ever arise. It should think again, before the inflation genie has escaped from the bottle.
Target date funds should be designed to reduce the risk of rash selling.
Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Yuanfudao is seeking fresh funding at a valuation of more than $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said, as the cash-burning battle in China’s online education arena shows no sign of abating.
A large fiscal package geared toward pandemic relief will likely boost U.S. growth even further in 2021, but long-term inflationary risks are still balanced.
Looking at the latest economic data reveals V-shaped recoveries in many goods-based indicators; while services has more catch-up to do.
Many investors think there are only two options in a market where participants have become overly exuberant, either 'I want in' or 'Get me out.' Our strategies are more nuanced, and we believe fit better with what we expect to transpire.
That there was a price “bubble” that burst in the American political economy from 1835 to 1845 is beyond question. The challenge is to reconcile the data sets for commodity and securities prices, interest rates and production volumes with the narratives of what happened.
Rather than going deep into one theme, this week we will do a “Random Thoughts” from the Frontline. Today we will cover several topics in shorter form: valuations, infrastructure, the debacle in Texas, and a lot more.
Millions of Texans were without power this week when the state was hit with a record setting winter storm. An overhaul of its aging infrastructure would require massive amounts of metals and other materials, which would be positive for miners and producers.
One of my favorite investing legends is Oaktree Management’s Howard Marks. His investing wisdom and in-depth knowledge of investor psychology and market dynamics are unparalleled. Given the “speculative mania” we continue to watch in the market, I thought a review of some of his previous thoughts is appropriate.
Apart from some high-profile downgrades, the muni credit markets finished 2020 buoyed by breakthrough vaccines and signs that state and local tax collections were better than anticipated.
A vaccine-fueled economic recovery and investors’ surging appetite for risk mean that the European equity rally can keep going in 2021, according to strategists.A vaccine-fueled economic recovery and investors’ surging appetite for risk mean that the European equity rally can keep going in 2021, according to strategists.
The Year of the Ox looks bullish for China with economists and analysts forecasting GDP growth of 8.1% and earnings growth of 18% for the MSCI China Index. But February holds key developments for China that could impact this outlook, including stock delistings, trade, and COVID-19.
A brief monthly update on what's happening in the municipal bond market.
Here are my five favorite podcasts for financial advisors in growth mode.
