It was a positive quarter for emerging markets equities.

Investors attempting to manage volatility in their portfolio often employ defensive equity strategies to define their optimal market exposure and risk profile. Such strategies are designed to help limit losses on the downside, while also allowing investors to participate in the market’s gains.

Eight of the nine indexes on our world watch list have posted gains through July 7, 2025.

Multiple jobholders accounted for 5.3% of civilian employment in June.

What does the ratio of unemployment claims to the civilian labor force tell us about where we are in the business cycle and recession risk?

Sharp U.S. policy shift and elevated uncertainty reflect an evolution of the new macro regime. What matters: getting a grip on uncertainty by identifying its core features.

The first half of 2025 may not have been kind to private equity, but new data suggests that things could turn around soon.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released its June Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), with the headline composite index at 50.8. This was consistent with the forecast and moves the index back into expansion territory after one month of contraction.

The June U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from S&P Global came in at 52.9, above the 52.8 forecast. The reading marks the 29th consecutive month of expansion but was a slight slow down from May's 53.7 reading.

With mortgage rates still near 7%, even relatively wealthy households are choosing to rent rather than buy, and it’s easy to understand why.

Israel-Iran hostilities brought a short-term market focus on oil. Longer term, artificial intelligence (AI) electricity needs could create a power shortage, as well as opportunities and risks for investors.

On the latest edition of Market Week in Review, Global Chief Investment Strategist Paul Eitelman explored key drivers behind the strong performance in markets. He also provided an update on a proposed U.S. tax measure.

In recent months, markets have whipsawed amid changes in trade policy, geopolitical shocks, concerns about fiscal sustainability, challenges to central bank independence, technological advancements, and earnings surprises in both directions. Despite this, stocks and bonds in much of the world are close to where they began the year.

For good reasons, many investors have a love-hate relationship with commodity investments. Operationally, the annoying K-1 form complicates tax filing, although thankfully the industry has started to launch “no K-1” funds.

Your firm's culture should reflect your values and your mission.

This year’s formidable challenges have clarified strategic lessons for equity investors to apply in the coming months

Netflix Inc. investors face a dilemma: Continue to bet on a stock that has delivered best-in-class returns over the past year or reconsider shares that increasingly look like they’re priced for perfection.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 49.0 in June, indicating contraction in U.S. manufacturing for a fourth straight month. The latest reading was above the forecast of 48.8.

U.S. manufacturing expanded for the sixth consecutive month in June, with the S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI reaching a three-year high of 52.9. This was higher than the forecast of 52.0. However, tariffs continued to affect the sector, leading to increased inventory buildup and a sharp acceleration in inflation.

Readers of a certain age will no doubt recall President Ronald Reagan launching one of the most ambitious military buildups in American history.

Until that US government debt-crisis moment arrives, which we will get through, things will muddle along.

With the release of May's report on personal incomes and outlays, we can now take a closer look at "real" disposable personal income per capita. To two decimal places, disposable income per capita was down 0.60% month-over-month, marking the first monthly decline since January 2022. When adjusted for inflation, real disposable income per capita was down 0.73%. 

Surprisingly, oil prices are receding after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

The Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey revealed regional activity continued to decline in June, with the composite index at -2. This marks the 22nd consecutive month the index has been negative. Meanwhile, future expectations rose for the first time in six months, increasing from 5 in May to 9 in June.

Existing home sales unexpectedly inched up in May. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales rose 0.8% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million units.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) pending home sales index rose more than expected in May, coming in at 72.6. This marks a 1.8% increase from April, higher than the anticipated 0.2% rise, and a 1.1% increase from one year ago.

Roaring returns for US IPOs are driving fresh optimism that activity will pick up steam later this year and into 2026, even as worries over geopolitics and President Donald Trump’s tariffs hang over the market.

Investors attempting to manage volatility in their portfolio often employ defensive equity strategies to define their optimal market exposure and risk profile. Such strategies are designed to help limit losses on the downside, while also allowing investors to participate in the market’s gains.

While both valuation and technical factors suggest to us that the dollar may continue to weaken in the near-term, we would caution investors against reading too much concerning the US’ long-term economic stability into further dollar weakness.

Home prices declined in April as the benchmark national index fell for a second straight month. The seasonally adjusted home prices for the national index saw a 0.4% decrease month-over-month and a 2.7% increase year-over-year. This marks the third straight month of year-over-year declines and is the smallest annual gain since August 2023. After adjusting for inflation, the monthly change fell to -0.8% and annual change fell to -1.5%.

The U.S. Dollar Index, when measured against a basket of other major currencies, has declined by approximately 10% this year through mid-June and is currently trading at its lowest level in three years.

Like all appetites, the consumer typically reaches some point of appeasement. That could be the case for central bank gold purchases, which have started to show signs of receding. But market experts do not see it faltering anytime soon.

Looking back on it, the first quarter of the year was a complete anomaly. Real GDP declined at a 0.2% annual rate, and the left side of the political spectrum said this proved current policies were a disaster.

VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”

While the bond market is in general pretty efficient in its pricing, there may be times when it can be significantly out of line with investor expectations. At such moments, investors should be well-rewarded for making the effort to decode what the bond market is saying.

Given the uncertainty of future events, global investors seek a “safe haven” for investment dollars. As such, U.S. Treasury Bonds and the U.S. dollar appreciate given their perceived “financial safety.” Last week, global investors were already starting to make that shift with the dollar rising.

Market concentration rewarded passive investors who held market weights in the surging mega-caps. Since late 2014, passive index returns ranked in the 10th percentile of all portfolios in eVestment’s US Large Cap Growth Equity universe. In other words, only 10% of active managers outperformed.

At Parametric, our years of experience have taught us that markets can swing up and down quickly and without warning. Since no one can time these swings, we believe it's imperative to seek both loss harvesting and benchmark tracking simultaneously.

A 529 plan is a popular tool for saving for college expenses. When it comes to who maintains control over the 529 plan’s assets, in most cases, it’s the account owner. This is often a parent or grandparent. The owner also has the ability to make investment choices and manage withdrawals.

Travel on all roads and streets increased in April. The 12-month moving average was up 0.12% month-over-month and was up 0.93% year-over-year. However, if we factor in population growth, the 12-month MA of the civilian population-adjusted data (age 16-and-over) was up 0.06% MoM and down 0.97% YoY.

How big data, AI and the human element can combine to better pursue consistent alpha.

Smart beta strategies have endured a prolonged stretch of disappointing results, falling short of investor expectations. This article explores the underlying causes of that performance and outlines why the conditions ahead could be more favorable.

A record share of the world’s central banks plans to accumulate more gold over the next 12 months, drawn by bullion’s performance during times of crisis and protection against inflation.

Builder confidence fell for a second straight month in June as elevated rates, tariffs, and economic uncertainty dragged builder sentiment to its lowest level in 2.5 years.

Bonds hit a headwind in May as rates rose, but year to date, they have helped offset some of the volatility seen in stocks. See Table 2 for bond index returns for May 2025, Q1 2025, and YTD.

President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of a new trade agreement with China is the kind of headline that gives markets a sense of relief. As I overheard this week at Wealth Management’s EDGE conference, which I attended in Boca Raton, Florida, we may have dodged a recession.

This week’s market resilience in the face of rising geopolitical tensions underscores an important structural shift. The Israeli strikes and broader Middle East dynamics, while concerning, sparked only a modest reaction—a far cry from the volatility such events triggered in past decades.

It sounded like something that should have come from the sports desk — a $14.3 billion transfer fee for a young up-and-coming prospect as Meta Platforms Inc. looks to rebuild its team for the tough season ahead.

Tariff policy has clouded expectations for the second half of the year, but there are ways to navigate through the fog.