As investors seek new sources of income beyond traditional fixed income, derivative-based strategies offer different ways to seek income from equity markets. Join ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman for a discussion on Autocallable Income and High Income ETFs, how these strategies work, and their potential roles in advisor portfolios.
Join Amy Y. Zhang, CFA, Portfolio Manager of the Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (FRTY), for an in-depth discussion on today's mid-cap opportunity set and where she is uncovering high-conviction ideas across transformative themes such as artificial intelligence and healthcare innovation.
Join NEOS Investments, an award-winning ETF issuer, for an educational discussion designed to help financial professionals better understand the evolving options-based ETF landscape and the key considerations when evaluating income-oriented solutions for client portfolios.
With the Fed resuming rate hikes, inflation remaining above target, and market volatility returning as a persistent feature of the investment landscape, advisors are increasingly turning to income not tied to duration or credit risk.
The new SPYM ETF mutual fund share class, SPYMX, may yet pick up some strong new flows with its appeal to institutional investors.
Valid until the market close on November 31, 2026
This article provides an update on the monthly moving averages we track for the S&P 500 and the Ivy Portfolio after the close of the last business day of the month.
Investors often treat growth and dividends as opposing camps, but in practice, this means the two can complement each other.
Equity investors are meting out some of the harshest punishments ever for companies that miss expectations, just as strategists sound the alarm that earnings growth has likely peaked.
Advisor Perspectives is launching a new website in January 2027. Learn what’s changing, and what to expect from the updated experience.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep rates unchanged, maintaining the fed funds trading range at 3.75% to 4.00%. After some early back and forth on the chances for a rate hike at this gathering, this result was largely expected. In fact, fed funds futures were pricing in more than a 90% chance that the fed funds target would remain unchanged.
Franklin Templeton plans to launch two ETFs Thursday that use stock dividends to buy bitcoin instead of more shares.
Royce Investment Partners: Co-CIO Francis Gannon details why recent volatility looks like the typical pattern of a US small-cap leadership cycle.
Investors may be overlooking one of the most established drivers of long-term wealth creation: dividend yield. In his October insight, Richard Bernstein, Global Head of Macro & Customized Investing, examines the broad availability of dividend opportunities, how income-focused stocks have performed relative to growth stocks, and why dividend yield may help investors balance portfolios increasingly geared toward capital gains and higher risk.
After overshooting projections for years, AI capex is slowing down. The shift doesn’t spell the end of the AI trade but a move to a more mature, predictable cycle that favors higher-quality borrowers.
Milton Friedman famously said, “inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon,” emphasizing that sustained inflation occurs when money expands persistently faster than real output.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh champions parsimony in central bank communications and loathes so-called forward guidance. But he’s said plenty about the future of artificial intelligence: He’s an arch optimist on the technology who thinks it will help him vanquish inflation.
Inflation remains a hot topic, directly impacting everything from your grocery bill to interest rates. As of the latest data, two key inflation gauges — the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — show that prices are still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, with the core PCE at 3.1% and core CPI at 2.6%.
Could the near to medium term finally see value ETFs take the starring role back from growth? Value indices have provided some steady returns this year, but the question is, can they accelerate into the new year? Economic headwinds and concentration risk for the AI hyperscalers could see value stocks outperform. The American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ) presents a strong candidate to do well if value stocks do.
Wall Street’s recent risk aversion toward stocks may have created an opening for a sharp rebound, particularly in technology shares, if Anthropic PBC’s planned initial public offering reignites enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
How many eyeball-grabbing headlines can we stuff into the next few weeks? For tech investors, AI concerns mount, with rising credit default swap prices among the hyperscalers and sagging neocloud equities.
With the recent movements in both the stock and bond markets, there was some noteworthy news that got kind of lost. Indeed, the U.S. government posted a $1.99 trillion budget deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2026. While technically it is not a record amount of red-ink, it represented the largest non-COVID-related shortfall ever recorded in modern history.
It’s extremely hard for a chief executive officer to get investors to turn positive about her company when it has posted annual net losses since 2020 and likely won’t make money until 2028. JetBlue Airways Corp.’s Joanna Geraghty made a good start on Tuesday.
LPL Research examines three keys to earnings season: broader profit growth, margin pressures, and high expectations amid continued AI investment.
Gold has traditionally been one of the most popular ways for investors to gain commodity exposure, but its recent weakness highlights the differences across various commodities. While precious metals have struggled, energy and certain agricultural commodities have seen stronger returns. Existing diversified strategies are also giving investors more ways to access commodities beyond traditional gold funds.
Founded in 2019 with backing from Japanese investment holding company SoftBank, SB Energy began as a U.S.-based utility-scale renewable energy developer. Today, SB Energy has three lines of business—power, data centers, and solutions.
Welcome to open enrollment season, when millions of Americans are yet again wracked with anxiety over the sizable chunk of their paychecks being sucked up by healthcare costs.
Reasonable minds can disagree about the ideal scope of government, but no one argues against nations providing for their defense. As conflicts emerge and tensions rise, defense spending will take a larger role in all nations’ budgets, with effects that will flow across the economy.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index® rose significantly more than expected in October, rising 7.5 points to 91.7. The index was far above the forecast of 81.2.
Income ETF strategies have exploded in popularity in recent years. Historically, investors have looked to bond coupons to add durability to their portfolios. The explosion of ETF popularity, launches, and adoption, however, has seen some intriguing options join the fray. The Goldman Sachs Municipal Income ETF (GMUB), which hits its three-year ETF milestone next year, represents just such a strategy.
Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. shares have gone separate ways since the companies’ last earnings reports as Wall Street increasingly digs in on the way heavy artificial intelligence spending is weighing on corporate bottom lines.
Investing giant Pacific Investment Management Co. helped supercharge the artificial intelligence debt boom with billions of dollars in lending in 2025 — and has cut positions just in time to skirt losses and eke out a profit.
Hungary unveiled an inter-governmental agreement with the US on nuclear energy, a lucrative area that may bolster ties with Washington following the ouster of Viktor Orban.
Anybody who has lived through the past quarter century or so is familiar with the concept of a debt doom loop. Big government deficits, say, cause higher interest rates, making the government pay more to borrow and also bail out the banks that own its sinking bonds, driving it even deeper into debt. Rinse, repeat.
Investors concerned about market turbulence don’t have to sacrifice return potential to reduce risk. Historically, short-duration high-yield bonds have delivered returns neck-and-neck with those of the broader high-yield market but with substantially less volatility. The recent rise in yields makes today an especially compelling entry point.
Gallup estimates that 70% of a team’s overall success lies with the leader of the team. Here are five takeaways from this year’s class that might be helpful, whether you are firmly in a leadership role, leading without formal authority, or presently climbing the ladder at your firm.
As information and AI-powered insights become more accessible, experience, judgment, and discernment are becoming increasingly valuable. The advisor's role is evolving from simply providing answers to helping clients interpret complexity, evaluate trade-offs, make decisions with confidence, and execute those decisions effectively.
Economic data that continued to show a strong U.S. economy, housing aside, took a back seat this week as investors once again focused on potential risks to future growth: rising energy prices, sticky inflation, and most importantly, questions about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
There was very little macroeconomic news last week, but there was certainly no shortage of action in the markets. We saw an extraordinarily sharp rotation out of growth and into value, with both the Russell Value Index and the S&P Value Index reaching all-time highs even as the Nasdaq suffered one of its largest recent selloffs. That is a dramatic divergence, but historically it is not unprecedented.
Geopolitical tensions are already driving demand for energy exposure through rising oil and gas prices. Combining this cyclical strength with long-term AI momentum creates a strong potential for noticeable returns.
Clients want to understand how the advisor thinks, what they value, and what guides them when hard decisions arise. Your clients want to hear a familiar voice, not another generic, institutional message that could have come from any firm in the country.
Record ETF launches are compressing product shelf lives and raising closure risks. Learn the real costs for advisors and clients.
No one wants to pay more to fly, but travel-hungry US passengers are giving airlines little reason to halt price increases. Air travel demand is holding up and encouraging carriers to raise fares faster and further to make up for soaring jet fuel costs. Once up, prices will likely stay there even after the energy crunch subsides.
This growth is being fueled by massive spending on AI, which isn’t seen slowing anytime soon. Last week, Meta Platforms Inc. boosted its capital expenditure plans for the year. Wall Street anticipates that Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. will affirm or raise their AI spending plans when they report earnings this week.
With investor confidence in the artificial intelligence trade under pressure, traders are turning to healthcare stocks for refuge.
Anthropic PBC set itself a challenge by opening its books to prospective IPO investors right after a punishing week for the artificial intelligence trade. When Wall Street took a close look, it generally liked what it saw.
Ken Griffin told a room full of investors recently that we are “almost certainly” in an AI bubble. He may well be correct in that assessment, and there are plenty of media narratives that support that view.
Rick Polsinello, Christian Galipeau Discuss high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
The bond market is flashing levels not seen in nearly two decades. The 10-year Treasury yield is hovering near 5%, while real yields — measured by Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) — are at their highest since before the 2008 financial crisis.
Last year, U.S. charitable giving hit a record $617.20 billion, according to Giving USA. That’s the first time it’s ever topped $600 billion. Individuals gave $394.2 billion of that, foundations gave $117.15 billion, bequests added $62.19 billion and corporations contributed $43.67 billion.
Insurance-licensed RIAs grew fastest as fee-only firms’ asset share fell to 34%, though fiduciary clients report higher satisfaction.
Wall Street strategists are warning that declines in shares of AI cloud-computing providers will spill into other corners of the tech trade, potentially dragging the US stock market down to its June lows.
US stocks gained on Monday as investors digest Anthropic PBC’s filing for its initial public offering and look forward to key big tech earnings this week as well as the Federal Reserve’s next decision on Wednesday.
The Fed is hiking to prove it can beat inflation. The danger is that it proves the point with the one economy that can’t afford to lose.
In a world that must fund trillions of dollars of sovereign debt not just in the US but all over the world. Plus, other “normal” business investments which will be even more hundreds of billions, if not trillions. And that brings us to the thrust of today’s letter: who will get access to this money and what are the returns going to be?
In late October, VettaFi hosted an interactive virtual event featuring market leaders from State Street Investment Management, Janus Henderson, and Horizon. During the presentation, advisor sentiment polls revealed a decisive shift in how many are approaching their fixed income allocation. Higher yields have restored bonds as a compelling asset class. However, advisors were looking for tools beyond a traditional index-based bond ETF.
Our Director and Head of Canadian Investment Strategy BeiChen Lin sees two main forces behind this week’s more cautious market tone: higher energy prices and renewed questions around artificial intelligence investment.
With several provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) taking effect in 2026, year-end planning may present new opportunities and considerations for taxpayers. It’s important to assess personal finances before the end of the year to determine if action is needed.
The S&P 500 has been a reliable index for building exposure to U.S. stocks for years, and for good reason. It’s a valuable barometer for investors who want to make sure they are tracking large-cap U.S. equities.
The yield on the 10-year note finished October 23, 2026 at 5.00% while the 2-year note ended at 4.69%.
Retail investors who spent the past week loading up on semiconductor stocks at the center of the artificial intelligence trade are getting pummeled amid Thursday’s rout.
VettaFi has been recognized as the Best U.S. Index Overall Provider at the ETF Express U.S. ETF Awards 2026, building on a standout year of index innovation, strategic acquisitions, and product milestone growth across the ETP landscape.
Stocks fell on Friday with technology megacaps again trading lower after Thursday’s selloff. Oil prices rose, with the US midterm elections less than two weeks away. Investors were parsing mixed earnings from payments giant American Express Co. for signals about spending and the health of the economy.
Kalshi Inc. is opening up a new frontier in its rivalry with traditional financial exchanges by pitching the world’s largest banks and hedge funds on a futures market tied to US inflation.
The number one question we tend to receive is: Where are long-term interest rates headed from here? Right behind it is: How do I invest in the bond market, not only for right now but also for the future? In our opinion, investors should be prepared for this elevated “normal” rate setting for the foreseeable future. We wanted to address both questions by examining how to prepare a bond portfolio for a 5% world.
The Federal Reserve is engaged in a well-documented battle with high inflation. So, many advisors and fixed income investors are evaluating Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) and related ETFs.
The Magnificent Seven have dominated the technology trade, but investor attention is now shifting toward the MANGOS — a group of companies that place greater emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) rather than traditional megacap technology.
Markets look calm on the surface, but AI-driven shifts in capital allocation, earnings quality, and funding needs are reshaping risks and opportunities beneath the index level.
It’s become one of the most reliable trades in the stock market as sentiment toward artificial intelligence swings wildly: Whatever AI stocks do, Apple Inc. does the opposite.
Inflation rose 3.7% year-over-year in September, climbing from August's print of 3.4%. The headline figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was also higher than economist estimates of 3.6%.
Middle Eastern oil exports are approaching pre-war levels, but oil prices certainly aren’t. Brent remains above $100 a barrel, as the concern increasingly is not just how much oil is flowing today, but how much is left in reserve if supplies are disrupted again.
US stocks have continued to climb, but the gains have been far from uniform. In most sectors, a majority of companies have trailed the index. For investors, we believe the divide between a resilient index and uneven stock-level outcomes makes selectivity and fundamental research more important.
The boom is currently pushing interest rates up in two ways. First, the investment spending is boosting economic growth and straining the nation’s financing capacity. Second, the boom has been accompanied by a buoyant stock market, which is lifting household wealth and bolstering consumer spending.
As investors look beyond U.S. borders for fixed income diversification, Schwab Asset Management is entering the international bond ETF race with the Schwab International Bond ETF (SCIN). Expected to begin trading on the NYSE on October 21, 2026, SCIN pairs international investment-grade bond exposure with an ultra-low 0.06% net expense ratio.
The ETF industry has officially shattered last year’s record for annual product launches. A total of 1,159 new exchange-traded products have debuted year-to-date, eclipsing the full-year record of 1,143 funds set in 2025. With more than two months remaining in the year, the rapid pace highlights issuers’ relentless push to bring innovative strategies to market.
For the past two years, much of the conversation about artificial intelligence in wealth management has been hypothetical. Will advisors use AI? Will clients accept it? Will firms allow sensitive information to flow through large language models? Regulatory filings show that those questions are starting to be answered.
If you can channel energy into the best working relationship you could possibly have, that’s a good starting place. When it comes to cattiness and gossip, learn to walk away. Don’t do this in anger or as if you are better than they are. Instead, do it quietly and calmly.
A skeptical convert’s story transcends a snapshot and expands into a dynamic before-and-after. It speaks directly to the prospect who hasn’t been won over yet; the prospect searching your website or social channels for a good reason to stop their search.
In this webcast, we’ll explore how Buffer ETFs can complement traditional fixed-income allocations and help strengthen the defensive side of a portfolio.
Companies have postponed more than $5 billion in US and European debt sales this month as investors grow increasingly alarmed about rising interest rates, resurgent inflation, and potential cracks in the artificial-intelligence boom.
JPMorgan Asset Management has included Bitcoin in its long-term capital market assumptions for the first time, forecasting returns that could beat stocks, bonds and gold in a milestone for its Wall Street acceptance.
Elon Musk openly endorsed the prospect of combining SpaceX with Tesla Inc. in what would be the biggest-ever corporate merger, uniting assets from electric cars to AI data centers to rocket and satellite capabilities.
While don’t think of myself as being old, I can’t call myself young anymore. When I go to the gym, it takes me longer to stretch than to work out. People my age debate the best vitamin supplements, not the best burger joints. When I am asked for identification at the market, it isn’t to confirm I am old enough to buy beer; it’s to see whether I am eligible for a senior discount.
Corporate credit, monetary policy’s sleeping giant, is finally stirring. Cloud computing service provider CoreWeave Inc.’s bonds dropped this month, sending yields on its 2032 notes as high as 15%. Yields for junk and investment-grade debt reached the highest since 2025 and 2023, respectively.
Predicting the direction of interest rates is challenging enough when economic conditions are relatively stable. Add persistent inflation, a resilient economy, a cooling labor market, geopolitical uncertainty, and an expanding supply of Treasury debt, and the challenge becomes considerably greater.
The AI agent catalyst. Meta's September launch of Muse, a personal artificial intelligence (AI) agent designed to act on a user's behalf across digital workflows, crystallized the market's latest disruption narrative.
Fed rate hikes could climb further than markets expect, according to T. Rowe Price Capital Markets Strategist Tim Murray.
Narratives are almost always wrong: clever stories that explain the past and say nothing about the future. One may be right. AI may become the dominant technology of the century and render much of the present economy obsolete.
For many people, AI tools will be worth paying for. However, it is wise to decide, before any bills arrive, how much in very real money those tools are worth to you.
The S&P 500 Index rose, erasing its early-session losses, as big banks and healthcare companies climbed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rebounded to a slight gain after South Korean neocloud company Elice Inc. tanked in its trading debut, spurring concern about the sustainability of the global AI boom that continued to weigh on the sector.
Chris Galipeau and Taylor Topousis discuss high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
Exchange-Traded Products
Beyond Traditional Income: Exploring Autocallable and High Income ETFs
As investors seek new sources of income beyond traditional fixed income, derivative-based strategies offer different ways to seek income from equity markets. Join ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman for a discussion on Autocallable Income and High Income ETFs, how these strategies work, and their potential roles in advisor portfolios.
Uncovering High-Conviction Mid Cap Opportunities
Join Amy Y. Zhang, CFA, Portfolio Manager of the Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (FRTY), for an in-depth discussion on today's mid-cap opportunity set and where she is uncovering high-conviction ideas across transformative themes such as artificial intelligence and healthcare innovation.
Navigate the Evolving Landscape of Options-Based Income ETFs
Join NEOS Investments, an award-winning ETF issuer, for an educational discussion designed to help financial professionals better understand the evolving options-based ETF landscape and the key considerations when evaluating income-oriented solutions for client portfolios.
Yield 3.0 – How Autocallable ETFs Are Rewriting the Derivative Income Playbook
With the Fed resuming rate hikes, inflation remaining above target, and market volatility returning as a persistent feature of the investment landscape, advisors are increasingly turning to income not tied to duration or credit risk.
State Street Adds Mutual Fund Share for S&P 500 ETF SPYM
The new SPYM ETF mutual fund share class, SPYMX, may yet pick up some strong new flows with its appeal to institutional investors.
Moving Averages of the Ivy Portfolio and S&P 500: October 2026
Valid until the market close on November 31, 2026
This article provides an update on the monthly moving averages we track for the S&P 500 and the Ivy Portfolio after the close of the last business day of the month.
Pairing Quality Growth & High Yields: A Blueprint for All-Weather Portfolios
Investors often treat growth and dividends as opposing camps, but in practice, this means the two can complement each other.
Wall Street Turns Ruthless as Earnings Misses Fuel Deep Selloffs
Equity investors are meting out some of the harshest punishments ever for companies that miss expectations, just as strategists sound the alarm that earnings growth has likely peaked.
A New Look for Advisor Perspectives Is Coming in 2027
Advisor Perspectives is launching a new website in January 2027. Learn what’s changing, and what to expect from the updated experience.
Holding the Line
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep rates unchanged, maintaining the fed funds trading range at 3.75% to 4.00%. After some early back and forth on the chances for a rate hike at this gathering, this result was largely expected. In fact, fed funds futures were pricing in more than a 90% chance that the fed funds target would remain unchanged.
Franklin Templeton ETFs Turn Stock Dividends Into Bitcoin
Franklin Templeton plans to launch two ETFs Thursday that use stock dividends to buy bitcoin instead of more shares.
The US Small-Cap Bull Market: A Correction, Not a Conclusion
Royce Investment Partners: Co-CIO Francis Gannon details why recent volatility looks like the typical pattern of a US small-cap leadership cycle.
The Opposite of Narrow Breadth: Yield is Everywhere!
Investors may be overlooking one of the most established drivers of long-term wealth creation: dividend yield. In his October insight, Richard Bernstein, Global Head of Macro & Customized Investing, examines the broad availability of dividend opportunities, how income-focused stocks have performed relative to growth stocks, and why dividend yield may help investors balance portfolios increasingly geared toward capital gains and higher risk.
The AI Soft Landing Scenario
After overshooting projections for years, AI capex is slowing down. The shift doesn’t spell the end of the AI trade but a move to a more mature, predictable cycle that favors higher-quality borrowers.
Quarterly Review and Outlook Third Quarter 2026
Milton Friedman famously said, “inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon,” emphasizing that sustained inflation occurs when money expands persistently faster than real output.
Warsh’s AI Optimism May Box Him In at the Fed
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh champions parsimony in central bank communications and loathes so-called forward guidance. But he’s said plenty about the future of artificial intelligence: He’s an arch optimist on the technology who thinks it will help him vanquish inflation.
Two Measures of Inflation: September 2026
Inflation remains a hot topic, directly impacting everything from your grocery bill to interest rates. As of the latest data, two key inflation gauges — the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — show that prices are still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, with the core PCE at 3.1% and core CPI at 2.6%.
Is Now the Moment for Value ETFs? The Case for VALQ
Could the near to medium term finally see value ETFs take the starring role back from growth? Value indices have provided some steady returns this year, but the question is, can they accelerate into the new year? Economic headwinds and concentration risk for the AI hyperscalers could see value stocks outperform. The American Century U.S. Quality Value ETF (VALQ) presents a strong candidate to do well if value stocks do.
Anthropic IPO May Spark AI Rally as Short Bets on Tech Pile Up
Wall Street’s recent risk aversion toward stocks may have created an opening for a sharp rebound, particularly in technology shares, if Anthropic PBC’s planned initial public offering reignites enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
Anthropic IPO on Tap, NVIDIA Updates, & Other Investor Days Shaping Markets
How many eyeball-grabbing headlines can we stuff into the next few weeks? For tech investors, AI concerns mount, with rising credit default swap prices among the hyperscalers and sagging neocloud equities.
Mind the $2 Trillion Gap
With the recent movements in both the stock and bond markets, there was some noteworthy news that got kind of lost. Indeed, the U.S. government posted a $1.99 trillion budget deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2026. While technically it is not a record amount of red-ink, it represented the largest non-COVID-related shortfall ever recorded in modern history.
JetBlue Buys Time But Can’t Wish Away Its Problems
It’s extremely hard for a chief executive officer to get investors to turn positive about her company when it has posted annual net losses since 2020 and likely won’t make money until 2028. JetBlue Airways Corp.’s Joanna Geraghty made a good start on Tuesday.
Big Numbers, Big Expectations: Three Keys to Earnings Season
LPL Research examines three keys to earnings season: broader profit growth, margin pressures, and high expectations amid continued AI investment.
Commodity ETFs: Beyond the Gold Trade
Gold has traditionally been one of the most popular ways for investors to gain commodity exposure, but its recent weakness highlights the differences across various commodities. While precious metals have struggled, energy and certain agricultural commodities have seen stronger returns. Existing diversified strategies are also giving investors more ways to access commodities beyond traditional gold funds.
SB Energy IPO: Powering the AI Buildout
Founded in 2019 with backing from Japanese investment holding company SoftBank, SB Energy began as a U.S.-based utility-scale renewable energy developer. Today, SB Energy has three lines of business—power, data centers, and solutions.
Your Healthcare Sticker Shock Has Been Decades in the Making
Welcome to open enrollment season, when millions of Americans are yet again wracked with anxiety over the sizable chunk of their paychecks being sucked up by healthcare costs.
Some Benefits of Defense Spending
Reasonable minds can disagree about the ideal scope of government, but no one argues against nations providing for their defense. As conflicts emerge and tensions rise, defense spending will take a larger role in all nations’ budgets, with effects that will flow across the economy.
Consumer Confidence Recovers Significantly in October
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index® rose significantly more than expected in October, rising 7.5 points to 91.7. The index was far above the forecast of 81.2.
The Massive Advantage This Income ETF Brings to Portfolios
Income ETF strategies have exploded in popularity in recent years. Historically, investors have looked to bond coupons to add durability to their portfolios. The explosion of ETF popularity, launches, and adoption, however, has seen some intriguing options join the fray. The Goldman Sachs Municipal Income ETF (GMUB), which hits its three-year ETF milestone next year, represents just such a strategy.
Microsoft and Alphabet Earnings Put Focus on AI Cash Flow Drain
Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. shares have gone separate ways since the companies’ last earnings reports as Wall Street increasingly digs in on the way heavy artificial intelligence spending is weighing on corporate bottom lines.
Pimco Offloads Billions in AI Debt Just in Time to Skirt Losses
Investing giant Pacific Investment Management Co. helped supercharge the artificial intelligence debt boom with billions of dollars in lending in 2025 — and has cut positions just in time to skirt losses and eke out a profit.
Hungary Files US Nuclear Agreement to Anchor Post-Orban Ties
Hungary unveiled an inter-governmental agreement with the US on nuclear energy, a lucrative area that may bolster ties with Washington following the ouster of Viktor Orban.
A New Era of Debt Doom Loops Has Begun
Anybody who has lived through the past quarter century or so is familiar with the concept of a debt doom loop. Big government deficits, say, cause higher interest rates, making the government pay more to borrow and also bail out the banks that own its sinking bonds, driving it even deeper into debt. Rinse, repeat.
In High Yield, Shorter May Be Smarter
Investors concerned about market turbulence don’t have to sacrifice return potential to reduce risk. Historically, short-duration high-yield bonds have delivered returns neck-and-neck with those of the broader high-yield market but with substantially less volatility. The recent rise in yields makes today an especially compelling entry point.
5 Leadership Keys for Successful Teams
Gallup estimates that 70% of a team’s overall success lies with the leader of the team. Here are five takeaways from this year’s class that might be helpful, whether you are firmly in a leadership role, leading without formal authority, or presently climbing the ladder at your firm.
When Information Is Free, Sound Judgment Becomes Priceless
As information and AI-powered insights become more accessible, experience, judgment, and discernment are becoming increasingly valuable. The advisor's role is evolving from simply providing answers to helping clients interpret complexity, evaluate trade-offs, make decisions with confidence, and execute those decisions effectively.
Strong Economic Data Meets Rising AI Concerns
Economic data that continued to show a strong U.S. economy, housing aside, took a back seat this week as investors once again focused on potential risks to future growth: rising energy prices, sticky inflation, and most importantly, questions about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Value Breakout Shows Benefits of Diversification
There was very little macroeconomic news last week, but there was certainly no shortage of action in the markets. We saw an extraordinarily sharp rotation out of growth and into value, with both the Russell Value Index and the S&P Value Index reaching all-time highs even as the Nasdaq suffered one of its largest recent selloffs. That is a dramatic divergence, but historically it is not unprecedented.
AI’s Unlikely Ally: How Energy Powers the Digital Revolution
Geopolitical tensions are already driving demand for energy exposure through rising oil and gas prices. Combining this cyclical strength with long-term AI momentum creates a strong potential for noticeable returns.
Your Clients Don’t Want a Market Update. They Want to Know You.
Clients want to understand how the advisor thinks, what they value, and what guides them when hard decisions arise. Your clients want to hear a familiar voice, not another generic, institutional message that could have come from any firm in the country.
The Hidden Costs of Shrinking ETF Shelf Lives
Record ETF launches are compressing product shelf lives and raising closure risks. Learn the real costs for advisors and clients.
Higher Airfares Are Here to Stay. That’s Not a Bad Thing
No one wants to pay more to fly, but travel-hungry US passengers are giving airlines little reason to halt price increases. Air travel demand is holding up and encouraging carriers to raise fares faster and further to make up for soaring jet fuel costs. Once up, prices will likely stay there even after the energy crunch subsides.
Memory Stocks Lost Their Mojo and Strong Earnings Aren’t Helping
This growth is being fueled by massive spending on AI, which isn’t seen slowing anytime soon. Last week, Meta Platforms Inc. boosted its capital expenditure plans for the year. Wall Street anticipates that Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. will affirm or raise their AI spending plans when they report earnings this week.
Healthcare Stocks Become Anti-AI Bet as Investors Turn Defensive
With investor confidence in the artificial intelligence trade under pressure, traders are turning to healthcare stocks for refuge.
Anthropic IPO Filing Calms Nerves With Signs of Healthy Growth
Anthropic PBC set itself a challenge by opening its books to prospective IPO investors right after a punishing week for the artificial intelligence trade. When Wall Street took a close look, it generally liked what it saw.
Griffin May Be Right About AI. The Timing Could Be Very Wrong.
Ken Griffin told a room full of investors recently that we are “almost certainly” in an AI bubble. He may well be correct in that assessment, and there are plenty of media narratives that support that view.
AI Wobbles. Treasuries Step Up.
Rick Polsinello, Christian Galipeau Discuss high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
Time to Extend Bond ETF Duration?
The bond market is flashing levels not seen in nearly two decades. The 10-year Treasury yield is hovering near 5%, while real yields — measured by Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) — are at their highest since before the 2008 financial crisis.
AI Is Proving Yet Again That Americans Are the Most Generous People on Earth
Last year, U.S. charitable giving hit a record $617.20 billion, according to Giving USA. That’s the first time it’s ever topped $600 billion. Individuals gave $394.2 billion of that, foundations gave $117.15 billion, bequests added $62.19 billion and corporations contributed $43.67 billion.
Hybrid RIAs Outpace Fee-Only Fiduciary Firms, Cerulli Finds
Insurance-licensed RIAs grew fastest as fee-only firms’ asset share fell to 34%, though fiduciary clients report higher satisfaction.
CoreWeave Rout Sends Warning Sign to Rest of Stock Market
Wall Street strategists are warning that declines in shares of AI cloud-computing providers will spill into other corners of the tech trade, potentially dragging the US stock market down to its June lows.
US Stocks Gain as Investors Parse Anthropic IPO Filing
US stocks gained on Monday as investors digest Anthropic PBC’s filing for its initial public offering and look forward to key big tech earnings this week as well as the Federal Reserve’s next decision on Wednesday.
Fed Over-Tightening: How Much Runway Is Left Before It Bites?
The Fed is hiking to prove it can beat inflation. The danger is that it proves the point with the one economy that can’t afford to lose.
AI: Where Will the Money Come From?
In a world that must fund trillions of dollars of sovereign debt not just in the US but all over the world. Plus, other “normal” business investments which will be even more hundreds of billions, if not trillions. And that brings us to the thrust of today’s letter: who will get access to this money and what are the returns going to be?
Advisors Upgrade Bond Playbooks for Year-End
In late October, VettaFi hosted an interactive virtual event featuring market leaders from State Street Investment Management, Janus Henderson, and Horizon. During the presentation, advisor sentiment polls revealed a decisive shift in how many are approaching their fixed income allocation. Higher yields have restored bonds as a compelling asset class. However, advisors were looking for tools beyond a traditional index-based bond ETF.
There’s More Behind this Week’s Market Nerves
Our Director and Head of Canadian Investment Strategy BeiChen Lin sees two main forces behind this week’s more cautious market tone: higher energy prices and renewed questions around artificial intelligence investment.
A Checklist May Help Taxpayers Navigate Year-End Planning
With several provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) taking effect in 2026, year-end planning may present new opportunities and considerations for taxpayers. It’s important to assess personal finances before the end of the year to determine if action is needed.
Seeking to Outpace the S&P 500? Give Dividends a Shot
The S&P 500 has been a reliable index for building exposure to U.S. stocks for years, and for good reason. It’s a valuable barometer for investors who want to make sure they are tracking large-cap U.S. equities.
Treasury Yields Snapshot: October 23, 2026
The yield on the 10-year note finished October 23, 2026 at 5.00% while the 2-year note ended at 4.69%.
Retail Traders Loaded Up on AI Spending Winners Before Selloff
Retail investors who spent the past week loading up on semiconductor stocks at the center of the artificial intelligence trade are getting pummeled amid Thursday’s rout.
VettaFi Named Best U.S. Index Overall Provider at 2026 ETF Express Awards
VettaFi has been recognized as the Best U.S. Index Overall Provider at the ETF Express U.S. ETF Awards 2026, building on a standout year of index innovation, strategic acquisitions, and product milestone growth across the ETP landscape.
Futures Slip as Big Tech Falters, Oil Extends Relentless Advance
Stocks fell on Friday with technology megacaps again trading lower after Thursday’s selloff. Oil prices rose, with the US midterm elections less than two weeks away. Investors were parsing mixed earnings from payments giant American Express Co. for signals about spending and the health of the economy.
Kalshi Courts Wall Street in Bid to Be the ‘Inflation Exchange’
Kalshi Inc. is opening up a new frontier in its rivalry with traditional financial exchanges by pitching the world’s largest banks and hedge funds on a futures market tied to US inflation.
Investing in a 5% Bond World: The Barbell
The number one question we tend to receive is: Where are long-term interest rates headed from here? Right behind it is: How do I invest in the bond market, not only for right now but also for the future? In our opinion, investors should be prepared for this elevated “normal” rate setting for the foreseeable future. We wanted to address both questions by examining how to prepare a bond portfolio for a 5% world.
It Pays to Be Picky With TIPS ETFs
The Federal Reserve is engaged in a well-documented battle with high inflation. So, many advisors and fixed income investors are evaluating Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) and related ETFs.
MANGOS ETFs: The Fruits of AI Innovation
The Magnificent Seven have dominated the technology trade, but investor attention is now shifting toward the MANGOS — a group of companies that place greater emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) rather than traditional megacap technology.
Calm on the Surface, Steady as She Goes?
Markets look calm on the surface, but AI-driven shifts in capital allocation, earnings quality, and funding needs are reshaping risks and opportunities beneath the index level.
Apple Is Wall Street’s Favorite AI Haven as Spending Fears Hit
It’s become one of the most reliable trades in the stock market as sentiment toward artificial intelligence swings wildly: Whatever AI stocks do, Apple Inc. does the opposite.
Consumer Price Index: Inflation at 3.7% in September
Inflation rose 3.7% year-over-year in September, climbing from August's print of 3.4%. The headline figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was also higher than economist estimates of 3.6%.
Oil Reserves Are Getting Thin
Middle Eastern oil exports are approaching pre-war levels, but oil prices certainly aren’t. Brent remains above $100 a barrel, as the concern increasingly is not just how much oil is flowing today, but how much is left in reserve if supplies are disrupted again.
A Rising Index Masks an Unusually Divided Market
US stocks have continued to climb, but the gains have been far from uniform. In most sectors, a majority of companies have trailed the index. For investors, we believe the divide between a resilient index and uneven stock-level outcomes makes selectivity and fundamental research more important.
The AI Boom Is Setting Up the Fed for a Rate Seesaw
The boom is currently pushing interest rates up in two ways. First, the investment spending is boosting economic growth and straining the nation’s financing capacity. Second, the boom has been accompanied by a buoyant stock market, which is lifting household wealth and bolstering consumer spending.
Schwab Enters International Bond ETF Ring With 0.06% Fee
As investors look beyond U.S. borders for fixed income diversification, Schwab Asset Management is entering the international bond ETF race with the Schwab International Bond ETF (SCIN). Expected to begin trading on the NYSE on October 21, 2026, SCIN pairs international investment-grade bond exposure with an ultra-low 0.06% net expense ratio.
ETF Launches Surpass Last Year’s Record With Months to Spare
The ETF industry has officially shattered last year’s record for annual product launches. A total of 1,159 new exchange-traded products have debuted year-to-date, eclipsing the full-year record of 1,143 funds set in 2025. With more than two months remaining in the year, the rapid pace highlights issuers’ relentless push to bring innovative strategies to market.
RIA AI Adoption Is Showing Up in the Filings
For the past two years, much of the conversation about artificial intelligence in wealth management has been hypothetical. Will advisors use AI? Will clients accept it? Will firms allow sensitive information to flow through large language models? Regulatory filings show that those questions are starting to be answered.
Supporting Team Members Who Don’t Deserve It
If you can channel energy into the best working relationship you could possibly have, that’s a good starting place. When it comes to cattiness and gossip, learn to walk away. Don’t do this in anger or as if you are better than they are. Instead, do it quietly and calmly.
Your Best Testimonial Might Be a Near-Miss
A skeptical convert’s story transcends a snapshot and expands into a dynamic before-and-after. It speaks directly to the prospect who hasn’t been won over yet; the prospect searching your website or social channels for a good reason to stop their search.
Rethinking the Traditional 60/40 with Buffer ETFs
In this webcast, we’ll explore how Buffer ETFs can complement traditional fixed-income allocations and help strengthen the defensive side of a portfolio.
Surging Yields Bring Biggest Spate of Debt Sale Delays This Year
Companies have postponed more than $5 billion in US and European debt sales this month as investors grow increasingly alarmed about rising interest rates, resurgent inflation, and potential cracks in the artificial-intelligence boom.
JPMorgan Asset Sees Bitcoin Beating Stocks, But With a Catch
JPMorgan Asset Management has included Bitcoin in its long-term capital market assumptions for the first time, forecasting returns that could beat stocks, bonds and gold in a milestone for its Wall Street acceptance.
SpaceX, Tesla Boards Study Possible $3.5 Trillion Merger
Elon Musk openly endorsed the prospect of combining SpaceX with Tesla Inc. in what would be the biggest-ever corporate merger, uniting assets from electric cars to AI data centers to rocket and satellite capabilities.
Age Isn't Just a Number
While don’t think of myself as being old, I can’t call myself young anymore. When I go to the gym, it takes me longer to stretch than to work out. People my age debate the best vitamin supplements, not the best burger joints. When I am asked for identification at the market, it isn’t to confirm I am old enough to buy beer; it’s to see whether I am eligible for a senior discount.
CoreWeave’s Bond Rout Should Make the Fed Cautious
Corporate credit, monetary policy’s sleeping giant, is finally stirring. Cloud computing service provider CoreWeave Inc.’s bonds dropped this month, sending yields on its 2032 notes as high as 15%. Yields for junk and investment-grade debt reached the highest since 2025 and 2023, respectively.
Forecasting Interest Rates - Investment Objectives
Predicting the direction of interest rates is challenging enough when economic conditions are relatively stable. Add persistent inflation, a resilient economy, a cooling labor market, geopolitical uncertainty, and an expanding supply of Treasury debt, and the challenge becomes considerably greater.
Moats vs. Inertia: Unpacking the Personal AI Agent Threat
The AI agent catalyst. Meta's September launch of Muse, a personal artificial intelligence (AI) agent designed to act on a user's behalf across digital workflows, crystallized the market's latest disruption narrative.
Fed Hiking Cycle May Run Longer Than Markets Expect
Fed rate hikes could climb further than markets expect, according to T. Rowe Price Capital Markets Strategist Tim Murray.
Q3 2026: Borrowing From the Future
Narratives are almost always wrong: clever stories that explain the past and say nothing about the future. One may be right. AI may become the dominant technology of the century and render much of the present economy obsolete.
The Hidden Costs of AI: Are You Paying Attention?
For many people, AI tools will be worth paying for. However, it is wise to decide, before any bills arrive, how much in very real money those tools are worth to you.
S&P 500 Rebounds as Big Bank Stocks Climb, SpaceX Results Loom
The S&P 500 Index rose, erasing its early-session losses, as big banks and healthcare companies climbed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index rebounded to a slight gain after South Korean neocloud company Elice Inc. tanked in its trading debut, spurring concern about the sustainability of the global AI boom that continued to weigh on the sector.
Hot Inflation. Cold Chips. Stay Diversified.
Chris Galipeau and Taylor Topousis discuss high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.