Volatility/Downside Protection

Not sure which to choose? Here are some things to consider about individual bonds vs. bond funds.

As inflation concerns continue to influence 2025 market dynamics, investors seek equity-based strategies to provide rising-price protection.

June was a month of stabilization and subtle strength for preferreds.

Three themes are worth emphasizing as we reach the midpoint of 2025: tariffs, interest rates, and global diversification. We emphasize these themes even amid recent heightened geopolitical tensions.

Global equity markets swung from steep losses to fresh highs during the quarter. In early April, President Trump imposed a baseline 10% tariff and reciprocal tariffs of up to 50% on dozens of trading partners, only to suspend most reciprocal tariffs for 90 days amid market panic.

Investors may be happy to shift some of their focus away from the ongoing tariff saga and back toward economic data and earnings reports.

In this video, Chuck Carnevale, co-founder of FAST Graphs, aka Mr. Valuation, discusses Becton Dickinson (BDX), 53 years of dividend growth, a medical diagnostics company that has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years.

The U.S. economy remains resilient despite headline volatility tied to shifting trade and tariff policies. Meanwhile, we continue to see a lot of volatility in the economic data as the world adjusts to these changing policies.

The two teams share aligned values and a commitment to providing customized wealth management solutions for their clients.

Low volatility exchange traded funds are a compelling solution for those looking to dampen risk while staying invested.

For many years, the pension plan has often been a drag on a corporation’s financial positions. Now that’s generally no longer the case, and it’s time to consider what’s next.

The RAFI™ Fundamental Index has a value tilt, but to characterize it as a value index would be an oversimplification that misses the important advantages that the fundamental index offers above standard “value” index approaches.

As artificial intelligence transforms industries, investors face a critical question: How can they strategically approach investments in AI ETFs? Rene Reyna, head of Thematic and Specialty Product Strategy for ETFs at Invesco, offers valuable insights into navigating this complex landscape.

High yield bonds have historically delivered attractive long-term returns, and since the Great Financial Crisis they have also become higher quality, as weaker borrowers have departed the sector for the private credit and leveraged loan markets.

Markets continued their strong run last week before pulling back slightly as a flurry of tariff rhetoric hit the wires. It’s important to understand markets are rallying because they assume these tariff threats are more political posturing than lasting economic policy.

Drew O’Neil discusses fixed income market conditions and offers insight for bond investors.

A couple of years ago, I wrote about absolute versus relative returns. Given the latest market run, I am getting a lot of questions about chasing returns, and individuals comparing themselves to the S&P 500 index.

Emerging market (EM) countries are often generalized as all the same and driven by commodity prices. The reality can be very different. Here's what you should know about EM stocks now.

With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, this note briefly discusses some of the implications for energy broadly and the energy infrastructure space.

On Wednesday, Vanguard expanded its fixed income ETF selection with the launch of three new funds.

As 2025 progresses, investors and policymakers are navigating a highly complex economic landscape shaped by three powerful and interrelated forces: evolving trade policy, a cautious U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), and growing concerns over U.S. fiscal discipline.

We continue to believe we are seeing a rare opportunity in EM local debt, and our conviction has been strengthened by the Trump administration’s trade and economic policies, which suggest continued dollar weakness and relative strength for EM local currencies.

It is easy to invest when markets are rallying, but it can be tough for investors to stay in their seats when markets inevitably decline again.

Every year around this time, we update our Periodic Table of Commodities Returns to reflect the performance of raw materials in the first six months. I’m biased, but few tools do a better job of providing a clear, interactive picture of the commodities landscape than ours.

The right level of regulation requires careful calibration.

Geopolitical flare-ups and a “wait-and-see” Federal Reserve stance have created plenty of noise, but markets continue to defy the headlines with a balanced global allocation and improving sentiment indicators.

Tokenization of real assets might make liquidity problems even more obvious. Making assets digital doesn't mean they'll be easier to sell or trade. It could just highlight how hard they really are to sell, and it won’t change the market demand either.

Next week, the Q2-2025 earnings season will begin in earnest as a barrage of S&P 500 companies report, starting with the Wall Street money center banks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Since earnings drive the market by supporting investor expectations, what should investors expect? Let’s dig into the details.

Fixed income benchmarks have two fundamental flaws. First, their exposures prioritize the needs of borrowers rather than investors. Second, they tend to expose investors to the biggest risks at the worst times.

The resilient job market has supported stock gains, but Washington policy has been a primary market driver so far this year.

There’s a connection between our willingness to let the debt problem fester and investors throwing their money into a wildly overvalued stock market. In both cases, we’ve grown way too comfortable with uncertainty.

The second quarter’s rapid recovery from April’s market volatility reminds us how powerful a systematic rules-based approach to tax management can be.

ClearBridge Investments believes tariffs remain the key risk to corporate profits in the second half of the year and is less concerned about geopolitical events or the outlook for fiscal and monetary policy.

Most of us are not prepared for the incredible degree of change Artificial Intelligence (AI), combined with automation, is bringing to society.

A full three months since President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements sparked panic in financial markets, macro developments have been benign. The passage of the Big Beautiful Bill has brought clarity on the fiscal outlook, but uncertainty on trade negotiations remains. Franklin Templeton Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai explains what this means for investors going forward.

Three ETF strategies that launched in June stand out, bringing something interesting to the table for investors.