Wealth Management

Historical trends are being permanently broken in real time as mega forces, like the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), transform economies.

Over the past few years, I’ve written numerous articles and given numerous presentations on Direct Indexing.

With year-end looming, consider taking action now to determine if annual gifts make sense. Our Bill Cass shares useful strategies to consider for estate planning.

Assets in money market funds reached an all-time high of $7 trillion this past month. Now that rates are moving lower, money market yields may not be as attractive to many investors and assets may gradually leave money funds.

We launched QuantStreet a little over three years ago, and our first accounts went live as of December 2021.

In their 2025 outlook, Head of Americas Equities Marc Pinto and Head of EMEA and Asia Pacific Equities Lucas Klein say a changing macroeconomic backdrop could create new pockets of leadership in global equity markets.

We compare investor risk-taking behaviors at the start of the bull market with those nearly 16 years later. We also analyze key market areas that can offer essential diversification to help manage overall portfolio risk.

When it comes to personalized investment strategies, multiple perspectives come into play: the client, the provider and the advisor.

Expectations for solid corporate earnings drove our U.S. and Japanese equity overweights this year. They have delivered, showing that fundamentals are key. Earnings strength could matter more to equity investors in 2025 over valuations.

Trump's election win spurred market optimism, driving rallies in equities, crypto, and cyclical sector.

As students across the country start to prepare for year-end exams, there are valuable lessons we can take from the classroom.

AI can be a powerful tool, but one that demands thoughtful, measured implementation. Taking thoughtful steps now to integrate and innovate with AI will keep you competitive. Turn your back on it and you’re probably not in business in the long run.

New ideas are never as easy as they sound in campaigns.

It is important for savers to understand guaranteed and non-guaranteed options when looking at retirement solutions offered within a 401(k) plan. Our Mike Dullaghan shares the highlights and talks about the need for personalized strategies.

Generosity knows no season. But as the year-end holidays approach, many of your clients may be thinking about making a charitable donation or increasing their charitable giving.

Sticky underlying price pressures could prevent a faster return to neutral monetary policy.

Many of the myths and controversies surrounding the equity risk premium (ERP) are rooted in semantics: The same term is used for multiple purposes.

In 2025, Social Security will see a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment. At the same time, Medicare Part B premiums and the annual deductible will increase.

The inverse correlation between bonds and stocks has returned, broadening potential for risk-adjusted returns in multi-asset portfolios.

Lost in the excitement of election week was a meeting of the Federal Reserve. At its conclusion, interest rates were lowered by another quarter-point. But where they are heading from here is a matter of increasing uncertainty.

In sport, play is limited by time or innings. Lineups are set, rules are fixed and boundaries are defined. Winners are determined objectively.

The Northern Trust Economics team shares its outlook for U.S. growth, employment, inflation and interest rates.

A year-round focus on taxes can unlock value for investors in higher brackets—and it can help advisors prove their own value.

Before the year 2024 comes to a close, it's time to optimize your tax strategy. Our Bill Cass shares some tips including timing deductions and harvesting losses.

Much of modern finance falls into one of two camps, neoclassical finance and behavioral finance. The former posits efficient markets, the latter posits the opposite.

Change is on the horizon for hard working Americans saving for their future, as 401(k) plans are now embracing private market investments. Savers may soon have access to opportunities previously reserved for institutional investors.

The election results triggered a positive market response. The S&P 500 rose +2.5% on Wednesday following the election.

As the year winds down, many investors focus on year-end charitable giving and tax planning. Finding a charity and donating money is the easy part. Taking slightly different approaches to gifting can yield dramatically different results from a tax perspective.

Here’s our outlook on what to expect and how investors might navigate this new phase.

With a "Red Sweep" in Washington likely, markets are now pricing in a more aggressive policy agenda.

Retirement plan savers looking to mitigate the risk of higher taxes in the future may benefit from making after-tax contributions to employer plans, which may be transferred to Roth accounts. Our Bill Cass details a “mega backdoor” Roth strategy.

The people have spoken. While there are still some unknowns, the contours of the American government that will be seated next January are reasonably clear.

The Exchange conference offers investors firsthand exposure to the ideas, strategies, and tools top-tier issuers are deploying.

The election is unlikely to influence monetary policy.

This is not a typical business cycle. We see structural forces holding inflation higher long term, keeping the Fed from cutting as much as markets expect.

Franklin Templeton Fixed Income believes investing in companies promoting gender equality and diversity can lead to inclusivity and strong financial returns. Despite the persistent gender gap, there's an increase in women in leadership roles, positively impacting financial performance, corporate governance and crisis resilience.

Brandywine Global: With the US election imminent, looking past heightened emotions and uncertainty to the potential economic and market impacts can be difficult. But election rhetoric eventually meets reality.

In his 2022 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter, Warren Buffett wrote that in his 80 years of investing, he had “yet to see a time when it made sense to make a long-term bet against America.”

The Northern Trust Economics team shares its outlook for growth, inflation and interest rates in major markets.

Year-end can be an opportune time to review finances, rebalance portfolios, and possibly reduce taxes. Our Bill Cass shares some highlights from a year-end planning checklist.

With Direct Indexing, you can help your clients prepare for life-changing transactions and minimize capital gains taxes by selectively harvesting losses to offset those gains, and implementing tax-efficient trading strategies.

Our analysis explores how potential post-election tax policy changes might impact dividends, capital gains, and municipal bonds and how investors might prepare for different election outcomes.

The high cost of housing is prompting many individuals to consider downsizing, but advisors recommend gradually reining in spending habits.

I was emailed several times about a recent Morningstar article about J.P. Morgan’s warning of lower forward returns over the next decade. That was followed up by numerous emails about Goldman Sachs’ recent warnings of 3% annualized returns over the next decade.

Equities continued to climb in Q3, with fixed income remaining steady despite international conflicts, inflationary pressure, and election-related uncertainty in the United States.