As promised, the European Commission is getting tough on big tech. Buoyed by what it sees as the successful implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, regulators are now going full tilt with their feistier legislation on anti-competitive behavior and improper use of personal data.
My financial education didn’t have the most auspicious start. I suppose I was lucky that in high school I had a class on basic investing and finance.
Owning only the U.S. stock market likely means being overweight Tech. But Tech stocks don't always outperform. Investors may want to look outside the U.S. to be diversified.
Asset managers are optimistic that the SEC will greenlight the first US ETFs that invest directly in Ether as soon as mid-July, saying the back and forth with the regulator remains constructive.
In this piece, we attempt to answer a number of questions we have gotten from clients about the impacts that rising levels of passive investing may have had on the stock market.
June of 2024 was a good month for financial markets. Leading the pack were (again) technology stocks, with the NASDAQ up 6% on the month. Close in second place were emerging market ex-China stocks, largely driven by India, Taiwan, and South Korea, all of which had large rallies in the month.
Tesla Inc. is, according to its promoters — very much including Chief Executive Elon Musk — an artificial intelligence giant trapped in a carmaker’s body. That much was evident from quarterly sales and production numbers, and the market’s reaction to them, on Tuesday morning.
In 1539, 30 years after San Juan was founded, the Spanish began building defenses of its harbor on the northern shore of Puerto Rico. Construction continued for another 250 years. Now that’s a long time-horizon! The mammoth fort known as Castillo San Felipe del Morro (or “El Morro”) is still standing.
Financial advisors can future-proof their businesses and maintain their relevance in an increasingly tech-driven world by combining human expertise with AI’s efficiency and analytical prowess.
Bridgewater Associates is launching a fund that uses machine learning as the primary basis of its decision-making.
Hedge funds were once the hottest investment around, but they’ve long ceded the spotlight to better performers, including private assets, real estate, technology startups and even cryptocurrencies.
How alternative can you get? Historically, conventional fund managers have dealt with the threat from private equity and hedge funds by creating or buying alternative investment funds of their own.
To protect your investments and ensure they retain their value over time, you must implement proactive strategies that combat the effects of inflation. In this article, we discuss seven strategies to help shield your investments from inflation’s impact.
The years-long parade of freedom-seeking advisors out of the wirehouses continues unabated. Meanwhile, consolidation of RIA firms, driven by private equity’s hot money, has similar momentum. Are these trends on a collision course?
Economic indicators are released every week to provide insight into the overall health and performance of an economy.
Key Takeaways
Financial advisors get a bad rap. Some deserve it; most don’t. The problem for the entire investment advisory and portfolio management community stems from the “career risk” they inevitably face.
The presidential debate was the big story of the week and revealed a mild market preference for former President Trump. Notably, during the 90 minutes of the debate when there was no other market news, S&P 500 Futures rose 10 points, due to Trump’s business-friendly policies despite his higher-policy unpredictability.
We review the key themes of the first half of a busy year.
Although this missive is tabbed as a 3rd quarter expository, it strikes home more as a 2025 conundrum because contained in the current data is a cause and effect that we believe is clearly being overlooked. Let’s begin with the fact that the stock market averages are trading at record highs.
Investors have been so preoccupied with Fed policy that they missed the economy sticking the soft landing.
For married couples, typically those who have a high net worth, a Spousal Limited Access Trust (SLAT) could be an efficient wealth-preserving strategy. These irrevocable trusts allow one spouse to transfer assets such as cash, marketable securities, real estate, and life insurance, to a trust that benefits the other spouse.
Cathie Wood, CEO/CIO of Ark Investment Management, (in)famously predicted that her firm’s strategies could see a 40 percent annualized return over the subsequent five years. That prediction rounded the halfway pole and is now headed home, so this seems like a good time to check in on how it is faring
With crypto going mainstream, it’s important that advisors understand the pros and cons of including crypto in a portfolio.
BlackRock Inc. will acquire private capital database provider Preqin for £2.55 billion ($3.2 billion) in cash, as the world’s largest money manager accelerates its push to become a major player in alternative assets.
Tesla Inc. is expected to report another quarter of weaker sales, and it’s running out of alibis.
The growing prospect of a Trump presidential victory is making yield curve steepeners an attractive bet as growth will likely slow and inflation quicken under such a scenario, according to Morgan Stanley.
Jerome Powell is Mr. Yen. He has been for some time, but it has taken a while for the world to catch on.
Goldman Sachs recently upped its price target to S&P 6300 for the end of this year, along with Evercore ISI upping its year-end target to 6000. Such is not surprising given the strong run in the markets this year.
As we approach the halfway point of the year, all eyes remain on Federal Reserve policy and the pace of inflation’s downward trend. Central banks are becoming more dovish, but when will the much-anticipated rate cuts materialize? We’ve identified six key themes we believe will influence the Fed and impact investors in the second half of 2024. Spoiler alert: Periods of volatility are likely and will provide opportunities to episodically add risk.
This week I had the privilege of participating in a YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) event held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. One of the main topics of discussion was investment opportunities in neighboring Zambia, a country that, despite its challenges, is a rising star on the African continent, due largely to its copper exports.
Rick Rieder and team argue that the economy is making further progress towards normalization and continues to offer a once-in-a-generation investing opportunity, which isn’t adequately represented by the benchmarks.
Retail trade sales in the U.S. are reported by distribution channel. For example, gasoline sales are reported through the gasoline stations distribution channel, although those gasoline stations’ sales also include everything else sold at gasoline station convenience stores, i.e., hot dogs, tobacco, sodas, gum, chips, coffee, etc.
How to help position your portfolio in anticipation of an economic downturn.
Investors of all stripes are getting increasingly acquainted with the AI megatrend, but some may not realize the depth therein.
Looking to assess your portfolio for the current inflation outlook? Natixis Investment Managers' Cyclicality vs. Inflation outlook can help.
Adapting to the new cycles requires swift operational changes, making the guidance of experienced managers crucial.
U.S. corporate pension plan sponsors are required to measure their plan liabilities for a few important purposes.
Hype over artificial intelligence, the eagerly anticipated launch of Bitcoin funds, and billions of dollars flowing toward the seemingly unstoppable stock-market surge: ETFs have seen it all and been the beneficiary so far this year.
Sour sentiment toward emerging-market stocks is obscuring uncommon opportunities for equity investors.
Bitcoin’s performance is starting to be overshadowed by the Ether and Solana tokens as hype around US cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds shifts to the two smaller digital assets.
The Northern Trust Economics team shares its outlook for major markets, with a spotlight on the eurozone.
CIO Sean Taylor says the second half of the year looks positive for emerging markets but country selection as a risk control will be critical in what is proving to be a politically-charged period for equities.
Schwab Sector Views is our six- to 12-month outlook for stock sectors, which represent broad sectors of the economy. The Schwab Center for Financial Research (SCFR) combines a factor-based approach with a market and economic assessment to determine the ratings.
Tesla Inc. is on the verge of losing a key bragging right it’s held for the past six years: outselling all EV competitors in the US combined.
US Treasuries are headed for their biggest monthly rally of the year after the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge decelerated, bolstering expectations for interest-rate cuts starting this year.
Things just got a little harder for the Securities and Exchange Commission, which henceforth must seek certain civil damages for securities fraud by going to federal court, rather than through its own internal adjudicatory process.
Chief U.S. Economist Ryan Boyle explains why measures of inflation don't match feelings about prices.
As an advisor, you know that no two clients are alike. Each has their own financial goals, risk tolerance and opinion on how they want to invest.
Marc Pinto, Head of Americas Equities, and Chris Benway, Director of Research, consider how the U.S. election may influence markets leading up to November, discuss policies worth monitoring as the election draws near, and remind investors to prioritize quality in times of uncertainty.
