The Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is now close to modernization as it seeks proxy votes from shareholders to approve a reclassification.

In this third installment of the retirement income series, Chuck Carnevale (“Mr. Valuation”) walks through the completion of a hypothetical $2 million dividend portfolio designed for a retiree who requires at least $100,000 per year in income—equivalent to a 5% yield, with annual income growth to offset inflation.

here’s something comforting about dividends. For decades, investors have turned to them as tangible proof that a company is generating real cash flow and is willing to share it.

Despite a choppy November, the big three market indexes are all just a few percentage points off their record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Nasdaq are up 12.5% and 21.2%, respectively, year to date.

Investor appetites for international equities could continue after the Fed implemented a second rate cut. Investors looking to get international equities exposure would be wise to consider using an actively managed fund like the MFS Active International ETF (MFSI) .

After a difficult 12 months, India's equity story is quietly regaining its rhythm. Valuations that once looked stretched have compressed to more defensible levels, policy continuity after the 2024 election has reassured markets and the long-term growth engine, powered by demographics, digital infrastructure and industrial reshoring, remains intact.

Plenty of official economic data is already coming down the market’s chimney, much to the delight of our partners at Econoday. Now that the pesky government shutdown is over, the pace of macro updates is set to accelerate as we head into the end of 2025.

Geopolitical risks remain elevated as the markets continue to digest the impact of trade tariffs. What does this mean for private markets? Franklin Templeton Institute shares its outlook.

Spreads are essential for investors who utilize leverage, but for most fixed income investors, yields are much more important. Fortunately, in today’s market, yields are relatively attractive despite historically tight spreads.

We expect 2026 to be another good year for fixed income investors. However, yields that are lower than where they were a year ago and less room for rate cuts by central banks likely will mean less-robust returns.

Despite nearly a 5% deficit mid-month, the S&P 500 finished November with a modest 0.1% gain, fueled by strong earnings, AI optimism, and hopes for Fed rate cuts. This rebound helped repair technical damage, lifting the S&P 500 above its 50-day moving average, though retail investors remain hesitant to re-engage.

While 2025’s market performance has been mostly highlighted by large-cap growth equities benefiting from the theme of artificial intelligence (AI), investors might be overlooking one key ingredient in their portfolios: commodities.

Given the relatively mixed signals that the U.S. stock market is seeing in the months ahead, some sectors of the global market could compel.

The traditional 60/40 portfolio (60% equities, 40% bonds) has long been a standard for investors. Its limitations, especially during "lost decades," suggest the need for a fresh perspective.

As investors enter the distribution phase of their financial lives, the priorities of portfolio construction shift dramatically. Liquidity becomes essential, diversification grows more important, and the ability to meet income needs – sometimes by tapping into principal – must be balanced against risk and market volatility.

Thanks to AI-generated power demand, the utilities sector is losing its traditional defensive role. Is this a permanent move, or will utilities ultimately regain their place?

The ETF pulse report features key investment themes we’re seeing across equities and fixed income, how to play them through ETFs, and ETF industry trends.

November’s markets were choppy but ultimately flat as investors weighed AI valuations, falling Treasury yields, and expected Fed rate cuts. This commentary breaks down what truly drove the month’s volatility and what the latest labor and policy signals mean heading into 2026.

A fundamental lack of available metal, driven by years of demand outpacing supply, is fueling a major rally in silver prices, which have climbed over 99% this year.

The year 2025 has been a "baffling" year for markets, with surprising outcomes like gold and silver surging while stocks rose despite global conflicts, proving that "macro is hard."

ClearBridge Investments believes emerging market equities have turned a corner, showing strong performance after years of lagging returns.

Following the 2021–2022 inflation shock, the historic negative correlation between stocks and bonds—the foundation of modern portfolio diversification—temporarily broke, fueling debate over whether the "Greenspan Put" era of Fed-induced market stability has ended.

Equity markets reached new record highs over the past month, reigniting debate over whether we’re in bubble territory. Heightened U.S. equity valuations and concentrated market leadership fuel this concern — but context matters. Markets rarely move in straight lines, and short-term pullbacks, while uncomfortable, are a normal part of the cycle.

While the AI-driven rally in US mega-cap growth stocks grabbed attention in 2025, a very different story was unfolding far from Wall Street. Outside the US, from Europe to Japan, value stocks shed their perennial underdog status to stage a dramatic recovery—one that we think may just be getting started.

AI’s buildout is dominated by a handful of companies that are spending on a scale so large, it has macro impact. The challenge for investors is reconciling whether AI will generate revenues of the same order of magnitude as the huge capital spending plans.

A mid-month bout of volatility focused primarily on the AI tech giants gave way to a broader rally in November’s final days amidst renewed expectations the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the coming weeks.

High-quality stocks have underperformed sharply across markets in 2025. For instance, in U.S. small caps, companies with negative earnings have outperformed profitable ones by about 20% since Liberation Day, while the Russell 2000’s rally has favored high-volatility, unprofitable names.

Indexed ETFs can provide an easy, cost-effective alternative for fixed income exposure that draws from myriad sources. However, investors could be missing out on the advantages associated with active management. Given the current macro environment, it’s almost a necessity.

In this second installment of his F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early) dividend growth series, Chuck Carnevale, co-founder of FAST Graphs and “Mr. Valuation,” walks through the construction of a high-yield dividend growth portfolio designed to support retirement income without selling shares.

Municipal housing bonds are presented as a critical dual solution to America's deepening affordable housing crisis, especially as federal support diminishes. These tax-exempt bonds significantly lower financing costs for developers, making affordable units viable while offering investors compelling tax-exempt income and social impact.

November ended with modest index gains masking a deeper rotation beneath the surface, as markets wrestled with December Fed cut odds, AI fatigue, and how to position portfolios into year end.

As we put the finishing touches on Outlook 2026, here are several other key factors that will drive markets in 2026 that investors will want to keep in mind.

While US investors focus on growth, international markets may remain the best places to find value opportunities in 2026, says Franklin Mutual Series.

The reopening of the US government and the release of delayed economic data did little to calm markets. The long-awaited September jobs report finally arrived last week, showing job gains of 119,000, surpassing expectations but accompanied by downward revisions to previous months and a rise in the unemployment rate.

The US dollar (USD) has weakened over the last few months, fueling strong emerging-market (EM) stock and bond returns in 2025. Now, with more clarity around tariffs and the record-long US government shutdown resolved, will the greenback strengthen and flip the script on EM? We don’t think so.

In today’s complex financial landscape, taxable US institutions face unique challenges in balancing their investment objectives with tax efficiency. They simply cannot afford to overlook the impact of taxes on their portfolios.

Rob Tayloe discusses fixed income market conditions and offers insight for bond investors.

In the ten years prior to the onset of COVID, the consumer prices index rose at an average annual rate of 1.7%. Since the onset of COVID the overall CPI has risen at a 4.2% annual rate. Inflation peaked at about 9.0% back in 2022 but is still hovering between 2.5 and 3.0%, which is above the Federal Reserve’s official target of 2.0%.

State Street Investment Management (SSIM) has been the investment advisor for the Select Sector SPDR ETFs since 1998. It will now take over the distribution and marketing for these funds. The move brings 11 ETFs in-house under the SSIM umbrella to unify its product offerings and enhance the investor experience.

US Federal Reserve officials would rather “stick to their knitting” than confront the complex forces that are reshaping the economy. Unless the next Fed chair shakes the institution out of its complacency, continued policy-induced volatility and intensifying political attacks are all but guaranteed.

The recent Thanksgiving week provided a crucial snapshot of the changing economy, highlighted by a shift in holiday shopping to early online sales and a significant drop in the 10-year Treasury yield below 4%.

In today’s markets, mentioning the “B-word” will get you thrown into the “permabear” camp, and everyone immediately assumes you mean the end of the world: death, disaster, and destruction. Yes, bear markets have terrible short-term impacts, but they also allow the system to reset for healthier growth in the future.

My friend David Bahnsen wrote a brilliant analysis in his weekly Dividend Café of the private credit market a few weeks ago and it really took off. I got his permission to share it with you today. This is a basic primer on the risks in the private market and something as an investor you should be familiar with.

Whether in sports or financial markets, averages often grab headlines, but they can conceal as much as they reveal. Variation—including the dispersion of metrics like credit spreads for high-yield bonds—is the real story.

This has been a bumpy year for the US economy. Although there was a massive boom in AI-related investments in 2025, policy-induced uncertainties and disruptions to official data releases clouded the picture.

U.S. stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, are on pace for 14% growth in earnings for Q3 2025. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth and comes in well ahead of analysts’ Sept. 30 estimates of 7%.

Despite the increasing need for retirement income security, many defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors hesitate to adopt new lifetime income solutions due to concerns over fiduciary liability and plan flexibility.

Following a rocky start to the year, the municipal bond market has shown strong performance in Q3 2025, outperforming broader bond indexes due to factors like easing oversupply and growing demand.

This article argues that the Federal Reserve's decade of ultra-loose monetary policy following the 2008 crisis, including nearly ten years of near-zero rates, has warped the perception of a "normal" interest rate environment.

Despite an intra-year drawdown of 18.9%, the S&P 500 is poised for a strong 2025, currently up about 14%. This pattern of experiencing a large correction on the way to significant annual gains is common; since 1980, the average yearly drawdown has been over 14% while the index gained an average of 10.7%.