Although specific themes come in and out of favor, thematic investing is here to stay, as investors seek diversified exposure to hot new trends and industry disruption.
In many respects, one could argue that ChatGPT’s primary function is to help gather user data to train its AI, bringing on a wealth of extra information on browsing habits that it doesn’t have access to now. That makes the product release worth it, even if market share stays minuscule.
The de facto “passive” allocation of 60% equities/40% bonds has proven effective at compounding wealth over time by tapping into two key risk premia: the equity risk premium earned by underwriting the risk of an economic growth shock and an inflation risk premium received for bearing the risk of surprise inflation.
While markets have been focused on the expected trajectory of short-term interest rates through Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut expectations, the Fed’s balance sheet has recently come into focus as well.
Northern Trust Asset Management provided justification for the mounting interest in munis in the fixed income space.
Over the last few years, the US housing market has defied expectations as prices, helped by constrained supply, have remained resilient—despite high mortgage rates and affordability challenges for homebuyers. But the outlook appears to be darkening, with recent headlines seizing on potentially adverse trends.
They may have never encountered unidentified flying objects, but something savvy investors can identify with is outperformance. And the Procure Space ETF (UFO) has been doing just that this year: outperforming the S&P 500 with an over 60% gain.
In today's article, I will outline some steps I often recommend when teams are trying to come together and bridge differences in their approaches to working with clients.
Bond traders are preparing for Treasury yields to drop further even as the 30-year reached its lowest level in six months on Tuesday.The cost of protection against a bigger decline in yields across the curve is rapidly rising, according to pricing of options wagers.
Tesla’s problem is that right now it’s a company that manufactures cars, trucks, solar panels and energy storage systems. Its AI vision is years, if not decades, away from generating sales, much less profits.
Granted, the Fed’s monetary policy doesn’t directly determine economic growth. It operates by influencing broader financial conditions, which have eased a lot in the past year. Stock prices have risen, bond yields have declined and the dollar has weakened.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google ran an algorithm on its “Willow” quantum-computing chip that can be repeated on similar platforms and outperform classical supercomputers, a breakthrough it said clears a path for useful applications of quantum technology within five years.
David Arana always had a thing for numbers. That passion took him to MIT to study mathematics and later to New York, where he traded credit derivatives for Deutsche Bank AG.
Please join VettaFi and Nasdaq for a free one-hour, Asset Allocation Summit. Register today for this free summit, and learn how to take advantage of all that asset allocation has to offer.
Your annual strategy is the big-picture framework. Your quarterly plan is how you bring that framework to life. This is where you take the broad channels, content, and relationships you identified in your strategy and break them down into a focused plan with specific actions, deadlines, and responsibilities.
Advisory firms are people-driven businesses. Unlike asset managers or product manufacturers, their value is derived from human capital — specifically, the ability of teams to serve clients effectively, deepen relationships, and manage workflows.
I want to discuss a different approach to portfolio management with you today. Rather, how to think like a “bear,” so you see the risks of the speculative bull run. However, to act like a “bull” to capture the gains while available. But that is a difficult skill to master.
Investors can be forgiven their skepticism towards small caps, despite the current rally. After all, small caps have underperformed the top-heavy, large-cap S&P 500 over the last decade.
As investor adoption of crypto, retail and institutional, continues to grow exponentially, discussions are typically centered around bitcoin and ethereum. The former is lauded for its store of value while the latter carries more functional utility when taking into account its role in the blockchain network.
Every week, this platform is used to highlight current ideas, fixed-income concepts, economic occurrences, and/or clarify a strategic fixed-income feature. The cohesive topic threads are fixed-income issues relevant to current market conditions.
On a recent episode of the Money Metals podcast, host Mike Maharrey interviewed Greg Weldon. Gold had pushed past $4,300, and silver broke $54 on the day of recording.
The most useful conversations about crypto don't start with block times or cryptography; they start with the monetary system. When money supply compounds and confidence in policy waxes and wanes, investors may reach for hard assets—tangible, scarce resources with intrinsic use value whose supply is difficult or costly to expand.
Earnings growth and attractive valuations for Japanese companies, reforms to corporate governance, and other shifts in the Japanese economy may create opportunities for investors.
In high-stakes negotiations, there are usually a series of threats and retreats before the final handshake. Each side uses bargaining chips to shape the outcome of the discussions. But bargaining chips don’t always lead to bargains.
In corporate credit markets, early indicators of stress often emerge subtly — not through dramatic dislocations, but through nuanced shifts in borrower behavior and market dynamics.
Amrita Nandakumar, President of Vident Asset Management, explains the role of an ETF subadvisor and shares her unique perspective on ETF product development, the forthcoming multi-share class structure, and the potential impact of a “lighter touch” regulatory environment. Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector & Industry Research at VettaFi, also weighs in on the multi-share class structure, and discusses the latest developments in crypto ETFs and the stellar performance of gold and silver miner ETFs.
Join VettaFi and ProcureAM for an educational webcast with insights on how to evaluate companies driving this growth — and how to position space in client portfolios.
Join the professionals at Fidelity Investments® for a product due diligence session covering their suite of options-based equity ETFs– Fidelity Yield Enhanced Equity ETF (FYEE), Fidelity Hedged Equity ETF (FHEQ), and Fidelity Dynamic Buffered Equity ETF (FBUF).
Today's marketplace demands a new understanding of what it means to stand out — not through revolutionary uniqueness, but through extraordinary execution of fundamental principles that most advisors neglect or execute poorly.
Business Process Management is a systematic approach to making an organization's workflows more effective, efficient, and adaptable. The firms that survive and thrive will be those that recognize the concepts of BPM and BPMN as strategic infrastructure, not optional enhancements.
If you’re preparing to sell your business, the M&A process might seem daunting and mysterious. As a financial advisor, you’re an expert at connecting with clients and providing sound financial guidance.
At times like this, our Internal Financial System™ comes alive. Inside us, different parts react to the same market in opposite ways. A risk-taking part may feel emboldened by the gains and want to buy more.
GMO has posted a new 7-Year asset class forecast as of September 30, 2025.
A new generation of ETFs is giving the crypto rich a novel way to fold their digital fortunes into the regulated financial system — without selling, and through funds run by big asset managers like BlackRock Inc.
Vanguard Group is expanding its proxy voting program — designed to give shareholders a greater say on corporate resolutions at portfolio companies — to add the investment giant’s oldest index fund.
The artificial intelligence trade that has driven the S&P 500 Index to one record after another over the past few years is transforming traditionally sleepy utilities stocks into booming growth plays. Since the end of 2023, the utilities sector is up 44%, making it the third best-performing group in the S&P 500.
Last week’s scheduled release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September was postponed due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has disrupted the operations of key agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
As the market concerns itself with a potential artificial intelligence (AI) bubble, there is a clearer and more practical approach that can be taken by investing in companies that could potentially benefit as AI technology progresses.
Since the shutdown began, air traffic controllers and TSA agents have been working without pay. Many are calling in sick, leading to longer lines and more flight disruptions.
Investors looking to profit from a “Goldilocks” environment where US stocks rally but Treasury market losses are contained should short the dollar, according to a new study published by Morgan Stanley.
Head of U.S. Fixed Income Greg Wilensky and Portfolio Manager Jeremiah Buckley discuss how balanced strategies can help investors stay true to their long-term objectives by providing a less volatile option to an all-equity portfolio.
So while there is a lot of focus on drug prices, measures taken to date are unlikely to make a meaningful impact on costs paid by the U.S. and its citizens. More fundamental reform would likely take an act of Congress, which would be hotly contested by lobbyists. There is no end in sight for debate on this front.
The 10-year Treasury briefly tested 4% and slipped just below, exactly what you’d expect when credit jitters boost demand for safe collateral. Real yields eased as well, consistent with a modest risk-off bid. Treasuries remain the cleanest hedge when credit fears pop, and that relationship asserted itself again last week.
While many investors entered 2025 heavily exposed to tech already, that hasn’t stopped markets from identifying other opportunities created by the need for AI computing power, like data centers.
A relentless surge in the price of gold is delivering windfalls across emerging markets, boosting investor confidence in countries that mine and buy the metal.
Stock markets are at all-time highs, public companies are shutting down their operations to buy bitcoin, consumers can bet in real time on almost anything they can imagine, “meme stocks” are back in full force, even the US government is buying stocks.
Despite short-term bearish sentiment, the case for Bitcoin remains underpinned by persistent macro weakness, potential Fed easing, and renewed distrust in traditional financial systems.
As we recently argued, investors don’t need to worry about the federal government shutdown showdown causing a recession. Before the current shutdown, the federal government had been shut for eighty days in the prior thirty years, with none of those days during a recession.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s head of research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the T. Rowe Price QM U.S. Bond ETF (TAGG) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discussed several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.
For most investors, energy security probably tends to be an afterthought until an event drives a jump in prices at the pump, as seen with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, energy security is about much more than geopolitics, especially as demand for electricity is poised for growth.
