ESG

David Mann, our Head of Global Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Product and Capital Markets, explains how meatloaf—the dish, not the singer—serves as a perfect example of how his ETF thinking has evolved over the past decade.

ClearBridge Investments: The ongoing energy crisis is pushing global oil inventories, including many critical product inventories, toward all-time lows, and it may be time to position portfolios given the potential for supply shortages to emerge.

Today, 529 plans offer flexible, tax-advantaged savings beyond traditional college. Recent updates expand their use to K-12 tuition, vocational training and the option to transfer unused funds to a Roth IRA. Our Bill Cass explains the ways to optimize the benefits of 529 savings plans.

Royce Investment Partners: Co-CIO Francis Gannon looks at how recent performance may be subtly announcing a turning point in market leadership.

Get ready each week with high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

In the current market, broad healthcare exposure means navigating relentless regulatory pressure and drug-pricing reform, a combination that can erode returns quickly. To find true value in this challenging macro environment, investors are increasingly turning to cash as the ultimate truth-teller, specifically, free cash flow (FCF).

Wendy Li spent 20 years working with large endowments and foundations before founding Ivy Invest. In the latest Alternative Allocations, she discusses how institutions approach illiquid investments, the importance of manager selection, and where she sees opportunities in today's private markets.

Early detection, I believe, is one of the smartest investments you can make, whether we’re talking about your portfolio or your health.

That skepticism isn’t contrarianism for its own sake, but rather the recognition that when a thesis achieves consensus, the crowd has usually already priced the easy part of the move, and the hard part is what comes next.

In this month’s Allocation Views, the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy in 2026 continue to be the chief concern for asset allocation, as inflationary pressures challenge central bank policy.

Emerging markets have grown more resilient, according to the Templeton Global Macro team, and the Iran-driven oil shock is a fresh test. Impacts will likely diverge between oil importers and exporters and vary widely within each group.

TCW's concentrated strategy targets power grid constraints over clean tech, riding demand from AI and manufacturing reshoring.

ClearBridge Investments suggests investors could use volatility as an opportunity to deploy capital, while modestly favoring the stronger earnings revisions and more reasonable valuations available in non-US equities.

Get ready each week with high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

What a week this was! On Tuesday, I participated on a panel at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, where I discussed why Bitcoin miners have a head start in the race for AI compute.

Although sentiment remains sensitive to headlines around the Strait of Hormuz and energy markets, Franklin Templeton’s Emerging Markets Debt team sees an asset class that has shown it can absorb shocks, even as renewed geopolitical flare-ups or a broader risk-off episode could still test markets.

The European Union (EU), pursuing ambitious decarbonization goals, is significantly recalibrating its emissions compliance regime with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This new border tax intends to promote fair competition amid varying emissions rules and costs. Our research suggests it could also offer insight into profitability as the rising costs to meet carbon limits weigh on corporate financial health, creating winners and losers.

In a recent (unscientific) Franklin Templeton social media poll, we asked investors what they felt was the biggest risk to the global economy over the next 12 months. Nearly half (45%) of respondents highlighted high oil prices as their greatest fear factor.

Reaching age milestones triggers critical financial and tax-planning actions. This guide explores how specific ages impact decisions regarding Medicare, Social Security, charitable giving and retirement withdrawals, helping you navigate these milestones to optimize your long-term wealth strategy.

A quarterly report providing an in-depth analysis of the global economic landscape, key drivers and insights into fixed-income markets for investors.

Leaders often have trouble focusing on the longer-term. In the corporate arena, pressure to produce quarterly earnings can truncate planning horizons. In public life, popular opinion and election cycles can impose myopia. It takes a unique set of ingredients to set, and stick to, a lasting vision.

Fixed-income market sentiment was dominated by geopolitical headlines, particularly the conflict in the Middle East following disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz and rising oil prices, which contributed to renewed inflation concerns.

Every employee has heard calls to be more efficient: “Work smarter, not harder.” “Do more with less.” “Don't reinvent the wheel.” These platitudes are not only applicable at the micro level: the modern economy has continually become more efficient. Our use of energy tells the story clearly, and serves as a source of resilience during today’s supply disruptions.

Get ready each week with high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

The most exciting innovations aren't always the ones that break new ground—sometimes they're the ones that finally make breakthrough ideas work. This quarter’s spotlight reveals how researchers are removing practical barriers to turn promising laboratory technologies into deployable solutions, from agricultural robotics to dissolving medical devices, transforming theoretical possibilities into tools that can reshape industries today.

Much of the conversation around private credit versus public high yield focuses on yield levels, default expectations and headline volatility. But we think what matters most is how each market lets investors measure, manage and reprice risk as conditions change.

Focusing on tax planning year-round can significantly improve your financial situation. By reviewing your recently filed 1040 form, you can uncover valuable opportunities to optimize investments, maximize deductions and strategically plan for retirement, ensuring long-term financial health and tax efficiency.

The US dollar's obituary has been written many times—with increasing frequency over the past year. Each time we get a fresh round of analyses declaring that de-dollarization is accelerating, the world is reorganizing its financial architecture around alternatives and the greenback's reign is drawing to a close.

Michael Bell of Meketa Capital joins the Alternative Allocations podcast to explore why infrastructure investing is shifting from an institutional-only play to a foundational piece of the modern portfolio and what that means for today's market participants.

Benefit Street Partners believes private credit has faced scrutiny recently and there are four horsemen of the apocalypse charging toward private credit investors, but three are phantoms. One, however, is real.

Franklin Templeton Institute examines the evolution of private credit, its risk/return characteristics, and why commercial real estate debt represents a viable alternative to traditional fixed income options.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduces enhanced tax benefits but adds significant complexity. Our Bill Cass explains why strategic planning around key income thresholds is critical to maximize deductions and ensure tax-efficient financial outcomes.

Energy-driven inflation and geopolitical risk increase the likelihood of higher-for-longer interest rates, which listed infrastructure has several mechanisms for passing through to earnings.

Given the combined weight of these markets within EM portfolios, Templeton Global Investments believe incremental improvements in capital discipline could have a meaningful impact on aggregate index-level earnings quality.

Geopolitical tensions and disruptions to global energy supply often lead to higher gas prices at the pump. Amid the current conflict in Iran, oil prices have surged to above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, jet fuel prices in the U.S. have more than doubled. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the year-to-date percent change in U.S. jet fuel prices stood above 120% as of the end of March.

The United Nations (UN) warns of a roughly US$4 trillion annual shortfall in financing for its sustainable development goals—a gap too large for the public sector to fill alone.

During the pandemic, my wife lived in constant fear that we would run short of paper products, disinfectants and other essentials. I was frequently sent out on reconnaissance missions to replenish supplies.

Leveraging 529 plans and community support can significantly boost college savings. These plans offer potential tax benefits and flexibility. Our Bill Cass explains that involvement from family and friends can provide additional resources and motivation.

Get ready each week with high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.

Investors have no shortage of metrics to evaluate equities, but not all measures capture the same economic reality. In an environment defined by elevated capital spending and market concentration, earnings-based measures may not fully reflect how efficiently companies convert investment into cash.

As tax law changes from the OBBBA take effect, taxpayers may want to evaluate their financial plans. Our Bill Cass shares some essential strategies—including Roth conversions that may help taxpayers optimize savings.

Geopolitical volatility is not only increasing investor demand for infrastructure assets; it is urgently reshaping where and how capital is deployed. As energy security, supply chain resilience, and digital sovereignty rise up policy agendas, infrastructure investments that expand capacity and relieve bottlenecks are becoming critical.

A SEP IRA offers small businesses and sole proprietors a flexible, tax advantaged way to fund 2025 retirement savings. With high contribution limits, simplified administration and deadlines extending through tax filing, it can provide a practical solution for boosting long term financial security.

At the risk of leaving aside the flow-through of the crude oil price into expenses such as electricity, trucking, and so on, let’s just look at the pocketbook hit from filling up the family car specifically.

If you’re not sure what direct indexing means, you’re not alone. Even after the recent growth, direct indexing remains relatively unknown. As our risk review team never fails to remind us, you can’t invest directly in an index. So what exactly is direct indexing?

As portfolios limited to public equities capture a smaller slice of corporate growth, private investments are increasingly finding a place in long-term wealth-building strategies, including 401(k)s.

The financial advisory space has never been more competitive, or more ripe for transformation. Fee compression, AI encroachment, tightening compliance, and clients with increasingly sophisticated expectations are pushing experienced Advisors to ask a fundamental question: Is it time to make a move?

In February, market sentiment was shaped by escalating US-Iran geopolitical tensions and sector-specific selloffs driven by concerns about AI’s potential disruption to existing business models.

Silver had a phenomenal 2025, more than doubling from around $30/oz to above $70 by late December, and the rally continued into the new year.

China’s underappreciated equity market and energy resilience amid current geopolitical tensions warrants consideration, according to Franklin Templeton ETFs’ Dina Ting. In this article, she discusses the different factors that underpin her views.

Royce Investment Partners: Co-CIO Francis Gannon discusses how US small caps remain market leaders even as volatility and uncertainty are on the rise.

In this month’s Allocation Views, healthy earnings growth is disguising a bifurcation that has resulted in particularly challenging earnings expectations for large-cap growth stocks in 2026.

As the capital expenditure (capex) race for compute continues, we thought that it would be worthwhile to briefly outline the current state of play facing the well-publicized data center buildout. To understand why so much capex is needed to support artificial intelligence (AI), we must first understand how data centers are built and operated.

The OBBBA expands Section 1202 benefits, allowing certain C-corp business owners to exclude significant capital gains. This complex provision requires specific holding periods and asset tests, making professional guidance essential to maximizing these tax savings.

On February 27, 2026 the United States and Israel launched a coordinated strike on Iran’s leadership, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many of the leadership team. Since the initial attack, a torrent of strikes has continued, designed to take out Iran’s ballistic missiles and leadership apparatus.

International value stocks outpaced US equities in 2025. See the five catalysts fueling the shift—and why investors still have time to act.

As markets rotate to favor small caps and international equities, rising risks are likely to make investment discipline even more important for seizing opportunities, write Chris Galipeau and Lukasz Kalwak of Franklin Templeton Institute.

The agenda is being reset for US shareholder meetings in 2026. Regulatory shifts have led to a steep decline in overall shareholder proposals while governance issues are becoming the biggest battleground.

Get ready each week with high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.