The US said it’s developing a fast-track process for screening foreign investments in the US, an effort Trump administration officials expect could smooth the way for billions from wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Elite golf is a mental game as much as physical—and so is investing. This year’s Masters tournament was one of the most compelling I have ever witnessed, and Rory McIlroy’s long-awaited playoff victory contains a number of life lessons that are relevant for investors.

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the economy and the markets are not working efficiently. It’s been that way for at least all of my adult life (2008), and maybe a handful of years before that.

Once again, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep rates unchanged at today’s meeting, leaving the Fed Funds trading range at 4.25%-4.50%, keeping the level for overnight money 100 basis points (bps) below last year’s peak reading.

S&P 500^® earnings per share estimates have come down sharply. According to FactSet, calendar year 2025 is now expected to show $266 in operating EPS for the Index.

The current geopolitical climate has injected an extra dose of unpredictability into the economy.

Investors bearish on the dollar have generated attractive returns in the current environment with Invesco's UDN.

“Compounding” is a word often used among investors to describe what they hope to achieve for their capital. Compounding is invoked so frequently that one would think it was the standard aim and practice among investors.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) is a simple computation: You take the civilian labor force (people aged 16 and over employed or seeking employment) and divide it by the civilian non-institutional population (those 16 and over not in the military and or committed to an institution). As of April, the labor force participation rate is at 62.6%, up from 62.5% the previous month.

Today, one in three of the 65-69 cohort, one in five of the 70-74 cohort, and one in ten of the 75+ cohort are in the labor force.

US stocks climbed at the open Thursday as investors welcomed news of a trade agreement between the US and the UK — a widely anticipated development that some traders say could serve as a blueprint for broader global negotiations

Blackstone Inc., Vanguard Group and Wellington Management Co are launching a fund that will invest in public equities, bonds and private markets, as part of their effort to expand private-market offerings to retail clients.

A potential regulatory shift in favor of the ETF industry is expected to shake up the business models of Wall Street brokers, with billions of dollars in revenue at stake.

In technology, disruption can happen slowly and then all at once. Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit is praying for the former right now.

Markets are desperate for good news about tariffs — or no news at all. It only took a pause on the reciprocal tariffs and vague promises of future trade deals for the bond market to stabilize and stocks to recover.

Advisors continue to seek out diversified strategies to gain stable income this year. In addition to the growing universe of fixed income mutual funds and ETFs, there are other alternatives to consider.

Our monthly workforce recovery analysis has been updated to include the latest employment report for April. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2%. Additionally, the number of new non-farm jobs (a relatively volatile number subject to extensive revisions) came in at 177,000.

Currently, the Three Tactical Rules are a “flashing yellow light” - a roughly neutral rating which represents a slight downgrade.

Our Cash Indicator methodology acts as a plan in case of an emergency. Importantly, each of these systems work together.

In the week ending May 3rd, initial jobless claims were at a seasonally adjusted level of 228,000. This represents a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's figure. The latest reading was lower than the forecast of 231,000.

After entering the year with a cautious outlook, managers have become more defensively postured as the U.S. tariff policy has increased uncertainty.

Market headlines may change daily, but the role of a financial advisor remains remarkably consistent: to be the calm in the storm, the strategist with a plan and—most importantly—the voice of reason when clients need it most.

Over years, the US cemented its position as an exceptional source of earnings growth that fueled outsize equity returns. Many investors are now questioning whether the US will retain its advantages as President Trump’s trade policies add uncertainty to the outlook across industries.

Even though Warren Buffett is 94 and decades past the average retirement age, the end of his run as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was always going to come as a shock.

When I was much younger, I worked as a bond salesman for a small regional bank in the southwest. I sold some short-term T-bills to yield 17% and some ten-year T-bonds to yield 14%. Paul Volcker, the Fed chairman at the time, had reduced inflation dramatically but the bond market had not yet accepted that new reality and kept interest rates very high for a while after Volker achieved his lower level of inflation.

In light of the announcement that Warren Buffett is stepping down, we thought it very useful to share some of the keynote talk I did at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Business School last Friday night (thanks to its wonderful director, Robert Miles).

May 8, VettaFi will host an Income Investment Strategy Symposium. Income is top of mind for many investors.

The Federal Reserve concluded its third meeting of the year by keeping the federal funds rate (FFR) at 4.25-4.50%, as expected.

Private equity transaction volumes remain limited despite predictions for a boom in 2025. With interest rates remaining elevated and the economic backdrop increasingly uncertain, executing acquisitions and IPOs is proving a challenge, leading financial sponsors to hold portfolio companies for longer.

Most advisor websites are invisible because they’re built on a flawed assumption — that people will reach out just because you exist. That’s not how it works anymore.

Tracking marketing metrics isn’t about labeling efforts as a success or failure — it’s about identifying opportunities to tweak and improve what’s already working. By understanding the data, you can make informed decisions that enhance your outreach and client engagement.

In my team, we implement a concept called ARTICA, which I created a number of years ago . ARTICA is a step-by-step process to help you deal with the difficult conversations that might otherwise feel daunting,

US stocks jumped at the open Wednesday as investors were encouraged by news that the US and China are set to start trade talks this weekend, even as traders awaited the Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day.

A time-honored signal heeded by Wall Street’s credit industry — the weekly flow of money — is breaking down.

Bitcoin's closing price hovered around $96,000 this week, remaining near its highest level in over two months. BTC is up ~3% year to date and is ~9% below its record high from January 2025.

Bill Ackman said Harvard University’s endowment is heading for a painful financial reckoning as it weighs selling some of its private equity holdings while battling the Trump administration over federal research funding.

Sam Altman’s reputation for spin was out in full force this week in a published “letter to employees” announcing that he was abandoning plans to turn OpenAI into a for-profit company. Instead, it will “continue to be overseen and controlled” by its nonprofit board.

It was a glimpse of a very appealing future: A sleek 18-wheeler powered by Aurora Innovation Inc. trundled down Interstate 45 from Dallas to Houston last week with a trailer full of goods and a completely empty cab. At long last, autonomous trucking may have arrived.

Trend-following strategies can offer attractive, positively skewed returns, with large positive outperformance often coinciding with large equity selloffs, thereby offering tail protection.

Over the past two weeks, the market has had a furious nine-day rally, the longest winning streak in 21 years.

Despite negative GDP growth in Q1 and global trade tensions, markets are showing surprising resilience. Investors are betting tariffs will not bite as hard as feared earlier in April and that deals will emerge to soften the blow.

Most economists and portfolio managers are cautious when discussing gold. Its handling and transaction costs are high, and it pays no interest or dividends.

So what has caused such a surge in international returns versus the U.S. so far this year? Is it just short-term noise, reversion to the mean, or something more systematic? If the last few months were purely short-term noise, we will soon know, as U.S. stocks will resume dominance.

Roughly a month on from Liberation Day one thing is clear: While actual tariff numbers may not be set, markets have certainly been liberated from complacency. S

Record gold prices drove first-quarter demand in 2025 to the highest level since 2016.

Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of all time, will step down as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. at the end of the year. The six-decade track record he leaves behind is so astonishing that mere numbers on a page don’t do it justice.

Multiple jobholders accounted for 5.4% of civilian employment in April.

April's employment report showed that 82.6% of total employed workers were full-time (35+ hours) and 17.4% of total employed workers were part-time (<35 hours).

Gas prices were essentially flat this week, remaining near their lowest levels in six weeks. As of May 5th, the price of regular was up 1 cent while premium gas was unchanged from the previous week.