Gold holdings in exchange-traded funds climbed to a month-end peak, a sign that investor inflows are continuing to add fuel to bullion’s scorching rally.
Netflix Inc. agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. in a historic combination, joining the world’s dominant paid streaming service with one of Hollywood’s oldest and most revered studios.
Polymarket has been recruiting new staff members for an internal market making team that could face off against customers on the company’s exchange, even though a similar feature has exposed its chief rival to criticism.
How worried should the US be about private credit? Already this year, more than 1 in 10 private credit borrowers are deferring cash interest payments and at least 45 firms have been taken over by their lenders, the most in six years.
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.
Join ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman and his team for a look at why so many covered call ETFs fall behind when stocks rise, and how newer approaches aim to strike a better balance between income and long-term equity potential.
Across April and May, the bond giant’s positions in 5- to 10-year Treasuries and mortgages were getting hammered. First, after President Donald Trump’s punitive “Liberation Day” tariffs, and then amid the burst of “Sell America” calls that followed.
The passage of new US stablecoin legislation has intensified Wall Street debate over the tokens' potential to significantly boost the dollar and become a multi-trillion-dollar source of demand for short-dated Treasuries.
While volatility around holidays makes the single week's number choppy, this trend supports the view that actual job losses remain limited, allaying concerns about a rapid deterioration of the labor market. The overall low-fire, low-hire market, however, has made it difficult for out-of-work Americans to find new employment.
Vanguard, a major global asset manager, is planning to significantly expand its US offshore wealth services, primarily by tripling its team in Miami and growing in other US cities like Houston and California. This strategic move aims to cater to wealthy Latin Americans who increasingly seek to move their assets abroad, often preferring the US for its stability.
Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg is expected to meaningfully cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort that he once framed as the future of the company and the reason for changing its name from Facebook Inc.
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.
Market valuation: Is the market still overvalued?
Join the experts at CoinShares for an educational webcast that covers a broad overview of today's crypto landscape with a focus on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.
The widespread issue of "Boomerang Parenting" is posing a serious financial threat to Gen X's retirement plans, as they spend an average of $1,384 a month supporting their adult children. Caught between this generosity and their own lagging retirement savings (median balance of only $40k–$50k), Gen X is running out of time to course-correct.
The UK and Japan are responding to investor demand to boost short-term borrowing, a shift in strategy that offers governments lower interest payments but exposes them to potentially costly rates swings at the time of debt rollovers.
The US SEC has issued warning letters effectively blocking the launch of several high-octane ETFs designed to deliver three and five times the daily returns of stocks and cryptos. The regulator is concerned that these leveraged funds—which sought to exceed the current 2x leverage limit—have risk exposures that may violate SEC limits relative to their assets.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. macro trader Bobby Molavi likens the setup for stocks heading into the new year to a boxing match, where the bullish drivers of AI and stimulus measures confront bearish forces including stretched valuations and credit stress.
I am always concerned when partners have disagreements and there is talk about “winning,” which infers those who do not get their way are losers. This is a set-up from the beginning that chips away at collaboration, because one person is trying to show the others that they are right.
Used well, PowerPoint can help build your message while also building your audience’s knowledge and awareness. A good slide presentation can help both parties stay comfortable and focused.
Not all merger agreements are not created equal, and when contemplating a merger, RIA owners should be aware of these differences and the options available. One of the best investments a firm can make may be acquiring the services of an “advisor’s advisor.
In Charles MacKay’s 1841 book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, he highlights how mass human behavior can lead to irrationality: “They go mad in herds while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.”
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.
Inflation is the number-one public concern in Japan. But one section of the economy is proving to be invulnerable to rising prices: pop idols, YouTubers and cartoon characters.
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.