Wealth Management

Establishing the optimal workplace retirement plan follows a pecking order, which starts by prioritizing plan design over investments. Our Mike Dullaghan discusses the process.

As tax season draws nearer, advisors and investors increasingly look to their portfolio to optimize exposures for taxation purposes.

College students may want to secure legal documents to ensure their parents can access important information and help them in medical emergencies. Our Bill Cass highlights the key documents students can prepare before leaving for college.

While short-term fluctuations and sudden selloffs have tested the markets, key indicators such as corporate profits, employment data, and economic resilience have held firm.

We analyze Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s comments about the potential for rate cuts in September and beyond.

A Soft Landing Scenario Is Still a Realistic Base Case.

The 19th Century American author Mark Twain once said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

That anthem was characteristic of the era. After two decades of economic frustration, free market policies had prompted a surge of growth and a bull market for stocks. The captains of industry were corporate raiders, who purchased companies, slashed expenses, pushed up prices and reaped outsized rewards.

This week, before she accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, Vice President Kamala Harris threw her support behind President Joe Biden’s tax proposals for 2025, which include a steep 44.6% capital gains rate and an unprecedented 25% tax on unrealized gains.

Over nearly three decades, I’ve been dedicated to the sport of running. For the last five years, I chased the elusive goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, my ultimate aspiration. It wasn’t until I sought the expertise of a professional coach that I finally achieved this dream.

Recent economic data points have been mixed. On the more positive side of the ledger, there’s evidence that inflation is cooling and consumer spending remains sturdy. Conversely, the jobs market is cooling.

The last two years of high school can be particularly important as students approach the final college decision. Our Bill Cass highlights some action items for students and parents.

Active management can lead to high portfolio turnover and a higher tax bill. Wealth managers might feel that an active strategy could be too inefficient for clients who are sensitive to taxes. Find out how implementing a core-satellite portfolio with a direct indexing core may improve tax efficiency.

We explore how strong fundamentals and a resilient economy may position high-yield bonds as a potentially compelling choice in today’s fluctuating market.

It's been 38 years since I began my career on Wall Street and the lessons I learned along the way from some all-time investment greats always hold true.

Are the “Mega-Cap” stocks dead? Maybe. But there are four reasons why they could be staged for a comeback. The recent market correction from the July peak certainly got investors’ attention and rattled the more extreme complacency.

Powell will hint at normalizing monetary policy, but at a measured pace.

Most DC plan participants pursue retirement readiness unassisted, but few grasp what’s required, according to our latest survey.

Advisors are offering customized holistic wealth management to their clients and their families to help ensure an orderly transition of wealth

Your portfolio can be the key to managing cash and maintaining flexibility.

The tea trade has lessons for today’s global commerce.

Families may want to consider a comprehensive plan for college, including actions to take during the high school years, and consider how a 529 plan can help guide savings. Our Bill Cass offers details on college planning.

Previously reliable recession signals have not worked in this cycle.

The Bank of Japan needs to proceed cautiously.

Slower employment cements the case for the Fed to start a series of rate cuts.

On Monday morning, investors woke up to plunging stock markets as the “Yen Carry Trade” blew up. While media headlines suggested the sell-off was due to fears of a recession, slowing employment growth, or fears over Israel and Iran, such is not the case.

When I was in high school, I really wanted a car. My loving parents took every situation as an opportunity to teach. They told me that if I wanted a car, I would have to earn it.

Investors can still extract yield while adding core bond exposure with the NEOS Enhanced Income Aggregate Bond ETF (BNDI).

As the number of Americans retiring in other countries continues to grow, our Bill Cass shares five considerations for individuals planning to retire abroad.

Four interlinked principles form a compelling investment philosophy for uncovering promising growth companies.

Over the past 20 years, the corporate bond market has experienced an evolution driven by cycles, regulatory shifts, and changing demand.

Recent developments in the labor market triggered the Sahm Rule, an economic indicator known for predicting the onset of recessions. Developed by economist Claudia Sahm, it signals a recession when the 3-month average of the unemployment rate rises by at least 0.5 percentage points above its low from the previous 12 months.

As the late George HW Bush once said, “What is it about August?”

Until recently, the prevailing market narrative since October was that the Fed was in a "pivot" to eventual rate cuts.

North American trade is booming, but gains have been uneven.

Take the market narrative with a grain of salt and look at the fundamentals in determining your outlook for the economy and financial markets. We ultimately believe this soft patch of data will prove to a be a ‘growth scare,’ not a ‘recession reality.’

The strong currency is neither a blessing nor a curse.

On July 31, the U.S. Treasury released its most recent Quarterly Refunding Announcement which revealed its financing strategy, presenting both positive and restrictive elements for global liquidity.

We have been talking about resiliency-driven inflation for the past several weeks. As the US and its Western allies realign supply chains to strengthen economic resiliency, the cost of certain goods and commodities will go up.

The Northern Trust Economics team shares its outlook for growth, inflation and interest rates in major markets.

Today’s passive index investing requires active choices, as customization and innovations in index funds have resulted in new considerations for investors and the potential for greater control.

I chaired an international economics conference in Canada earlier this month. Delegates from all over the world attended to discuss the issues of the day. Following is an abridged version of the meeting summary that I offered during the closing session.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) offers eight tips for advisors to use to review target-date funds. Our Mike Dullaghan illustrates how to use the DOL tips in preparation for plan review season.

Yes, the market could continue to rotate massively from large-cap to small and mid-capitalization companies. However, given the current levels of bullish sentiment and allocations against a backdrop of weakening economic data and widening spreads, this suggests the current rotation may be nothing more than a significant short-covering rally.

As we approach the end of the fiscal year, investors should be focusing on the Treasury General Account as one factor of many that may impact global liquidity, and in turn, market performance in the coming two quarters.

Despite all the hoopla surrounding technology stocks in the first half of the year, software names struggled.

Increasing the tax efficiency of a retiree’s income portfolio with the NEOS ETF suite may offer several benefits.

I almost exclusively talk about stocks here in Dividend Digest because dividends are at the root of my strategy. But most income investing includes some level of exposure to debt.