Inflation is one of the most closely watched economic indicators, but it is also one of the easiest to misunderstand. A news headline might say that inflation is running at one rate, while another report released only a few weeks later shows a different number. Economists may focus on “core”...
For many investors, the traditional portfolio story is simple: stocks are there for growth, while bonds are there to provide stability. That expectation was reinforced by the market environment that shaped much of the period from 2010 through 2022. Interest rates were generally low, inflation was...
Diversification is often evaluated by counting what a portfolio owns. An investor may hold dozens of companies, several exchange-traded funds, and exposure to nearly every major market sector. On a conventional allocation report, the portfolio may appear broadly diversified. But the number of...
Investors have never had access to more information than they do today. Market data, economic reports, earnings transcripts, analyst commentary, news alerts, social media reactions, and artificial intelligence tools are all available almost instantly. In theory, this should make investing easier....
Investors are naturally drawn to what has been working. When a stock, sector, or theme moves sharply higher, it commands attention. The story becomes easier to tell. The opportunity feels more obvious. The recent performance seems to confirm that the market has discovered something important.....
Every investor understands, at least intuitively, that diversification matters. Spread your risk. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s one of the oldest principles in finance, and for good reason. But the mechanics behind why it works, and what “diversification” actually requires to be...
Survey data sits at the front edge of economic analysis. It captures what businesses are experiencing right now, before those conditions show up in hard data like GDP, employment reports, or corporate earnings. Two of the most widely followed survey-based indicators are PMI and ISM. They are...
When a client asks why their bond fund dropped even though interest rates only moved a little, the honest answer is: it depends. It depends on the kind of risk embedded in those bonds, and specifically on two forces that drive fixed income returns far more than most advisors or clients realize:...
When you check CNBC on the first Friday morning of each month or scan the Wall Street Journal’s markets section, you encounter a familiar set of employment numbers: jobless claims, continuing claims, new jobs created, and the unemployment rate. These figures move markets, influence Federal...
U.S. equity markets continue to post strong headline performance, but beneath the surface, this performance is primarily associated with artificial intelligence. A small group of mega-cap companies now accounts for a historically large share of index returns, index weights, and investor...
