Join Reckoner Capital Management for a product due diligence session covering the Reckoner Yield Enhanced AAA CLO ETF (RAAA) and its active approach to liquid credit.
New Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will preside over his first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on June 16-17, stepping in at a complex moment with inflation at a three-year high as oil prices remain elevated, labor market risks easing with job growth averaging ~140,000 year to date versus only 10,000 last year, and hawkish voices on the Fed gaining traction.
As we go to press, fighting in the Mideast has escalated, sending crude higher, but stocks, in early Monday trade, have shown remarkable stability following Friday’s deep selloff.
The U.S. initial public offering (IPO) market appears to be entering one of its most consequential periods in years. After a long drought following the 2021 issuance boom, a healthier macro backdrop, improved risk appetite, and a long queue of mature private companies have reopened the new-issue window.
For many investors, retirement planning becomes most tangible at the start and end of the year. Goals are set in January, then revisited during year-end tax and financial planning discussions. But the middle of the year offers an equally valuable opportunity: a chance to evaluate progress, reassess assumptions, and make adjustments before small issues become larger challenges.
Philanthropy conversations can open the door to multigenerational planning, as clients can bring in their children to contribute to discussions of shared values and charitable goals. For advisors, that creates an opportunity to become not just a financial resource, but a trusted partner who helps clients connect wealth with purpose.
As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its three key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) on June 11, responding to the energy shock from the Iran war. Inflation was revised higher for 2026 and 2027, and it is expected to fall to target in 2028. Although we expect one more hike, the timing is uncertain as the ECB is keeping all options open—including the possibility of not raising rates again.
This week the Fed has its first meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh. For only the third time in US history, the former Chair, Jerome Powell, will still participate as a regular member of the Board of Governors.
Gold has always had a way of testing investors’ expectations. Just when the headlines appear most supportive—inflation is rising, geopolitical risk is escalating and confidence in fiat currency is being questioned—gold can suddenly move in the opposite direction.
On the heels of arranging a record $85 billion equity-raise for Alphabet Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has scored a lesser-known victory for the tech giant in the municipal bond market.
The IPO market is bubbling with excitement. The headlines surrounding the IPOs are hyperbolic, banker fees are enormous, and social media is teeming with bullish sentiment on how high the new shares may trade after going public. While that is all great for clickbait, nobody is asking the most important question. Where will the money come from?
This is the underlying question in several books and articles that have been published recently, most notably Kenneth Rogoff’s “Our Dollar, Your Problem,” and Barry Eichengreen’s “Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto” — the latter of which is the subject of this review.
Dr Frank Sortino passed away last month. He was 94. Frank was a good friend of mine. Frank earned the name Dr. Downside for redefining risk as a measure of not achieving your objectives, which led to the fairly famous Sortino Ratio.
Treasuries advanced as investors dialed back expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes following news of a deal to halt the Iran war.
SpaceX shares jumped in their second day of trading, adding to gains following a blockbuster debut that instantly vaulted it into the ranks of the world’s most valuable public companies.
There are two processes that we cannot escape: aging and math. This applies not only to human beings but also to large government social-insurance programs.
Builder confidence edged lower in June as ongoing affordability challenges continue to affect the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) fell 2 points from May to 35 this month, marking the 26th consecutive negative reading.
Chris Galipeau discusses high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
Given all the interest and hype over the SpaceX IPO, many advisors and investors have been increasingly gravitating towards thematic ETFs that focus on the space industry. Given that the SpaceX IPO is the largest IPO in history, this should not come as a surprise to anyone.
The K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind. It fits the mood, and it makes for a sharp headline. The problem is that it’s mostly wrong. When you pull the actual Census data, the dominant move of the last half-century isn’t down.
GMO has posted a new 7-Year asset class forecast as of May 31, 2026.
Recent economic data continues to point to a resilient U.S. economy. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in May, while payrolls increased by 172,000 jobs. Hiring remained strongest in leisure and hospitality, though there were also encouraging signs from more cyclical areas of the economy.
During this time of year, we like to take stock of what happened in the first half of the year and compare it with the expectations we had at the beginning of the year when we published our full-year outlooks.
The U.S. economy faced intensifying headwinds in May as both consumer and wholesale inflation metrics surged to multi-year highs.
Discover how Capital Group’s active CGGR ETF navigates this mega-cap divergence to uncover secular growth beyond tech.
Despite everything we have seen in the economic data, which can be confusing, the US consumer has refused to crack. My friend Dr. Ed Yardeni, whom I have known since '98, has the most compelling explanation I have heard for why.
High-speed railway Brightline West has signed new contracts to lay tracks and systems for its high-speed railway, according to an email seen by Bloomberg, signaling progress for a project whose municipal bonds have traded at steep discounts since last year.
The current economic downturn is best described as hybrid and structurally driven. It leans heavily on demand constraints, though it is triggered and complicated by ongoing supply shocks.
New York City’s pension system said it’s seeking bids for roughly $92 billion of stock index-tracking funds now overseen by BlackRock Inc. and State Street Investment Management.
The yield on the 10-year note finished June 12, 2026 at 4.48% while the 2-year note ended at 4.09%.
Join the experts at MassMutual Strategic Distributors for an educational webcast exploring income riders and how to evaluation variable annuities beyond surface level features so you can match the right rider to each client’s investor profile and retirement goals.
Goldman Sachs and Innovator panelists say buffer ETFs can help advisors move cash-shy clients into stocks with built-in downside limits.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale responds to a viewer's question about building a retirement income portfolio for a 63-year-old investor. Rather than recommending specific stocks, Chuck focuses on the process he uses to identify high-quality income investments using the principles of value investing and the FAST Graphs platform.
US stocks opened with a small gain on Friday, supported by optimism about pending trading in SpaceX, which made history with the biggest-ever IPO, and the potential for an interim peace deal in the Iran conflict.
There’s a memorial to Paul the octopus at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen after the cephalopod seer earned worldwide fame by correctly predicting the outcome of all Germany’s seven games at the 2010 World Cup
The ETF industry has reached a historic turning point. Vanguard has officially surpassed BlackRock’s iShares to become the largest ETF provider. The milestone underscores a broader structural shift among investors prioritizing low-cost investments in portfolio allocations.
At a time when the cost of living is rising and market volatility appears to be rising, too, investors may be looking for current income to bolster their portfolios. Current income can especially help investors at or near retirement to adapt to retired life.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s public finance department hired a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker to specialize in prepay energy deals, marking a major hire for the team as the firm ramps up its work in the sector.
The word seems to be spreading that small- and micro-cap stocks have so far been enjoying a stellar 2026. What seems less well known is that the current cycle of market leadership for the two asset classes stretches back to 2025 and has been in place for 14 months.
Dispersion continues to be the definitive story of 2026. As we progress through June and approach the conclusion of the first half of the year, the equity landscape remains distinctly bifurcated. Pockets of deep structural growth stand in contrast to areas grappling with macro headwinds.
In this month’s Allocation Views, strong corporate fundamentals and resilient growth fuel our continued optimism toward equities into June, despite persistent inflation and more restrictive monetary policy.
In addition to a greater range of chips supporting AI development, several factors could cause the current cycle to last longer than expected.
While owning a significant amount of a successful stock can be incredibly lucrative – especially in a company on the rise – the more you own of a single equity, the more closely your personal financial fate is tied to its performance.
For many investors, wealth management still feels segmented. Investments are handled in one meeting, taxes in another, estate planning somewhere else, and major life decisions often happen independently of all three.
Since early 2025, value stocks have enjoyed a strong run, defying market volatility driven by trade tensions, geopolitical stress and macroeconomic uncertainty. That resilience may seem counterintuitive given value’s historically cyclical profile. Yet, we believe the underlying characteristics of value stocks are proving particularly well suited to today’s evolving market landscape.
For many registered investment advisors (RIAs), success has traditionally been measured in assets under management (AUM). As the industry evolves and consolidation accelerates, a broader question is emerging: are you building a practice or an enterprise?
Silver's chart also weakened substantially, although the metal remains near important longer-term support levels and has not yet confirmed the same degree of structural breakdown seen in gold.
Inflation and geopolitical uncertainty are pushing advisors and investors to rethink how they build diversified portfolios.
This past week, the market hit an all-time high. At the same time, Alphabet (GOOG) told investors it would raise $80 billion by selling stock to fund its AI buildout, and the shares fell about 4% on the news.
May's Producer Price Index (PPI) data delivered another blow to inflation watchers, as wholesale price growth came in hotter than expected.
In the week ending June 6th, initial jobless claims were at a seasonally adjusted level of 229,000, the highest level in four months. This represents an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's figure and was higher than the forecast of 220,000.
May saw 148 new ETF launches in May alone – although launch figures were partially driven by a 37-fund rollout from Corgi Insurance Services.
The initial public offering for SpaceX is poised to generate billions of dollars in profits for the fortunate few investors who got in early on Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence company.
As shareholders rush to pull money from private credit funds over troubling questions about software exposure, opaque loan values and non-payments, some bond investors are doing the opposite: buying their debt.
For more than four decades, PIMCO’s Secular Forum has provided a disciplined framework for stepping back from short-term market noise to assess the structural forces that will shape the global economy and markets over the next five years. Yet rarely has this exercise been more consequential than it has recently.
After more than three years of underperformance, our prognosis for global health care stocks remains positive. The sector now offers a broader set of high-quality companies at valuations that appear increasingly disconnected from fair value.
Equity issuance is all the rage. The SpaceX (SPCX) IPO on Friday, Alphabet’s (GOOGL) up-sized secondary announced last week, and a slew of other major go-public names over the remainder of 2026 (Anthropic, OpenAI) buck the years-long trend of intense buybacks and shareholder-friendly activities by the world’s most valuable companies.
All major U.S. stock indices fell last week, ending a remarkable run of nine straight weekly gains for the S&P 500. But the headline numbers hide an unusually lopsided story.
Attractive yields and strong credit fundamentals are setting the municipal bond market up for a solid second half of the year, said Paul Malloy, the head of municipals at The Vanguard Group Inc.
The Senate passed $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill, Capitol Hill struggles to find consensus on how to regulate AI, and the Trump Accounts app is live.
Begin with the print itself, because the headline flatters the internals only slightly. The bulk of May's gains came from leisure and hospitality, which added 70,000 jobs, nearly half of them in food services and drinking places; local government contributed 55,000, health care 35,000, and manufacturing a modest 7,000, while financial activities actually shed positions.
Every dollar in a growth equity index reflects two decisions: which companies to own and how much of each to hold. Indexes form intricate systematic rules to make the first decision. The second decision—position sizing—is usually determined by market-cap weighting.
This series has been updated to include the May release of the consumer price index as the deflator and the monthly employment update. The latest hypothetical real (inflation-adjusted) annual earnings are at $54,604, down 6.1% from over 50 years ago.
Inflation surged to 4.2% year-over-year in May, hitting its highest level in over three years. The headline figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was consistent with the forecast, driven primarily by cost increases in energy, shelter, and food.
Prepaid energy deals are complicated transactions that allow utilities to lock in cheaper prices over long periods of time. They involve a financial middleman that receives bond proceeds in exchange for making regular payments needed to procure the energy for the utility.
With a new boss at the helm and expectations of billions in surplus gas revenue, the Qatar Investment Authority spent the past year telegraphing a step-up in dealmaking. Iran’s attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure and Doha’s inability to ship products risk hampering that push.
Sentiment in the US stock market has shifted quickly from fear of missing out to fear of getting wiped out.
Ratings that underpin a growing slice of the $1.8 trillion private-credit market, the hottest corner of Wall Street in recent years, are systematically understating investment risk, according to a new study by Columbia Business School researchers.
LPL Research analyzes bond markets as yields rise, exploring Fed policy expectations, inflation trends, and whether bad news is already priced into Treasuries.
Equity markets should remain supported by strong earnings and capital investment trends through 2026, but market concentration and macro risks leave less room for error.
The takeaway for both HY and EM corporates is straightforward. Once oil prices are above breakeven, further moves in oil tend to matter less for credit performance.
In Part 1, we explored why Dollar Dominance Remains Alive and Well. Today, we will explore the stronger-dollar trade, the one macro trade that nobody is sized for.
The Numbers Are Staggering – The Magnificent Seven stocks now carry a combined market cap larger than the GDPs of Germany, Japan, India, and the UK combined. Meanwhile, 2025 tech-sector capital expenditures rivaled the peak-year spending of the Manhattan Project, rural electrification, the Apollo moon shot, and the Interstate Highway System — all at once.
While job growth has reaccelerated, supporting consumption, the underlying income picture is less encouraging.
Investors have enjoyed a favorable run. If the year ended today, it would mark the seventh time in the last nine years that stock portfolios generated double-digit returns. Housing prices remain near historic highs, while bond investors have benefited from elevated yields over the past three years.
Building resilient portfolios in markets delivering mixed messages can be a challenging affair. In our ongoing engagement with the retail and advisor community at VettaFi, we hear first-hand just how investors are tackling that challenge this year.
Several articles enjoyed strong performance during the month of May, though there does not seem to have been a unifying theme, unless it is pointing out mistaken beliefs or unexamined conventions.
Crypto has clearly matured considerably as an asset class, and it's exciting to hear more advisors speak about the opportunity it presents — without being scared away by its volatility. The real question today is how much of a portfolio allocation is appropriate given their specific objectives and constraints.
Interest rates remain one of the primary concerns for investors as Kevin Warsh has officially assumed leadership at the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed). While we believe the possibility of a rate cut has diminished considerably, we are not yet expecting additional rate hikes.
Probably the most popular insight to make its way from finance theory into everyday usage is that "diversification is the only free lunch" in investing. The idea dates back to Harry Markowitz in 1952. He, and those building on his work, demonstrated that in an efficient market, investors shouldn't earn extra return for bearing company-specific risks that can be diversified away.
The rise in US yields has extended across the entire Treasury curve, creating a charged backdrop for Fed policymakers and their new chairman, Kevin Warsh, who helms his first meeting and press conference next week.
US stocks have further to run as corporate earnings growth underpins sentiment despite some signals suggesting equities may have risen too far, JPMorgan Asset Management’s Jack Caffrey said.
Existing home sales reached their highest level of the year in May, rising 3.2% after a 0.7% increase in April. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, surpassing the projected 4.07 million.
Interactive Brokers Group Inc. is offering exchange-traded funds from BlackRock Inc. in savings plans in Europe, the latest platform to provide the booming product that’s become increasingly popular with mom-and-pop investors on the continent.
The history of megacap initial public offerings shows that the stocks usually slump in the first year of trading. But upcoming listings from SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are big enough and systemically important enough to the market that those analogies may not apply.
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index dropped 0.6 points to 95.3, reaching its lowest level since October 2024. The index remains below its historical average for a third straight month.
There is an old adage that the stock market climbs a wall of worry, which describes its ability to keep rising even amid negative economic news or events. This defies logic, yet I have watched it prove true time after time.
It’s no secret that investors are on the lookout for opportunities in their fixed income portfolios. This is especially true in today’s shifting landscape. Equities are hot, perhaps too hot, and many investors want strong performances out of their bonds in order to keep up.
Fertilizers sit at the center of this transmission mechanism. As much as a third of the global supply of these commodities passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely been closed for three months. This has triggered shortages and a price spike.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, three of the world’s largest and most consequential private companies—SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI—are preparing to go public in the same year. Together, they could add nearly $4 trillion in market cap to public markets.
Fixed Income
CLOse encounters of the liquid credit kind
Join Reckoner Capital Management for a product due diligence session covering the Reckoner Yield Enhanced AAA CLO ETF (RAAA) and its active approach to liquid credit.
Warsh’s Frst FOMC Meeting Will Put Policy and Fed Independence in Focus
New Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will preside over his first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on June 16-17, stepping in at a complex moment with inflation at a three-year high as oil prices remain elevated, labor market risks easing with job growth averaging ~140,000 year to date versus only 10,000 last year, and hawkish voices on the Fed gaining traction.
Falling Oil Prices Reinforce Bullish Outlook
As we go to press, fighting in the Mideast has escalated, sending crude higher, but stocks, in early Monday trade, have shown remarkable stability following Friday’s deep selloff.
Introducing the IPO Class of 2026
The U.S. initial public offering (IPO) market appears to be entering one of its most consequential periods in years. After a long drought following the 2021 issuance boom, a healthier macro backdrop, improved risk appetite, and a long queue of mature private companies have reopened the new-issue window.
A Midyear Retirement Readiness Check
For many investors, retirement planning becomes most tangible at the start and end of the year. Goals are set in January, then revisited during year-end tax and financial planning discussions. But the middle of the year offers an equally valuable opportunity: a chance to evaluate progress, reassess assumptions, and make adjustments before small issues become larger challenges.
When Clients Ask About Their Tax Bill, the Answer Might Be Philanthropy
Philanthropy conversations can open the door to multigenerational planning, as clients can bring in their children to contribute to discussions of shared values and charitable goals. For advisors, that creates an opportunity to become not just a financial resource, but a trusted partner who helps clients connect wealth with purpose.
Can the Eurozone Tolerate Higher Rates for Long?
As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its three key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) on June 11, responding to the energy shock from the Iran war. Inflation was revised higher for 2026 and 2027, and it is expected to fall to target in 2028. Although we expect one more hike, the timing is uncertain as the ECB is keeping all options open—including the possibility of not raising rates again.
Is Productivity Growth Picking Up?
This week the Fed has its first meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh. For only the third time in US history, the former Chair, Jerome Powell, will still participate as a regular member of the Board of Governors.
Gold Looks Oversold. Is This the Contrarian Moment Investors Have Been Waiting For?
Gold has always had a way of testing investors’ expectations. Just when the headlines appear most supportive—inflation is rising, geopolitical risk is escalating and confidence in fiat currency is being questioned—gold can suddenly move in the opposite direction.
Goldman Brings Google to Prepaid Energy Market After Equity Deal
On the heels of arranging a record $85 billion equity-raise for Alphabet Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has scored a lesser-known victory for the tech giant in the municipal bond market.
The IPO Boom: Where Will the Money Come From?
The IPO market is bubbling with excitement. The headlines surrounding the IPOs are hyperbolic, banker fees are enormous, and social media is teeming with bullish sentiment on how high the new shares may trade after going public. While that is all great for clickbait, nobody is asking the most important question. Where will the money come from?
Could the Dollar Be in Trouble – If So, What Then?
This is the underlying question in several books and articles that have been published recently, most notably Kenneth Rogoff’s “Our Dollar, Your Problem,” and Barry Eichengreen’s “Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto” — the latter of which is the subject of this review.
Remembering Dr. Frank Sortino
Dr Frank Sortino passed away last month. He was 94. Frank was a good friend of mine. Frank earned the name Dr. Downside for redefining risk as a measure of not achieving your objectives, which led to the fairly famous Sortino Ratio.
US Bonds Rally as Traders Trim Fed Rate-Hike Bets on Iran Deal
Treasuries advanced as investors dialed back expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes following news of a deal to halt the Iran war.
SpaceX Shares Jump in Second Day of Trading After Record IPO
SpaceX shares jumped in their second day of trading, adding to gains following a blockbuster debut that instantly vaulted it into the ranks of the world’s most valuable public companies.
Raise Social Security Taxes — and Cut Benefits, Too
There are two processes that we cannot escape: aging and math. This applies not only to human beings but also to large government social-insurance programs.
NAHB Housing Market Index: Affordability Challenges Continue
Builder confidence edged lower in June as ongoing affordability challenges continue to affect the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) fell 2 points from May to 35 this month, marking the 26th consecutive negative reading.
Buyable Pullbacks. Be Prepared.
Chris Galipeau discusses high-conviction insights that go beyond media headlines.
Looking Beyond SpaceX: 3 Thematic ETFs to Consider
Given all the interest and hype over the SpaceX IPO, many advisors and investors have been increasingly gravitating towards thematic ETFs that focus on the space industry. Given that the SpaceX IPO is the largest IPO in history, this should not come as a surprise to anyone.
The K-Shaped Economy: Why The Middle Class Moved Up.
The K-shaped economy has become shorthand for a tidy story. The rich pull away while everyone else falls behind. It fits the mood, and it makes for a sharp headline. The problem is that it’s mostly wrong. When you pull the actual Census data, the dominant move of the last half-century isn’t down.
GMO 7-Year Asset Class Forecast: May 2026
GMO has posted a new 7-Year asset class forecast as of May 31, 2026.
Opportunities Emerge in a Higher-Yield World
Recent economic data continues to point to a resilient U.S. economy. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in May, while payrolls increased by 172,000 jobs. Hiring remained strongest in leisure and hospitality, though there were also encouraging signs from more cyclical areas of the economy.
Schwab Market Perspective: Mid-Year Outlook
During this time of year, we like to take stock of what happened in the first half of the year and compare it with the expectations we had at the beginning of the year when we published our full-year outlooks.
Weekly Economic Snapshot: Inflation Spikes While Consumer Sentiment Breaks Its Decline
The U.S. economy faced intensifying headwinds in May as both consumer and wholesale inflation metrics surged to multi-year highs.
Navigating the New Era of Growth With An Active Mandate
Discover how Capital Group’s active CGGR ETF navigates this mega-cap divergence to uncover secular growth beyond tech.
The G-Shaped Economy
Despite everything we have seen in the economic data, which can be confusing, the US consumer has refused to crack. My friend Dr. Ed Yardeni, whom I have known since '98, has the most compelling explanation I have heard for why.
Brightline West Moves Ahead With New Railway Infrastructure Contracts
High-speed railway Brightline West has signed new contracts to lay tracks and systems for its high-speed railway, according to an email seen by Bloomberg, signaling progress for a project whose municipal bonds have traded at steep discounts since last year.
Gold and Silver Pullbacks Temporary
The current economic downturn is best described as hybrid and structurally driven. It leans heavily on demand constraints, though it is triggered and complicated by ongoing supply shocks.
NYC Pensions Seeks Bids for Index Funds Run by BlackRock, State Street
New York City’s pension system said it’s seeking bids for roughly $92 billion of stock index-tracking funds now overseen by BlackRock Inc. and State Street Investment Management.
Treasury Yields Snapshot: June 12, 2026
The yield on the 10-year note finished June 12, 2026 at 4.48% while the 2-year note ended at 4.09%.
Variable annuities, income riders, and retirement income innovations
Join the experts at MassMutual Strategic Distributors for an educational webcast exploring income riders and how to evaluation variable annuities beyond surface level features so you can match the right rider to each client’s investor profile and retirement goals.
Buffer ETFs Give Cash-Shy Investors a Way Back In
Goldman Sachs and Innovator panelists say buffer ETFs can help advisors move cash-shy clients into stocks with built-in downside limits.
Building a Retirement Paycheck: A Dividend Growth Portfolio Based on Value Investing Principles
In this video, Chuck Carnevale responds to a viewer's question about building a retirement income portfolio for a 63-year-old investor. Rather than recommending specific stocks, Chuck focuses on the process he uses to identify high-quality income investments using the principles of value investing and the FAST Graphs platform.
S&P 500 Steady With All Eyes on SpaceX IPO, Iran Peace Hopes
US stocks opened with a small gain on Friday, supported by optimism about pending trading in SpaceX, which made history with the biggest-ever IPO, and the potential for an interim peace deal in the Iran conflict.
What the World Cup Can Tell Us About Finance: Matthew Brooker
There’s a memorial to Paul the octopus at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen after the cephalopod seer earned worldwide fame by correctly predicting the outcome of all Germany’s seven games at the 2010 World Cup
Vanguard Overtakes iShares as Largest ETF Provider in Historic Industry Shift
The ETF industry has reached a historic turning point. Vanguard has officially surpassed BlackRock’s iShares to become the largest ETF provider. The milestone underscores a broader structural shift among investors prioritizing low-cost investments in portfolio allocations.
How These ETFs Offer Current Income Without Sacrificing Performance
At a time when the cost of living is rising and market volatility appears to be rising, too, investors may be looking for current income to bolster their portfolios. Current income can especially help investors at or near retirement to adapt to retired life.
JPMorgan Hires Goldman Banker for Prepay Energy Bond Deals
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s public finance department hired a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker to specialize in prepay energy deals, marking a major hire for the team as the firm ramps up its work in the sector.
Is Any Area of the Market “Affordable”?
The word seems to be spreading that small- and micro-cap stocks have so far been enjoying a stellar 2026. What seems less well known is that the current cycle of market leadership for the two asset classes stretches back to 2025 and has been in place for 14 months.
Split Decisions: What Stock Splits Reveal About Corporations in H1 2026
Dispersion continues to be the definitive story of 2026. As we progress through June and approach the conclusion of the first half of the year, the equity landscape remains distinctly bifurcated. Pockets of deep structural growth stand in contrast to areas grappling with macro headwinds.
Allocation Views: Optimistic on equities, mindful of inflation
In this month’s Allocation Views, strong corporate fundamentals and resilient growth fuel our continued optimism toward equities into June, despite persistent inflation and more restrictive monetary policy.
AI’s Expansion Runs on Smaller Companies
In addition to a greater range of chips supporting AI development, several factors could cause the current cycle to last longer than expected.
Concentrated Equity Risk: Is it time to Break your Concentration?
While owning a significant amount of a successful stock can be incredibly lucrative – especially in a company on the rise – the more you own of a single equity, the more closely your personal financial fate is tied to its performance.
The Hidden Cost of Financial Fragmentation: Why Investment Decisions Cannot Happen in Isolation
For many investors, wealth management still feels segmented. Investments are handled in one meeting, taxes in another, estate planning somewhere else, and major life decisions often happen independently of all three.
In an Unsettled World, Value Investing Can Add a Layer of Defense
Since early 2025, value stocks have enjoyed a strong run, defying market volatility driven by trade tensions, geopolitical stress and macroeconomic uncertainty. That resilience may seem counterintuitive given value’s historically cyclical profile. Yet, we believe the underlying characteristics of value stocks are proving particularly well suited to today’s evolving market landscape.
Building Enterprise Value: The Role of Custom Model Portfolios
For many registered investment advisors (RIAs), success has traditionally been measured in assets under management (AUM). As the industry evolves and consolidation accelerates, a broader question is emerging: are you building a practice or an enterprise?
Silver Falls to Key Price Support Level as Bargain Hunters Swoop In
Silver's chart also weakened substantially, although the metal remains near important longer-term support levels and has not yet confirmed the same degree of structural breakdown seen in gold.
Build Diversified Portfolio Income With Infrastructure ETFs
Inflation and geopolitical uncertainty are pushing advisors and investors to rethink how they build diversified portfolios.
Equity Supply Surge: What Historically Comes Next
This past week, the market hit an all-time high. At the same time, Alphabet (GOOG) told investors it would raise $80 billion by selling stock to fund its AI buildout, and the shares fell about 4% on the news.
Producer Price Index: Wholesale Inflation Hits Highest Level Since November 2022
May's Producer Price Index (PPI) data delivered another blow to inflation watchers, as wholesale price growth came in hotter than expected.
Initial Unemployment Claims Up 4K, Higher Than Expected
In the week ending June 6th, initial jobless claims were at a seasonally adjusted level of 229,000, the highest level in four months. This represents an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's figure and was higher than the forecast of 220,000.
The Most Compelling ETF Launches in Q2
May saw 148 new ETF launches in May alone – although launch figures were partially driven by a 37-fund rollout from Corgi Insurance Services.
SpaceX IPO Will Mint Billions for a New Silicon Valley Hierarchy
The initial public offering for SpaceX is poised to generate billions of dollars in profits for the fortunate few investors who got in early on Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence company.
Private Credit Is Still a Hot Asset for Bond Investors Buying Debt
As shareholders rush to pull money from private credit funds over troubling questions about software exposure, opaque loan values and non-payments, some bond investors are doing the opposite: buying their debt.
Rupture and Resilience
For more than four decades, PIMCO’s Secular Forum has provided a disciplined framework for stepping back from short-term market noise to assess the structural forces that will shape the global economy and markets over the next five years. Yet rarely has this exercise been more consequential than it has recently.
Health Care—Positioning for a Potential Recovery
After more than three years of underperformance, our prognosis for global health care stocks remains positive. The sector now offers a broader set of high-quality companies at valuations that appear increasingly disconnected from fair value.
From Stock Repurchases to AI Capex: The New Playbook for Corporate Cash
Equity issuance is all the rage. The SpaceX (SPCX) IPO on Friday, Alphabet’s (GOOGL) up-sized secondary announced last week, and a slew of other major go-public names over the remainder of 2026 (Anthropic, OpenAI) buck the years-long trend of intense buybacks and shareholder-friendly activities by the world’s most valuable companies.
Broader Market Held Firm Despite a Crack in the AI Trade
All major U.S. stock indices fell last week, ending a remarkable run of nine straight weekly gains for the S&P 500. But the headline numbers hide an unusually lopsided story.
Vanguard’s Malloy Says Muni Yields Bolster Second-Half Outlook
Attractive yields and strong credit fundamentals are setting the municipal bond market up for a solid second half of the year, said Paul Malloy, the head of municipals at The Vanguard Group Inc.
Washington: What to Watch Now
The Senate passed $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill, Capitol Hill struggles to find consensus on how to regulate AI, and the Trump Accounts app is live.
A Repricing, Not a Reversal
Begin with the print itself, because the headline flatters the internals only slightly. The bulk of May's gains came from leisure and hospitality, which added 70,000 jobs, nearly half of them in food services and drinking places; local government contributed 55,000, health care 35,000, and manufacturing a modest 7,000, while financial activities actually shed positions.
Growth Without Price Distortion
Every dollar in a growth equity index reflects two decisions: which companies to own and how much of each to hold. Indexes form intricate systematic rules to make the first decision. The second decision—position sizing—is usually determined by market-cap weighting.
Real Middle Class Wages: May 2026
This series has been updated to include the May release of the consumer price index as the deflator and the monthly employment update. The latest hypothetical real (inflation-adjusted) annual earnings are at $54,604, down 6.1% from over 50 years ago.
Consumer Price Index: Inflation at 4.2% in May
Inflation surged to 4.2% year-over-year in May, hitting its highest level in over three years. The headline figure for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was consistent with the forecast, driven primarily by cost increases in energy, shelter, and food.
Google-Tied Prepaid Energy Bonds See Flood of Muni Trader Demand
Prepaid energy deals are complicated transactions that allow utilities to lock in cheaper prices over long periods of time. They involve a financial middleman that receives bond proceeds in exchange for making regular payments needed to procure the energy for the utility.
Qatar Mega-Fund’s Plans for Bigger Deals Push Dented by War
With a new boss at the helm and expectations of billions in surplus gas revenue, the Qatar Investment Authority spent the past year telegraphing a step-up in dealmaking. Iran’s attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure and Doha’s inability to ship products risk hampering that push.
Costs to Hedge the $9 Trillion S&P 500 Rally Jump Ahead of Fed
Sentiment in the US stock market has shifted quickly from fear of missing out to fear of getting wiped out.
Inflated ‘Private’ Ratings Are Masking Credit Risk, Columbia Study Says
Ratings that underpin a growing slice of the $1.8 trillion private-credit market, the hottest corner of Wall Street in recent years, are systematically understating investment risk, according to a new study by Columbia Business School researchers.
Is Bad News Already Priced into the Bond Market?
LPL Research analyzes bond markets as yields rise, exploring Fed policy expectations, inflation trends, and whether bad news is already priced into Treasuries.
Global Equity Mid-Year Outlook 2026
Equity markets should remain supported by strong earnings and capital investment trends through 2026, but market concentration and macro risks leave less room for error.
Energy Credit Market Returns Reflect Sector Discipline
The takeaway for both HY and EM corporates is straightforward. Once oil prices are above breakeven, further moves in oil tend to matter less for credit performance.
Stronger Dollar Trade: The Most Unexpected Macro Bet (Part 2)
In Part 1, we explored why Dollar Dominance Remains Alive and Well. Today, we will explore the stronger-dollar trade, the one macro trade that nobody is sized for.
Soaring Capital Expenditures in the Tech Sector: Good, Bad, or Ugly?
The Numbers Are Staggering – The Magnificent Seven stocks now carry a combined market cap larger than the GDPs of Germany, Japan, India, and the UK combined. Meanwhile, 2025 tech-sector capital expenditures rivaled the peak-year spending of the Manhattan Project, rural electrification, the Apollo moon shot, and the Interstate Highway System — all at once.
Strong Jobs Data and Inflation Keep Pressure on the Fed
While job growth has reaccelerated, supporting consumption, the underlying income picture is less encouraging.
A Time to Plan
Investors have enjoyed a favorable run. If the year ended today, it would mark the seventh time in the last nine years that stock portfolios generated double-digit returns. Housing prices remain near historic highs, while bond investors have benefited from elevated yields over the past three years.
VettaFi Sentiment Check: How Advisors View Markets Right Now
Building resilient portfolios in markets delivering mixed messages can be a challenging affair. In our ongoing engagement with the retail and advisor community at VettaFi, we hear first-hand just how investors are tackling that challenge this year.
Top May Articles on Advisor Perspectives Target Retirement, Scams & More
Several articles enjoyed strong performance during the month of May, though there does not seem to have been a unifying theme, unless it is pointing out mistaken beliefs or unexamined conventions.
Volatility Is No Longer Keeping Crypto out of Portfolios
Crypto has clearly matured considerably as an asset class, and it's exciting to hear more advisors speak about the opportunity it presents — without being scared away by its volatility. The real question today is how much of a portfolio allocation is appropriate given their specific objectives and constraints.
Fixed Income Markets in a Higher for Longer Environment
Interest rates remain one of the primary concerns for investors as Kevin Warsh has officially assumed leadership at the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed). While we believe the possibility of a rate cut has diminished considerably, we are not yet expecting additional rate hikes.
Where’s My Lunch?
Probably the most popular insight to make its way from finance theory into everyday usage is that "diversification is the only free lunch" in investing. The idea dates back to Harry Markowitz in 1952. He, and those building on his work, demonstrated that in an efficient market, investors shouldn't earn extra return for bearing company-specific risks that can be diversified away.
Treasury Market Is Telling Kevin Warsh Rates Need to Be Higher
The rise in US yields has extended across the entire Treasury curve, creating a charged backdrop for Fed policymakers and their new chairman, Kevin Warsh, who helms his first meeting and press conference next week.
JPMorgan Sees Stocks Powering Through Any Short, Sharp Pullbacks
US stocks have further to run as corporate earnings growth underpins sentiment despite some signals suggesting equities may have risen too far, JPMorgan Asset Management’s Jack Caffrey said.
Existing Home Sales Reach Highest Level of 2026
Existing home sales reached their highest level of the year in May, rising 3.2% after a 0.7% increase in April. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, surpassing the projected 4.07 million.
Interactive Brokers Offers BlackRock ETFs in Savings Plans
Interactive Brokers Group Inc. is offering exchange-traded funds from BlackRock Inc. in savings plans in Europe, the latest platform to provide the booming product that’s become increasingly popular with mom-and-pop investors on the continent.
SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI Can Rewrite History for Megacap IPOs
The history of megacap initial public offerings shows that the stocks usually slump in the first year of trading. But upcoming listings from SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are big enough and systemically important enough to the market that those analogies may not apply.
NFIB Small Business Survey: Lowest Level Since October 2024
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index dropped 0.6 points to 95.3, reaching its lowest level since October 2024. The index remains below its historical average for a third straight month.
Managing the Disconnect Between High Markets and Consumer Worry
There is an old adage that the stock market climbs a wall of worry, which describes its ability to keep rising even amid negative economic news or events. This defies logic, yet I have watched it prove true time after time.
American Century’s Greenblath Talks Spring Corporate Bond Shifts
It’s no secret that investors are on the lookout for opportunities in their fixed income portfolios. This is especially true in today’s shifting landscape. Equities are hot, perhaps too hot, and many investors want strong performances out of their bonds in order to keep up.
Fertilizer and Food
Fertilizers sit at the center of this transmission mechanism. As much as a third of the global supply of these commodities passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely been closed for three months. This has triggered shortages and a price spike.
Do SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI Belong in Your Portfolio? You Might Have No Choice
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, three of the world’s largest and most consequential private companies—SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI—are preparing to go public in the same year. Together, they could add nearly $4 trillion in market cap to public markets.