J.P. Morgan Asset Management has expanded its alternative lineup with the launch of the JPMorgan Managed Futures Plus ETF (JPFP) on the Nasdaq. The actively managed fund combines a core U.S. equity allocation with a systematic managed futures strategy spanning equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities.
Many debates in defined contribution (DC) circles focus on fees, new asset classes, and ever more complex solutions. But the biggest improvement available to plan participants may come from something far simpler: how their fixed income is managed.
Leading with bad news can feel wrong and even confrontational at some level, but the psychology research supports it, the behavioral finance supports it, the career math supports it, and the clients who stay through multiple cycles apply the final confirmation stamp.
New AdvizorPro data shows RIAs broadened their ETF lineups in Q1 2026, leaning into real assets, active managers, and defense strategies.
The U.S. stock market is extremely expensive. In the past, stock markets have not remained expensive for long. Is it because of artificial intelligence? Perhaps, but a similar argument was made during the dot-com bubble.
While most institutional investors recognize that private equity and public equity share similar economic risks, they often seem to ignore how their aggregate equity portfolio is affected by their substantial allocation to private equity.
As inflation lingers and market dynamics shift, advisors are rethinking the 60/40 portfolio with managed futures and options income ETFs.
Kevin Warsh was confirmed this week as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. As we discussed in a recent article, his transition comes at a delicate time; inflation is rising, and questions about the Fed’s independence are pressing. The honeymoon period will be brief.
Vanguard research suggests that one practical answer may lie in pairing traditional target-date funds with a modest allocation to deferred-income annuities (DIAs).
David Mann, our Head of Global Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Product and Capital Markets, explains how meatloaf—the dish, not the singer—serves as a perfect example of how his ETF thinking has evolved over the past decade.
Access to private equity, private credit, private infrastructure, and private real estate assets can potentially improve long-term investment outcomes for participants.
A look at the highlights for the year to date via four charts, including updates about diversification, economic indicators and the national debt.
Rather than worrying about the narrow impact of faster IPO inclusion on index fund performance, we think investors would be better served by focusing on the long-term expected returns offered by the markets in which they’re investing – in particular the U.S. and non-U.S. equity markets.
As multi-asset income investors, we seek to help a wide range of clients meet their income needs. The benefits of an income-centric approach are especially relevant for investors as they enter retirement – and that’s especially true today. We bring that to life with two case studies.
The long-term shift from traditional pensions to defined contribution (DC) plans puts employees in charge of their retirement savings—and needing help.
The U.S. stock market hit a record high on January 27, 2026, as investors prepared for additional Fed rate cuts, fiscal stimulus, and fading inflation.
A quarterly report providing an in-depth analysis of the global economic landscape, key drivers and insights into fixed-income markets for investors.
It’s tax season, and we’ve been reading a lot about taxes — and strategies for mitigating them. In this note, we’ll take a close look at one such strategy, known as leveraged long/short direct index tax-loss harvesting (LSDI), and explain how investors being pitched the strategy can assess whether it’s right for them.
The sheer complexity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) using derivative-based strategies could have investors turning the other away. Instead, investors have been running towards them. The capital markets witnessed a surge in demand for these tactical ETF tools during the first quarter of 2026, making it a topical theme at the most recent Nasdaq-sponsored Asset Allocation Summit.
As always, I hope you’re having a good 2026 and that all is well with you, my readers, and your family and friends. Here’s my latest.
A recently passed law in Indiana now requires some state retirement plans to allow participants to invest in cryptocurrency, setting the stage for broader crypto adoption by public funds.
Amplify’s path is unique in the ETF space and has carved out a small but powerful stronghold for itself. Its focus on thematic and income strategies lends Amplify resilience across different market types, and its commitment to innovation means it doesn’t tend to issue many “me too” products.
In an investment world marked by ongoing macro uncertainty, more investors are seeking alternative strategies to navigate murky markets. One of the funds capturing this shift is the Fidelity Managed Futures ETF (FFUT). That fund secured the award for Best New Alternatives ETF in the 2026 ETF.com Awards.
The gap between what advisors are doing and what's now possible in tax-aware portfolio management has never been wider. The tools have outpaced the practice. Here's where I see advisors falling short, and what to do about it.
Over 6,537 trading days from 2000 through 2025, about 27% fall into the pure beta category. That 27% is sitting in every trailing return anyone’s ever used to evaluate an active manager, quietly diluting the signal.
Inflation fears are not new, but the current path is beyond alarming. The U.S. is spending its way into a rampant inflation catastrophe. That is why gold and commodities are being bid up in price and will likely continue to be bid up.
Dividend-paying stocks offer an effective hedge against inflation—as well as solid long-term return potential in other environments when actively sourced from the right parts of the market.
The debate over ETFs versus mutual funds has never been particularly useful for advisors who actually build portfolios. In practice, the question was never which vehicle is better — it was always which vehicle is better for this objective, in this sleeve, for this client. In 2026, that discipline matters more than ever.
For investors, understanding the full anatomy of fixed income is critical, not only to capture attractive risk-adjusted returns in today’s environment but also to appreciate its indispensable role in powering economic growth and financial stability.
Thanks to strong gains in markets over recent years, with many indices at or near record highs, the 60/40 default portfolio has quietly morphed into a bundle of expensive U.S. growth equities and credit exposures offering narrow spreads over Treasuries. In our view, such a portfolio is likely to disappoint investors by delivering low single-digit real returns.
Today, Vanguard decided to join the target-maturity party, launching a suite of corporate bond ETFs designed to assist investors with bond laddering. Vanguard’s entry is significant due to its massive distribution scale in tandem with its low-cost reputation.
For decades, the 60/40 portfolio was the gold standard for balanced investing. However, as correlations between stocks and bonds fluctuate and traditional safe havens face new pressures, advisors are looking toward alternatives to increase portfolio efficiency.
In this article, I present a framework for investment models that integrates personal risk tolerance with academic lifetime investing theory that guides risk as the investor ages.
A healthy mix of income and growth potential may yield a more effective equity allocation.
Managed futures strategies, also known as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) or trend-followers, are designed for environments where macro shifts drive persistent price trends across equity, bond, commodity, and currency markets. As geopolitical risk has spiked due to the conflict with Iran, the current backdrop will present a unique test for investment strategies.
The most-read articles on Advisor Perspectives for February covered an eclectic mix of interesting topics, ranging from whether money can buy happiness to what a depreciating dollar could mean for investors.
Looking beyond recent dividend strategies' performance, LPL Research asks and answers the question, “How should I think about dividend stocks or building an equity income portfolio?”
By now you’ve likely seen the news that the Department of War (DOW) issued a Friday-evening ultimatum to Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI chatbot, demanding unrestricted military access to its technology.
Strong performance and dividend yields amid volatility — typically, an investor may need to sacrifice one in order to maximize the other.
The playing field presents broad opportunities for income investors today, with income and growth potential across asset classes. But an effective defense is also critical in capturing that potential. When it comes to the tools of the trade, we think broader is better.
LPL Research’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) sits at the center of our portfolio construction process because it defines how we expect diversified portfolios to generate more stable long‑term outcomes across shifting market environments. The SAA is the long‑term plan for how major asset classes work together in a portfolio.
An unintended consequence of the brutal bear market in Bitcoin has been to focus the blockchain industry’s attention where it is most needed: real-world assets.
The central theme of 2025 was the disconnect between market sentiment and economic reality. The year began with widespread apprehension regarding aggressive tariffs and forecasts of a recession.
Income investors face a promising landscape today. But we think income investing should be more than simply combining the highest yielders in each asset class, which could create unintended risks. In our view, an efficient multi-asset approach can help find the right balance between income, growth and diversification.
Private assets are gaining traction in many portfolios, as investors seek new frontiers given a more challenging market landscape. Returns of traditional asset classes in the years ahead are likely to be lower on an inflation-adjusted basis, and public markets offer fewer options for diversification today, at a time when managing risk is becoming increasingly important.
A picture is worth a thousand words. What follows, instead of 7,000 words, are seven illustrated examples of what could go wrong with the U.S. stock market or the economy.
If our ancestors survived two million years of predators, famines, and ice ages, we can survive a bear market. We just can’t let the fear talk us into something stupid while it's happening.
Markets may appear orderly heading into 2026 — but beneath the surface, risk and opportunity are becoming increasingly uneven.
In this article, we look both back and forward, first at the 2025 capital markets to analyze not just what happened but also how it fits in the historical context and what we believe it means for 2026 and beyond. We then pivot to our return expectations for major asset classes in the next decade.
The importance of biodiversity as a nature-related risk in investors’ portfolios has become better understood in the past few years. Investors are beginning to appreciate how complex and nuanced biodiversity risk can be.
Trend-following funds are starting 2026 with fresh momentum, outperforming stocks and bonds after a year of false starts.
It’s a brave new world for educational savers — and none too soon. In 2025, lawmakers outdid themselves by expanding ways families can help their children or grandchildren obtain a degree or certificate.
Following strong 2025 returns, high quality fixed income continues to offer attractive yields and global diversification at a time of stretched equity valuations and tight credit spreads.
Most DC plan participants share the same goal of a comfortable retirement. It’s the journey that differs and much depends on personal investment knowledge, risk comfort level and other qualities, according to the latest research by AllianceBernstein (AB).
As the S&P 500 continues its record-breaking ascent into early 2026, financial advisors are prioritizing diversification.
Retirement planning often focuses on risks: not saving enough or outliving hard-earned savings, enduring a sharp market downturn and possible surprise expenses. While these pitfalls are very real, it’s understandable that they may make individuals hesitant to spend their savings in retirement.
Living in a bipolar economy is hard. Last year saw wild swings in attitudes about the economy and financial markets. Not a bad year overall, but it was a rough ride at times. Today and next week, we’ll look ahead to 2026, drawing on my expert network and my own ideas as well.
We’ve reached the 100-year milestone for our dataset that we began collecting in the 1970s. We'll review key data from the prior century to gain perspective on that period and consider what it could mean for the future.
With 2025 in the books, we take a brief pause to reflect on QuantStreet over the last few years. We started managing our first portfolio in December of 2021. What started out as just an idea has grown into a business serving many clients, both retail and institutional. 2025 was a year of growth for QuantStreet, and we hope to continue to build on this in 2026.
Elevated yields, steeper yield curves, and ongoing volatility make core bonds a compelling choice for total return, income, diversification, and downside risk mitigation in today’s markets. Active management is key: Historically, it has helped core bond portfolios outperform passive strategies through a rigorous, diversified approach.
Dividends offer a powerful dual benefit: they provide an immediate, consistent stream of passive income, while also being an incredible tool for long-term wealth building through the magic of compounding when reinvested. The yield is the essential metric that measures this horsepower, allowing investors to effectively compare and manage their income-generating investments.
Clients with large, concentrated stock positions, often from vested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), face undiversified risk and a huge potential tax bill. This article introduces two new, complex methods that defer capital gains.
I’ve been reading a lot lately that the stock market is priced just right because earnings growth is expected to be high, growing at double digits. But earnings growth is not the sole determinant of stock price.
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.
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.
My friend David Bahnsen wrote a brilliant analysis in his weekly Dividend Café of the private credit market a few weeks ago and it really took off. I got his permission to share it with you today. This is a basic primer on the risks in the private market and something as an investor you should be familiar with.
Despite the increasing need for retirement income security, many defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors hesitate to adopt new lifetime income solutions due to concerns over fiduciary liability and plan flexibility.
Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange proposed quadrupling the daily trading limit for options tied to BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF as demand from investors increases.
At Vanguard, we are always working to make our target-date funds (TDFs) better. That means regularly reviewing our glide-path design and diving into specific asset allocation topics to ensure that our strategies evolve with the market and continue to meet our clients' needs.
Like ducks on a pond, markets often appear calm on the surface while churning furiously underneath. For financial markets, above the surface, attention has focused on equity market valuations and record-tight levels of credit spreads, but a deeper look reveals even more extreme dynamics below.
Investors are needy. Insatiable, really. But it makes sense: If an investor buys a share of a company, they’re going to want some benefit from it.
Those who have defaulted into TDFs need to un-default and take back risk control over their lifetime savings. Safe assets include Treasury bills and short-to-intermediate TIPS, even though their returns are low. The price of safety is low, but reliable, returns.
AI looks like a classic investment bubble to us, with very high valuations and signs of rampant speculation. But we recognize that while many investors harbor fears that AI might be a bubble, they are far from sure of that fact and tend to assume the market is appropriately priced as a fairly strong prior.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are increasingly being considered by individuals looking to offset healthcare costs, which are set to rise significantly in 2026. But some HSAs also offer investment options that can simultaneously help savers grow their retirement income, financial experts share.
To invest or not to invest in alternatives; that is the question for anyone involved in the business of retirement planning. FAs can help clients navigate the brave new world of customized alternatives, but this is easier said than done.
This article details personalization with a strong caution against trying to personalize what cannot be personalized because it’s not nice to fool mother nature with a 'managed' account that is not actually managed.
There have been no innovations to TDFs in their entire 19-year history, until now. It’s time. This article introduces trailblazing innovations that improve participant results.
The de facto “passive” allocation of 60% equities/40% bonds has proven effective at compounding wealth over time by tapping into two key risk premia: the equity risk premium earned by underwriting the risk of an economic growth shock and an inflation risk premium received for bearing the risk of surprise inflation.
Buybacks raise important questions. Foremost amongst them are whether, and how much, buybacks push up stock prices, and whether they create other distortions relevant to investors and public finances. This article explores these questions by drawing on economic theory and broadly held views of real-world investor behavior.
Something changed this year. This year, diversification beyond U.S. stocks has added value, as can be seen in the performances of portfolios.
The recent US government shutdown likely triggered immediate ripple effects across the workplace and has implications for retirement savers.
The market is in a funny place. September was a strong month for financial markets, its typical negative seasonality notwithstanding.
There are many ways to navigate market uncertainty, and pursue both upside participation and some level of downside protection. Options-based approaches such as the Defined Outcome ETF category loom large here, fit for purpose.
Earlier this year, GMO’s Asset Allocation Team invested a sizeable 13% of its flagship unconstrained Benchmark-Free Allocation Strategy into the GMO Alternative Allocation Strategy (ALTA). ALTA provides daily liquidity and seeks to deliver equity-like returns with sensible and competitive fees, allowing for realistic return forecasts and prudent risk management.
When the next crash comes, inevitably there will be an uproar. Baby boomers must not wait for that uproar. They need to get out of their TDFs now and move to the safety of T-bills and TIPS, following the guidance of academic theory. That’s just the smart thing to do.
Private credit isn’t necessarily new to retail investors. In fact, closed-end funds (CEFs) and business development companies (BDCs) have been giving everyday investors access to private loans and middle-market financing for years (see my previous note here). What is changing now is the scale and accessibility.
Dividend-increase announcements are on the rise. According to the Wall Street Horizon research team, 71.9% of all dividend changes have been positive so far in 2025.
Business owners who sponsor 401(k) and other defined contribution plans will soon be faced with another decision: whether to offer alternative-investment options among a plan’s investment options.
We hope you enjoy the latest newsletter from Harold Evensky.
The U.S. population of 340 million people is only 4% of the world, yet its $62 trillion stock market is about half of the world’s total for equities. The U.S. is the tail that is wagging the world’s economic dog. Global economics are dynamic, so the current situation will change even though it may feel like the U.S. is invincible. It’s not.
Specialty Investments
JP Morgan Adds Futures ETF to Lineup
J.P. Morgan Asset Management has expanded its alternative lineup with the launch of the JPMorgan Managed Futures Plus ETF (JPFP) on the Nasdaq. The actively managed fund combines a core U.S. equity allocation with a systematic managed futures strategy spanning equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities.
The Retirement Hack Hiding Inside Most DC Plans
Many debates in defined contribution (DC) circles focus on fees, new asset classes, and ever more complex solutions. But the biggest improvement available to plan participants may come from something far simpler: how their fixed income is managed.
Why Good Advisors Lead With Bad News
Leading with bad news can feel wrong and even confrontational at some level, but the psychology research supports it, the behavioral finance supports it, the career math supports it, and the clients who stay through multiple cycles apply the final confirmation stamp.
Real Assets or Active ETFs? Where RIAs Allocate
New AdvizorPro data shows RIAs broadened their ETF lineups in Q1 2026, leaning into real assets, active managers, and defense strategies.
The Pieces of the Forecast Return Puzzle: Choose Your Values
The U.S. stock market is extremely expensive. In the past, stock markets have not remained expensive for long. Is it because of artificial intelligence? Perhaps, but a similar argument was made during the dot-com bubble.
What Barbarians Like to Take Private
While most institutional investors recognize that private equity and public equity share similar economic risks, they often seem to ignore how their aggregate equity portfolio is affected by their substantial allocation to private equity.
Why the 60/40 Portfolio Needs a New Playbook
As inflation lingers and market dynamics shift, advisors are rethinking the 60/40 portfolio with managed futures and options income ETFs.
Wanted: Buyers for Treasury Debt
Kevin Warsh was confirmed this week as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. As we discussed in a recent article, his transition comes at a delicate time; inflation is rising, and questions about the Fed’s independence are pressing. The honeymoon period will be brief.
Retirement Income Security on Your Terms
Vanguard research suggests that one practical answer may lie in pairing traditional target-date funds with a modest allocation to deferred-income annuities (DIAs).
Meatloaf and the Evolution of ETF Thinking
David Mann, our Head of Global Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Product and Capital Markets, explains how meatloaf—the dish, not the singer—serves as a perfect example of how his ETF thinking has evolved over the past decade.
Private Assets in Target-Date Funds: A Balanced Assessment
Access to private equity, private credit, private infrastructure, and private real estate assets can potentially improve long-term investment outcomes for participants.
4 Charts Tell This Year’s Story So Far
A look at the highlights for the year to date via four charts, including updates about diversification, economic indicators and the national debt.
Mega-IPOs & Index Fund Mechanics: Much Ado About Nothing?
Rather than worrying about the narrow impact of faster IPO inclusion on index fund performance, we think investors would be better served by focusing on the long-term expected returns offered by the markets in which they’re investing – in particular the U.S. and non-U.S. equity markets.
Why an Income-Centric Approach Matters for Investing in Retirement
As multi-asset income investors, we seek to help a wide range of clients meet their income needs. The benefits of an income-centric approach are especially relevant for investors as they enter retirement – and that’s especially true today. We bring that to life with two case studies.
DC Sponsors Can Help Turn the Retirement Puzzle into a Plan
The long-term shift from traditional pensions to defined contribution (DC) plans puts employees in charge of their retirement savings—and needing help.
Bear Market in Diversification
The U.S. stock market hit a record high on January 27, 2026, as investors prepared for additional Fed rate cuts, fiscal stimulus, and fading inflation.
The Big Picture: Second Quarter 2026
A quarterly report providing an in-depth analysis of the global economic landscape, key drivers and insights into fixed-income markets for investors.
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: A(nother) Look at Tax Aware Long/Short Direct Indexing
It’s tax season, and we’ve been reading a lot about taxes — and strategies for mitigating them. In this note, we’ll take a close look at one such strategy, known as leveraged long/short direct index tax-loss harvesting (LSDI), and explain how investors being pitched the strategy can assess whether it’s right for them.
Derivative-Based Strategies Take Center Stage at Asset Allocation Summit
The sheer complexity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) using derivative-based strategies could have investors turning the other away. Instead, investors have been running towards them. The capital markets witnessed a surge in demand for these tactical ETF tools during the first quarter of 2026, making it a topical theme at the most recent Nasdaq-sponsored Asset Allocation Summit.
Newsletter March 2026
As always, I hope you’re having a good 2026 and that all is well with you, my readers, and your family and friends. Here’s my latest.
Indiana Law Sets Stage for Broader Crypto Use in Retirement Investing
A recently passed law in Indiana now requires some state retirement plans to allow participants to invest in cryptocurrency, setting the stage for broader crypto adoption by public funds.
Amplify ETFs Offer Unique Angles on Income, Thematics
Amplify’s path is unique in the ETF space and has carved out a small but powerful stronghold for itself. Its focus on thematic and income strategies lends Amplify resilience across different market types, and its commitment to innovation means it doesn’t tend to issue many “me too” products.
Fidelity’s FFUT Secures Best New Alternatives ETF Award
In an investment world marked by ongoing macro uncertainty, more investors are seeking alternative strategies to navigate murky markets. One of the funds capturing this shift is the Fidelity Managed Futures ETF (FFUT). That fund secured the award for Best New Alternatives ETF in the 2026 ETF.com Awards.
Tax Planning Isn't Enough: Where Advisors Are Still Falling Short
The gap between what advisors are doing and what's now possible in tax-aware portfolio management has never been wider. The tools have outpaced the practice. Here's where I see advisors falling short, and what to do about it.
The 27% Problem: Why Manager Evaluations Mix Signal With Noise
Over 6,537 trading days from 2000 through 2025, about 27% fall into the pure beta category. That 27% is sitting in every trailing return anyone’s ever used to evaluate an active manager, quietly diluting the signal.
Rampant Inflation Ahead: When Interest Becomes the Top U.S. Expense
Inflation fears are not new, but the current path is beyond alarming. The U.S. is spending its way into a rampant inflation catastrophe. That is why gold and commodities are being bid up in price and will likely continue to be bid up.
How Equity Income Can Cushion Inflation and Create Durable Returns
Dividend-paying stocks offer an effective hedge against inflation—as well as solid long-term return potential in other environments when actively sourced from the right parts of the market.
Managing ETF and Mutual Fund Exposure Across Asset Classes
The debate over ETFs versus mutual funds has never been particularly useful for advisors who actually build portfolios. In practice, the question was never which vehicle is better — it was always which vehicle is better for this objective, in this sleeve, for this client. In 2026, that discipline matters more than ever.
An Anatomy of the U.S. Fixed Income Market
For investors, understanding the full anatomy of fixed income is critical, not only to capture attractive risk-adjusted returns in today’s environment but also to appreciate its indispensable role in powering economic growth and financial stability.
Beyond 60/40: Four Opportunities to Improve Expected Real Returns
Thanks to strong gains in markets over recent years, with many indices at or near record highs, the 60/40 default portfolio has quietly morphed into a bundle of expensive U.S. growth equities and credit exposures offering narrow spreads over Treasuries. In our view, such a portfolio is likely to disappoint investors by delivering low single-digit real returns.
Fashionably Late, But Low-Cost: Vanguard Joins Target-Maturity Party
Today, Vanguard decided to join the target-maturity party, launching a suite of corporate bond ETFs designed to assist investors with bond laddering. Vanguard’s entry is significant due to its massive distribution scale in tandem with its low-cost reputation.
Industry Experts Share How to Reshape Portfolios With Alternatives
For decades, the 60/40 portfolio was the gold standard for balanced investing. However, as correlations between stocks and bonds fluctuate and traditional safe havens face new pressures, advisors are looking toward alternatives to increase portfolio efficiency.
Personalized Investment Models for Retirement Plans & IRAs
In this article, I present a framework for investment models that integrates personal risk tolerance with academic lifetime investing theory that guides risk as the investor ages.
Maintain a Growth Equity Engine in a Multi-Asset Income Strategy
A healthy mix of income and growth potential may yield a more effective equity allocation.
Current Positioning and Geopolitical Risks
Managed futures strategies, also known as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) or trend-followers, are designed for environments where macro shifts drive persistent price trends across equity, bond, commodity, and currency markets. As geopolitical risk has spiked due to the conflict with Iran, the current backdrop will present a unique test for investment strategies.
Advisor Perspectives’ Top 5 Articles for February
The most-read articles on Advisor Perspectives for February covered an eclectic mix of interesting topics, ranging from whether money can buy happiness to what a depreciating dollar could mean for investors.
How LPL Research Thinks About Dividends
Looking beyond recent dividend strategies' performance, LPL Research asks and answers the question, “How should I think about dividend stocks or building an equity income portfolio?”
Why the Pentagon-Anthropic Showdown Proves AI Defense Spending Is Just Getting Started
By now you’ve likely seen the news that the Department of War (DOW) issued a Friday-evening ultimatum to Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI chatbot, demanding unrestricted military access to its technology.
Shield & Yield: Navigate 2026’s Volatility With This Dividend ETF
Strong performance and dividend yields amid volatility — typically, an investor may need to sacrifice one in order to maximize the other.
A Broader Toolkit for Defense in Multi-Asset Income
The playing field presents broad opportunities for income investors today, with income and growth potential across asset classes. But an effective defense is also critical in capturing that potential. When it comes to the tools of the trade, we think broader is better.
LPL Research’s 2026 Strategic Asset Allocation
LPL Research’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) sits at the center of our portfolio construction process because it defines how we expect diversified portfolios to generate more stable long‑term outcomes across shifting market environments. The SAA is the long‑term plan for how major asset classes work together in a portfolio.
Ditch the Bitcoin Illusion and Tokenize Real Assets
An unintended consequence of the brutal bear market in Bitcoin has been to focus the blockchain industry’s attention where it is most needed: real-world assets.
Signal vs. Noise: Markets, Misconceptions, and the Case for Optimization in 2026
The central theme of 2025 was the disconnect between market sentiment and economic reality. The year began with widespread apprehension regarding aggressive tariffs and forecasts of a recession.
Harnessing Yield—and Growth—in Multi-Asset Income
Income investors face a promising landscape today. But we think income investing should be more than simply combining the highest yielders in each asset class, which could create unintended risks. In our view, an efficient multi-asset approach can help find the right balance between income, growth and diversification.
Pathways to Private Asset Exposure in DC Plans
Private assets are gaining traction in many portfolios, as investors seek new frontiers given a more challenging market landscape. Returns of traditional asset classes in the years ahead are likely to be lower on an inflation-adjusted basis, and public markets offer fewer options for diversification today, at a time when managing risk is becoming increasingly important.
Warnings: 7 Threats to the U.S. Stock Market & Economy
A picture is worth a thousand words. What follows, instead of 7,000 words, are seven illustrated examples of what could go wrong with the U.S. stock market or the economy.
The Two-Million-Year-Old Investor: Why Your Brain Fights Your Portfolio
If our ancestors survived two million years of predators, famines, and ice ages, we can survive a bear market. We just can’t let the fear talk us into something stupid while it's happening.
2026 Hedge Fund Outlook: Environment Strongly Favors Alpha/Active Over Beta/Passive
Markets may appear orderly heading into 2026 — but beneath the surface, risk and opportunity are becoming increasingly uneven.
2025’s Implications for the Future: “Some Like it Hot"?
In this article, we look both back and forward, first at the 2025 capital markets to analyze not just what happened but also how it fits in the historical context and what we believe it means for 2026 and beyond. We then pivot to our return expectations for major asset classes in the next decade.
A Case Study in Assessing Portfolio Biodiversity Risk
The importance of biodiversity as a nature-related risk in investors’ portfolios has become better understood in the past few years. Investors are beginning to appreciate how complex and nuanced biodiversity risk can be.
Trend-Chasing Traders Soar Just as Market Whiplash Tests Models
Trend-following funds are starting 2026 with fresh momentum, outperforming stocks and bonds after a year of false starts.
What Financial Advisors Need to Know About 529 Plans
It’s a brave new world for educational savers — and none too soon. In 2025, lawmakers outdid themselves by expanding ways families can help their children or grandchildren obtain a degree or certificate.
Compounding Opportunity
Following strong 2025 returns, high quality fixed income continues to offer attractive yields and global diversification at a time of stretched equity valuations and tight credit spreads.
What Makes DC Plan Participants Tick?
Most DC plan participants share the same goal of a comfortable retirement. It’s the journey that differs and much depends on personal investment knowledge, risk comfort level and other qualities, according to the latest research by AllianceBernstein (AB).
Seeking Diversification as the S&P 500 Nears 7,000
As the S&P 500 continues its record-breaking ascent into early 2026, financial advisors are prioritizing diversification.
Lifetime Income May Unlock a More Fulfilling Retirement
Retirement planning often focuses on risks: not saving enough or outliving hard-earned savings, enduring a sharp market downturn and possible surprise expenses. While these pitfalls are very real, it’s understandable that they may make individuals hesitant to spend their savings in retirement.
The Bipolar Economy
Living in a bipolar economy is hard. Last year saw wild swings in attitudes about the economy and financial markets. Not a bad year overall, but it was a rough ride at times. Today and next week, we’ll look ahead to 2026, drawing on my expert network and my own ideas as well.
100 Year History Provides Perspective & Aids Preparedness
We’ve reached the 100-year milestone for our dataset that we began collecting in the 1970s. We'll review key data from the prior century to gain perspective on that period and consider what it could mean for the future.
QuantStreet Street Investor Letter Reflections on 2025
With 2025 in the books, we take a brief pause to reflect on QuantStreet over the last few years. We started managing our first portfolio in December of 2021. What started out as just an idea has grown into a business serving many clients, both retail and institutional. 2025 was a year of growth for QuantStreet, and we hope to continue to build on this in 2026.
Mohit Mittal Explores Why Core Bonds Are Compelling Investments Today
Elevated yields, steeper yield curves, and ongoing volatility make core bonds a compelling choice for total return, income, diversification, and downside risk mitigation in today’s markets. Active management is key: Historically, it has helped core bond portfolios outperform passive strategies through a rigorous, diversified approach.
Know the Horsepower of Your Money
Dividends offer a powerful dual benefit: they provide an immediate, consistent stream of passive income, while also being an incredible tool for long-term wealth building through the magic of compounding when reinvested. The yield is the essential metric that measures this horsepower, allowing investors to effectively compare and manage their income-generating investments.
New Tax-Efficient Ways to Diversify From Concentrated Positions
Clients with large, concentrated stock positions, often from vested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), face undiversified risk and a huge potential tax bill. This article introduces two new, complex methods that defer capital gains.
High Earnings Growth Does Not Justify High Price/Earnings
I’ve been reading a lot lately that the stock market is priced just right because earnings growth is expected to be high, growing at double digits. But earnings growth is not the sole determinant of stock price.
The Best Investment Strategy for Fear or Greed
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.
Improving On The Traditional 60/40 Allocation
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.
Private Credit Fault Lines
My friend David Bahnsen wrote a brilliant analysis in his weekly Dividend Café of the private credit market a few weeks ago and it really took off. I got his permission to share it with you today. This is a basic primer on the risks in the private market and something as an investor you should be familiar with.
Recent Progress Boosts Lifetime Income Latitude
Despite the increasing need for retirement income security, many defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors hesitate to adopt new lifetime income solutions due to concerns over fiduciary liability and plan flexibility.
Nasdaq Seeks to Boost Trading Cap for Options on Top Bitcoin ETF
Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange proposed quadrupling the daily trading limit for options tied to BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF as demand from investors increases.
TDF Glide-Path Essentials: Evaluating Fixed Income Exposure
At Vanguard, we are always working to make our target-date funds (TDFs) better. That means regularly reviewing our glide-path design and diving into specific asset allocation topics to ensure that our strategies evolve with the market and continue to meet our clients' needs.
Ducks on the Water: Beneath the Surface, Market Speculation Runs Deep
Like ducks on a pond, markets often appear calm on the surface while churning furiously underneath. For financial markets, above the surface, attention has focused on equity market valuations and record-tight levels of credit spreads, but a deeper look reveals even more extreme dynamics below.
The Shareholders’ Cut
Investors are needy. Insatiable, really. But it makes sense: If an investor buys a share of a company, they’re going to want some benefit from it.
Can Baby Boomers Successfully Endure a Stock Market Crash?
Those who have defaulted into TDFs need to un-default and take back risk control over their lifetime savings. Safe assets include Treasury bills and short-to-intermediate TIPS, even though their returns are low. The price of safety is low, but reliable, returns.
It’s Probably a Bubble, but There Is Plenty Else to Invest In
AI looks like a classic investment bubble to us, with very high valuations and signs of rampant speculation. But we recognize that while many investors harbor fears that AI might be a bubble, they are far from sure of that fact and tend to assume the market is appropriately priced as a fairly strong prior.
How HSAs Tackle Rising Health Care Costs, Grow Retirement Income
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are increasingly being considered by individuals looking to offset healthcare costs, which are set to rise significantly in 2026. But some HSAs also offer investment options that can simultaneously help savers grow their retirement income, financial experts share.
Alternatives & ERISA Retirement Plans: What Advisors Need to Know
To invest or not to invest in alternatives; that is the question for anyone involved in the business of retirement planning. FAs can help clients navigate the brave new world of customized alternatives, but this is easier said than done.
Real vs. Pretend Management of Retirement Plan Investments
This article details personalization with a strong caution against trying to personalize what cannot be personalized because it’s not nice to fool mother nature with a 'managed' account that is not actually managed.
Advisor Opportunities Are Baked Into These TDF Innovations
There have been no innovations to TDFs in their entire 19-year history, until now. It’s time. This article introduces trailblazing innovations that improve participant results.
A Second Opinion on the 60/40 Default
The de facto “passive” allocation of 60% equities/40% bonds has proven effective at compounding wealth over time by tapping into two key risk premia: the equity risk premium earned by underwriting the risk of an economic growth shock and an inflation risk premium received for bearing the risk of surprise inflation.
The Impact of U.S. Stock Buybacks: Theory vs Practice
Buybacks raise important questions. Foremost amongst them are whether, and how much, buybacks push up stock prices, and whether they create other distortions relevant to investors and public finances. This article explores these questions by drawing on economic theory and broadly held views of real-world investor behavior.
YTD Asset Class & Portfolio Performance Through September
Something changed this year. This year, diversification beyond U.S. stocks has added value, as can be seen in the performances of portfolios.
Turning Anxiety Into Engagement: How Advisors Can Support Retirement Plan Savers During a Shutdown
The recent US government shutdown likely triggered immediate ripple effects across the workplace and has implications for retirement savers.
QuantStreet October 2025 Letter: Negative Narratives
The market is in a funny place. September was a strong month for financial markets, its typical negative seasonality notwithstanding.
It’s Not Timing, It’s Math: Outsmarting Risk With Quantitative ETFs
There are many ways to navigate market uncertainty, and pursue both upside participation and some level of downside protection. Options-based approaches such as the Defined Outcome ETF category loom large here, fit for purpose.
Time to Take Another Look at Alternatives
Earlier this year, GMO’s Asset Allocation Team invested a sizeable 13% of its flagship unconstrained Benchmark-Free Allocation Strategy into the GMO Alternative Allocation Strategy (ALTA). ALTA provides daily liquidity and seeks to deliver equity-like returns with sensible and competitive fees, allowing for realistic return forecasts and prudent risk management.
Baby Boomers Beware: Target Date Funds Break With Safe Scholarly Guidance
When the next crash comes, inevitably there will be an uproar. Baby boomers must not wait for that uproar. They need to get out of their TDFs now and move to the safety of T-bills and TIPS, following the guidance of academic theory. That’s just the smart thing to do.
Private Credit ETFs: Simplifying the Case
Private credit isn’t necessarily new to retail investors. In fact, closed-end funds (CEFs) and business development companies (BDCs) have been giving everyday investors access to private loans and middle-market financing for years (see my previous note here). What is changing now is the scale and accessibility.
Global Dividend Growth Accelerates as the Bull Market Turns Three
Dividend-increase announcements are on the rise. According to the Wall Street Horizon research team, 71.9% of all dividend changes have been positive so far in 2025.
Alternative Assets in Defined Contribution Plans
Business owners who sponsor 401(k) and other defined contribution plans will soon be faced with another decision: whether to offer alternative-investment options among a plan’s investment options.
Newsletter September 2025
We hope you enjoy the latest newsletter from Harold Evensky.
Replacing the Tail That Wags This Dog Is a Thucydides Trap
The U.S. population of 340 million people is only 4% of the world, yet its $62 trillion stock market is about half of the world’s total for equities. The U.S. is the tail that is wagging the world’s economic dog. Global economics are dynamic, so the current situation will change even though it may feel like the U.S. is invincible. It’s not.