Insights Investments

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole was the event of the week and with good reason, as investors expected it to signal the direction of monetary policy over the coming months, especially whether the Fed would hold or cut rates at their next meeting in September. And it does at least …

“The waiting is the hardest part.” — Tom Petty Today is the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium and with it will likely come a good deal of media fare and potential volatility. This time a week ago we were looking at more than an 85% chance of a Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) cut next month, …

Nearly all S&P 500 companies have reported earnings for the second quarter of 2025, with the notable exception of Nvidia, which we will cover in detail next week. Spoiler alert: earnings results were quite solid despite the uncertainties. A.I. companies shined, particularly in the “Mag 7” (as we discuss here and here), but there were …

In the latest episode of Facts vs Feelings, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, and Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist, break down the latest market moves, the outlook for rate cuts, and what the data is really telling us about inflation and growth. From cooling economic numbers to investor sentiment, this week’s conversation highlights why …

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” Ferris Bueller The bull market continues, but there are some potential small cracks forming. We will get to all of that, but what has amazed me is three weeks ago we were told there would be …

Microsoft’s latest quarterly earnings report revealed that the company’s AI offerings are powering growth beyond what the company expected. Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing business, continues to exceed expectations and post accelerating revenue growth rates. Many “AI-native” companies, including OpenAI, rely on Azure’s unique product portfolio to help train and advance their offerings. By providing the …

In my previous blog, I discussed our longer-term strategic outlook, the core of which is that we remain optimistic about globally diversified equities. But even beyond equities, our view is that: Inflation will be volatile going forward. This doesn’t mean average inflation will be much higher than 2%, but we’ll see more volatility. The Fed …

We’ve made no secret for our love for the shiny object over the last two and half years (and not just because my name is derived from the Hindi word “sona,” which means gold). I wrote about gold as a crisis hedge back in March 2023, amid the Silicon Valley Bank Crisis. We were amongst …

The market cheered the July Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) inflation report released yesterday, August 13, 2025, but mostly because it was perceived to be good enough to keep the Federal Reserve (“Fed”) on track for a September rate cut. The market-implied odds for a September cut rose from 86% to 94% according to the CME …

Authored by Michael Barczak, CFA, VP Retirement Plans – Investments   President Trump just signed an executive order that could set the stage for a major shift in workplace retirement plans. The order directs the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take a fresh look at how alternative assets …

Investors in tech stocks are walking away from this earnings season with a smile. The five major tech companies all saw a positive revision to their full year earnings estimates, according to FactSet data, and each has seen its share price rise since the start of this reporting season. Forward-looking commentary also supports a potentially …