Insights Investments

“To see what is in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle.” George Orwell The bull market rolls on, as the S&P 500 has now made 24 new all-time highs and is up 12% for the year, a long way from down 15% back in early April after the Liberation Day meltdown. The bull …

Inflation’s running quite hot, but I believe the Federal Reserve (Fed) is going to cut interest rates next week for two reasons: 1) the labor market is weak; 2) they’ll argue that hot inflation is transitory. Let’s start with the inflation data. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August showed that inflation is running hot. …

By Michael Barczak, CFA®, VP, Retirement Plans – Investments The August 7th Executive Order (EO) opened the door for alternative asset classes — private equity, private debt, hedge funds, crypto, etc. — to be considered as options in 401(k) investment lineups. Much of the conversation since has centered on can these asset classes be added, …

In the latest episode of Facts vs Feelings, recorded live at Excell 2025 in Phoenix, hosts Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, and Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist, are joined by Strider Elass of First Trust and Samuel Rines of WisdomTree for a timely discussion on the labor market, inflation trends, tariffs, and what investors should …

A United States District Court released its long-awaited opinion in the antitrust case filed by the Department of Justice, which alleged that Google built and maintained its market power through illegal actions. The court found that some of Google’s conduct was indeed anticompetitive. However, the proposed remedies were not as severe as many expected, with …

The August payroll report was expected to be soft, and it was worse. The bottom line is that the labor market is in trouble, but that cements expectations for a rate cut in September. The economy created just 22,000 jobs in August but take that with heaps of salt – the number is going to …

Stock market concentration has gathered an increasing number of headlines in recent years. Starting with Apple reaching a $1 trillion market capitalization in 2018, “The Four” eventually became the “Magnificent Seven” and all eyes were on these technology and communication giants. Transforming daily life and growing earnings at a rapid pace, these largest stocks have …

Perhaps more than stocks, the bond market usually tells a tale of what investors expect in terms of economic growth, Federal Reserve (Fed) policy, and inflation expectations. It doesn’t mean the bond market will be correct, but it’s useful to understand what the message of the bond market is. We’ve seen the yield curve steepen …

In the latest episode of Facts vs Feelings, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, and Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist dive into a seasonally tricky September. They break down Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish stance at the Jackson Hole Symposium, the Fed’s balancing act between jobs and inflation, the steepening yield curve, and why gold …

“Wake me up when September ends.” Green Day The S&P 500 moved back to new highs last week and gained in the month of August during a president’s second term for the first time since 1950, so that’s the good news. The bad news: summer is over and we aren’t out of the woods yet, …

As I wrote earlier this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to a September interest rate cut at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Powell argued that risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to the labor market are tilted to the downside. But since policy rates are already in restrictive territory, …