Active Management

The bull market is alive and well, even amid widespread talk of the “death of U.S. exceptionalism.

This quarter might best be described as the “Big Beautiful Bounce”. Or the BBB. History has proven time and time again that markets do come back – but this was a historically quick market turnaround.

Sharp U.S. policy shift and elevated uncertainty reflect an evolution of the new macro regime. What matters: getting a grip on uncertainty by identifying its core features.

Some say private credit hasn’t been tested. We disagree…and stress can sharpen the senses.

In this video, Chuck Carnevale, co-founder of FAST Graphs, aka Mr. Valuation discusses 10 subscriber-requested stocks that you asked to see, highlighting how FAST Graphs simplifies stock analysis. He reviews companies like AES Corporation, Amgen, Alibaba, and Chipotle, showing how FAST Graphs quickly reveals key data, such as earnings growth, dividend history, and valuation.

We began the year optimistic that an environment of slowing growth, disinflation and easier monetary policy would be favorable for fixed income markets. Now at midyear, we maintain that view, while acknowledging that policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks may likely result in continued volatility.

The US economy is important, but it’s not the only one in a global approach.

With the first half of 2025 in the books, it’s been a very interesting six months — emphasis on “V” because the S&P 500 saw a nice V-shaped formation following the April sell-off. As markets always reveal, interesting times call for interesting ETF trends to follow.

In recent months, markets have whipsawed amid changes in trade policy, geopolitical shocks, concerns about fiscal sustainability, challenges to central bank independence, technological advancements, and earnings surprises in both directions. Despite this, stocks and bonds in much of the world are close to where they began the year.

For good reasons, many investors have a love-hate relationship with commodity investments. Operationally, the annoying K-1 form complicates tax filing, although thankfully the industry has started to launch “no K-1” funds.

This year’s formidable challenges have clarified strategic lessons for equity investors to apply in the coming months

Goldman Sachs entered the ETF market nearly 10 years ago, yet two of its most popular products in 2025 are relatively new, both with less than a two-year track record.

As direct lending matures and other private credit areas expand, active investors can apply relative value strategies across sectors – and even entire markets – to pursue enhanced outcomes.

A potential conflict with Iran has consistently appeared in our monthly Market Risk Monitor for over two years. Now that risk has materialized. Our equity portfolio managers assess the implications for global markets.

With the market roughly at the midpoint for 2025, investors and advisors are still assessing how changing macroeconomic conditions could affect their fixed income portfolio.

Readers of a certain age will no doubt recall President Ronald Reagan launching one of the most ambitious military buildups in American history.

Market breadth can help gauge strength or weakness. Methods include tracking the number of stocks trading above or below moving averages or making new highs or lows.

In a recent newsletter, we explored the explosive growth of ETFs and the implications for portfolio construction. In this follow-up blog post, Lauren and I wanted to take that conversation a step further—diving deeper into how advisors can navigate the ever-expanding ETF universe while staying true to their investment philosophy.

Thematic investing has experienced cycles of popularity over time. In less cautious market environments, investors often turn their attention to ambitious ideas — such as disruptive technologies or other transformative future trends — looking beyond traditional equity ETFs.

The United States’ tariff announcement on April 2, 2025, created significant market volatility, as the tariffs were perceived as higher, broader, and more punitive than expected, and the implementation sooner.

Market uncertainty needs a tailor-made approach to fixed income for advisors to construct the ideal portfolio for their clients. There’s an easier solution that encompasses an active management approach, various income sources, and low cost. It’s the Vanguard Multi-Sector Income Bond ETF (VGMS).

For years, Americans have lamented that rising housing prices and elevated mortgage rates have made homeownership unaffordable for too many first-time homebuyers, while prompting many homeowners to stay put rather than sell.

We continue to suggest an "up in quality" fixed income bias for the short run, but investors can still consider some of the riskier parts of the fixed income market in moderation.

Until recently, commercial real estate appeared poised for a long-awaited rebound. However, 2025 has revealed a new reality: Uncertainty has become structural.

As the advisory landscape continues to evolve, one theme is increasingly clear: advisors need more flexibility to meet the diverse and growing expectations of their clients.

Index futures inched upward premarket as the headline May PCE data landed in line with expectations, though the core data and annual figures were up slightly.

Today’s investment landscape, shaped by persistently above-target inflation, structurally higher debt and deficits, and reduced global dollar recycling into US financial markets, has contributed to elevated market volatility alongside historically high policy uncertainty.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida explains where yields may be headed, as well as positioning considerations for the long-run by charting the relationship between r* and term premium.

Target-date fund glide paths can be important tools for retirement planning. Advisors should focus on assumptions, transparency, and outcomes to ensure they align with participants' needs.

The maturity and prevalence of indexing on the equity markets have undeniably blurred the lines between active and passive management. Investors should be concerned because what appears to be a rules-based, transparent, low-cost strategy may involve hidden active choices that influence returns, risk and transaction costs.

In this video, Chuck Carnevale, co-founder of FAST Graphs, aka Mr. Valuation, discusses the principles of value investing and how understanding a company’s intrinsic value is key to making sound investment decisions.

TMX VettaFi has gathered industry experts and thought leaders for the Midyear Market Outlook Symposium happening June 26 at 11 a.m. ET.

Inflation's trend has been favorable this year, but a growing conflict in Iran—combined with already-imposed tariffs—might put upward pressure in prices later this year.

Newsflow and misperceptions can obscure the drivers of profit growth—especially during a volatile year like 2025.

Doug Drabik discusses fixed income market conditions and offers insight for bond investors.

The U.S. Dollar Index, when measured against a basket of other major currencies, has declined by approximately 10% this year through mid-June and is currently trading at its lowest level in three years.

Portfolio Managers John Kerschner and John Lloyd and Client Portfolio Manager Steve Preikschat investigate the case for multisector bond funds as a core fixed income allocation.

When investors approach the financial markets, there’s a tendency to imagine that conditions can be judged as favorable or unfavorable based on one single measure or another. The fact is that market conditions at any moment in time are a composite of interdependent forces.

This week the news is about the Israel-Iran conflict. It’s terrifyingly real for those in the crossfire, while we who are safe naturally wonder what it means for us. As investors, we think about the economic and market effects. But are we seeing signal or noise?

Given the uncertainty of future events, global investors seek a “safe haven” for investment dollars. As such, U.S. Treasury Bonds and the U.S. dollar appreciate given their perceived “financial safety.” Last week, global investors were already starting to make that shift with the dollar rising.

Mid-2025 is approaching, and exchange traded fund demand continues its robust growth. Last year was a landmark year for the ETF industry, with industry net inflows for the first time surpassing $1 trillion and one ETF exceeding $100 billion in net inflows.

Market concentration rewarded passive investors who held market weights in the surging mega-caps. Since late 2014, passive index returns ranked in the 10th percentile of all portfolios in eVestment’s US Large Cap Growth Equity universe. In other words, only 10% of active managers outperformed.

Fixed-income investors concerned about tariffs and US exceptionalism may find opportunities in hedged global bonds.

At Parametric, our years of experience have taught us that markets can swing up and down quickly and without warning. Since no one can time these swings, we believe it's imperative to seek both loss harvesting and benchmark tracking simultaneously.

On Monday, Tortoise Capital expanded its fund library with the launch of the Tortoise Energy Fund (TNGY). Formerly a mutual fund, the Tortoise Energy Fund is now an ETF available on the New York Stock Exchange.

This is the first in a three-part series outlining why I believe bonds are set to outperform. Here, I focus on the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate, the June 2025 meeting, and why the Fed’s approach is positive for bond investors. Parts 2 and 3 will address valuation, politics, recession risk, and the secular horizon.

How big data, AI and the human element can combine to better pursue consistent alpha.

CEO Ali Dibadj provides an update on the three macro drivers we believe will shape markets in the second half of 2025 and how Janus Henderson is helping clients position for a brighter investment future.

New strategies, shifting flows, and innovative technologies are driving a more dynamic and diversified marketplace in fixed income ETFs.

The overall U.S. equity market has fully recovered from its April lows, landing in an essentially flat position as of 5/31/2025. However, it’s been a wild ride for many investors.

Equities have been on quite the roller coaster in 2025. Although the tariff situation has driven much of this volatility, we find ourselves in a similar spot to where we began the year.

Many small deals have done through, including ones from overseas, and an active calendar of corporate shareholder meetings could offer fresh insights into capital plans.

We remain bullish about many of the corporate changes taking place in Japan. Toyota Group recently announced it was taking Toyota Industries private (its auto parts and forklift business) to simplify the group’s structure.

The first half of the year has left investors with many questions about the path ahead for the economy and markets. Unfortunately, there haven’t been many concrete answers. Tariff announcements and trade negotiations have commanded the room.

The Iran-Israel conflict and equity markets are now in sharp focus. As direct strikes escalated in June 2025, global financial markets responded immediately. Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and energy infrastructure triggered retaliatory missile and drone attacks from Iran.

Smart beta strategies have endured a prolonged stretch of disappointing results, falling short of investor expectations. This article explores the underlying causes of that performance and outlines why the conditions ahead could be more favorable.

Describes how what is happening to the economy is bigger than tariffs, it is the business cycle. It includes a comment on the FOMC meeting tomorrow, uses economic data up through this morning (retail sales), and includes a nice cartoon which can be used as a thumbnail (below).