Alternatives Gain Importance as Market Complexity Rises

As highlighted in LPL Research’s Midyear Outlook 2026, Policy, Buildouts & Bottlenecks, investors continue to navigate a market environment shaped by evolving policy decisions, geopolitical uncertainty, and shifting economic expectations. Against this backdrop, maintaining a diversified and balanced portfolio has become increasingly important, particularly as traditional asset classes face periods of heightened correlation and elevated volatility. The first half of 2026 has been marked by heightened uncertainty. Shifting interest rate expectations, persistent geo

LPL’s Midyear Outlook 2026 has arrived. While much of the report provides the types of content you might expect from LPL Research, such as forecasts for GDP, earnings, and interest rates, this edition of the publication is unique in its focus on four key themes that we believe will shape capital markets performance in the second half. Here we focus on one of those themes: AI’s Next Act.

Evolving AI Narrative

AI is likely to remain a key driver of equity markets during the second half of 2026, but the narrative is evolving. The market is shifting from enthusiasm over AI infrastructure spending and rapid earnings g

Over the first half of 2026, markets faced some expected — and unexpected — tailwinds and headwinds, ranging from geopolitical developments, blockbuster corporate earnings, increasing artificial intelligence (AI) scrutiny, resilient economic data, and a new Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair. In the recently released Midyear Outlook 2026: Policy, Buildouts, & Bottlenecks, we discuss what’s shaping the economic and market landscape and what investors may expect over the balance of the year. Here are some of the key takeaways from the just-released report.

Economy

We believe economic growth will moderate but rem

As market watchers prepared for America’s 250th birthday celebration, global equity markets delivered a strong finish to the second quarter. The S&P 500 printed its best quarterly return since 2020 amid high profile economic data and rotation dynamics, while also posting a moderate gain over the holiday-shortened week. Asian equities capped their best quarterly result since 2009 while European shares also sealed their best quarter in six years. Fixed income markets traded lower over the last four days after ending a positive quarter. In commodities and currencies, oil continued to fall and the yen remained on intervention watch.