This latest bout of market volatility has been unsettling, especially after such a calm 2023 and 2024 for stocks. However, with the benefit of some historical perspective, volatility of this magnitude is quite common.  

That said, Monday morning's brief spike in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) to over 60, which we wrote about in "Navigating the Storm: Insights on Current Market Volatility", was certainly not normal. Now that this measure of implied volatility based on S&P 500 option prices is back to more normal levels in the low 20s after closing at 38.6 on Monday, it’s fair to say this pullback has been

While there has been some rebound today, the sell-off in stock markets from Thursday to Monday’s trading sessions was sharp and accompanied by a significant increase in volatility. We discuss how this current pullback and market volatility compares historically, and what this may infer for forward stock market returns.

After an extended period of a “bad news is good news” market, with participants believing data on a slowing economy would give the Federal Reserve (Fed) clearance to cut interest rates, we appear to have abruptly moved to a “bad news is bad news” environment. Market concerns have coincided in th

Causes of the Market Selloff

• The current pullback markets are experiencing comes as multiple market concerns have coincided over the last few days. The primary driver stems from concerns the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) higher-for-longer policy will drive the U.S. economy into recession (a so-called hard landing) following the weak payroll employment report on Friday, August 2. Soft Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing data added to the selloff in global risk assets.
• Investor sentiment had become a bit frothy, causing us to suggest stocks had gotten a bit ahead of themselves in LPL’s Midyear Outlook 2024: Still W

Infrastructure History

For many, investing in the infrastructure sector evokes thoughts of rather vanilla investments in toll roads, airports, and tunnels. While those investments remain attractive within the transportation sector, as an asset class, infrastructure has continuously adapted and today includes a growing opportunity set for investors. Infrastructure as an asset class has existed since the industrial revolution; it gained steam during the early 1990s as first Australia, followed by the United Kingdom, and Canada, began to privatize state-owned telecommunications, utilities, and transportation companies. If it seems as if Aus