The U.S. equity market hummed along in the final quarter of 2024, although not without headwinds at the macro level from shifting Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut bets, dampened disinflation traction, and policy proposals from the now-sitting U.S. admi

As we move deeper into 2025, LPL Research's Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee (STAAC) has updated its Capital Market Assumptions (CMA) and Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) to provide guidance on long-term asset allocation and stra

Stocks continued to climb the wall of worry last week and shrugged off tariff headlines, inflation volatility, and signs of a slowdown in retail spending. President Trump reinstated a full 25% tariff on all steel imports — effectively closing a

Equity markets are off to a solid start in 2025. Despite an array of headline risks, the S&P 500 has climbed over 3% on the year and even notched a record high last month. Within the index, returns have also become more dispersed, pointing to a g

Since the 2021 peak in deal multiples and a banner year for performance, the private equity industry has encountered several challenging years for fundraising and a slew of new issues to deal with. The 2022 rise in interest rates was the initial head

Use of the terms “bull” and “bear” in financial markets can be traced back to London’s financial district in the late 19th century, used as an analogy for how each animal attacks; the bull thrusts its horns upwards, and

Early in the second Trump administration, tariff threats have revived market volatility. Recent Treasury yield curve movements reflect this uncertainty, with markets reacting to both threatened and postponed tariffs against key trading partners. Shor

Reframing the Active-Passive Debate

There is much debate on whether active investment managers can consistently outperform passive benchmark indexes, often framed as “active versus passive.” When framed this way, the word &

Trump Threatened New Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China 

Over the weekend, President Trump unveiled a new set of tariffs targeting goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China. The new policy included a 25% tariff on goods comi

With China’s DeepSeek pressuring investors to take a closer look at the current environment of artificial intelligence (AI) development within the U.S., some are taking a moment to question the accuracy of a much larger idea — American Ex