With today’s elevated volatility in equity and bond markets, we wanted to revisit one of the most popular investment strategies that has broadly served investors well over the last few decades — the 60/40 portfolio. Pioneered by Harry Markowitz and his modern portfolio theory (MPT) framework in the 1950s, the 60/40 portfolio — comprised of 60% stocks and 40% bonds — argued that diversification among uncorrelated asset classes provided the investor with the optimal portfolio allocation. Equities served as the growth engine, while bonds provided drawdown mitigation and predictable income; when combined, they should produce

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is meeting to deliberate on short-term interest rates and will announce their decision this afternoon. Expectations regarding whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) will raise rates again after September's increase have shifted dramatically over the past month. Markets moved from expecting another 25-basis-point hike immediately after September's meeting to largely anticipating no change at today's meeting, with attention shifting to December.

While the Fed does control short-term rates, they do not control the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond. This yield has been in the news late

Corporate America faces a higher bar this earnings season. Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) names remain in the spotlight amid ongoing spending, financing, and monetization scrutiny, while the macro backdrop remains clouded by rising energy prices and inflation pressures, higher borrowing costs, and heightened geopolitical risks. This begs several questions for markets. Is technology the only earnings driver? Are expectations too high? Can margins keep expanding? Here, we will discuss these three keys for the reporting cycle in our preview of third quarter earnings season.

Big Numbers but High Expectations

We are

Interest rates have been at the top of mind for investors over the past few months, and for good reason. Here in the U.S., high levels of government debt, geopolitical uncertainty, shifting economic conditions, and increasing competition from AI-driven investments have all contributed to a notable rise in Treasury yields.

This rising rate environment has served as a headwind for fixed income markets, with most core bond sectors showing losses for the year following sell-offs in September. While the factors behind the recent rise in rates and bond market volatility are understandable, the choppy ride for fixed income returns has s