It was hard not to stumble into a winner if you owned stocks in 2019. With just four trading days left in the year, the S&P 500 Index has returned over 31%, its best yearly return since 2013. Whether you owned diversified stock portfolios of grow

Clarity from the phase-one trade deal with China and United Kingdom election results could help shift stock market performance drivers more toward investing fundamentals in 2020. We expect stocks to appreciate in line with earnings growth next year,

The outlook has brightened for stocks in emerging markets. A key reason is the trade agreement the United States reached with China last week, even if it’s only phase one. We acknowledge tensions could escalate again as negotiations move to the

2019 was a baffling year for bonds. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to a three-year low, and the yield curve flashed ominous signals about the economic outlook. We’ve seen some improvement in long-term yields since the September low, but w

The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) final policy meeting of 2019 starts today and will conclude tomorrow with the release of the Fed’s policy statement, updated economic projections, and a press conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. After loweri

U.S. economic growth has slowed in 2019. However, the economy is still growing, and we believe it will continue growing through 2020. As we highlighted in our Outlook 2020: Bringing Markets Into Focus, we’re projecting real GDP growth of 1.75%

It has been a banner year for global equities, thanks to the S&P 500 Index’s 24.1% gain year to date. Developed market stocks have also climbed in 2019, but they haven’t shined as brightly as their U.S. counterparts—a consistent

It has been a rough start to the most wonderful month of them all, with the S&P 500 Index down each of the first two days of December. Don’t stop believing just yet, though.

Everyone knows December has usually been a good month

Market momentum, global participation, and technical support all provide reasons to think gains may not be over for 2019. While volatility is always possible, record highs need not be feared, and seasonal tendencies may remain a tailwind.

It took nearly 15 months, but the Russell 2000 Index finally broke out to a new 52-week high. On November 25, the Russell 2000 gained an impressive 2.1% to close at its highest level since October 2018.

Small caps have lagged their large