blog
August 13, 2024
Pullbacks Are Common but Painful‍

August 12, 2024: Pullbacks are the stubbed toe of the stock market. I was reminded of this over the last week as I contemplated the recent surge in volatility while picking up toys after our two-year-old finally fell asleep. As I carried a Tonka truck back to its usual parki...

August 5, 2024
Thoughts on Global Selloff and the Dollar’s Path to Decompressing

August 5, 2024: After the sharp August 5 decline, equities are nearing an attractive entry point. LPL’s Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee (STAAC) maintains its tactical neutral stance on equities, while actively monitoring signs of bottoming. LPL Research c...

July 29, 2024
Key Themes for the Macroeconomic Landscape in the Second Half of 2024

July 29, 2024: Investors had a healthy appetite for risk so far this year as a so-called potential soft landing has been factored in. We have an economy with rising wages, decelerating inflation, and a Federal Reserve (Fed) on the cusp of cutting rates. What more could you a...

July 22, 2024
Key Themes for Bonds in the Second Half of 2024

July 22, 2024: The first half of the year was a challenging environment for a lot of fixed income markets, especially higher-quality markets. With the Federal Reserve (Fed) seemingly unlikely to lower interest rates until after the summer months (at the earliest), the “hig...

July 15, 2024
Key Themes for Stocks in the Second Half of 2024

July 15, 2024: Outlook 2024: A Turning Point, released in December 2023, featured our perspective on how stocks might respond to turning points in inflation and monetary policy. That response was quite positive as we now know, as easing inflation, anticipation of Federal Res...

July 1, 2024
Double Digit Earnings Growth on Tap

July 1, 2024: With stock valuations elevated after such a strong first half, earnings growth will be key to holding, or potentially building on these gains. LPL Research believes stocks have gotten a bit over their skis, but earnings season may not be the catalyst for a pull...

June 26, 2024
Artificial Intelligence: The Antidote to Fed Policy?

June 26, 2024: Developments in artificial intelligence may be the antidote for an aging population, but it takes time for these advancements to work themselves into the fabric of our nation’s businesses. The impact of new developments can persist in markets, so investors n...

June 17, 2024
Keep Calm and Clip Bond Coupons

June 17, 2024: With a Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, a Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting, two very important inflation reports, and nearly $120 billion of new Treasury securities auctioned — last week was quite the week for markets. And while the Fed meeting was supposed to get ...

June 10, 2024
India at the Crossroads

June 10, 2024: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent victory in the national elections was muted at best. While he secured a rare third term in the nation’s highest office, his decisive legislative supermajority failed to materialize. Modi has made revitalizing th...

June 3, 2024
Adjusting the Sector Sails

June 3, 2024: To say May was an eventful month for the market is an understatement. Investors navigated around the latter half of first-quarter earnings, a breakout to record highs for the broader market, elevated volatility across fixed income and currency markets, and a mi...

May 28, 2024
Earnings Are Doing Their Part

May 28, 2024: The first quarter earnings season is largely in the books, and it was excellent. In fact, S&P 500 earnings per share (EPS) would have been up double digits in the quarter if not for a big loss Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) absorbed in an acquisition. Even with tha...

May 13, 2024
Preferred Securities: Still Our Preferred Non-Core Bond Sector

May 13, 2024: It continues to be a challenging environment for a lot of fixed income markets, especially higher quality markets. With the Federal Reserve (Fed) seemingly unlikely to lower interest rates until after the summer months (at the earliest), the “higher for longe...