Congress May Change. Will Markets Care?
By Ellen Hazen, CFA®, Chief Market Strategist Election night will produce a great deal of red and blue on television screens, but for investors, the more useful information will be what is revealed beneath the headlines: debates over public benefits, resistance to rapid AI datacenter expansion, and opinions on progressive taxation. Congressional composition is unlikely […]
Making Sense of Your Employee Stock Options
By Landon Fritch, CFP® and Tom Burleigh, CFP®, CTFA Your paycheck pays the bills, but your stock options could build real wealth. So, what’s the catch? Between vesting schedules, exercise prices, and complex tax rules, it’s easy to get lost in the details and miss out on their full potential. The good news is that […]
AI Spending, Resilient Growth, and Rising Rates
By Ellen Hazen, CFA®, Chief Market Strategist What We’re Watching in September AI spending is becoming a macroeconomic variable. Artificial intelligence investment is no longer a technology-sector story. The rapid expansion of datacenter spending is supporting capital investment and corporate earnings, but it is also increasing financing needs and placing pressure on power, construction, and […]
AI Spending Is Reaching an Inflection Point
By Ellen Hazen, CFA®, Chief Market Strategist Executive Summary Second quarter corporate earnings were stronger than expected Inflation remains stubbornly high, while the Fed’s reluctance to raise rates has pushed long-term bond yields higher AI spending is a significant driver of both economic and corporate earnings growth AI spending growth is slowing for a variety […]
Energy Transition – The Nuclear Renaissance Is Here
By Andrew Wetzlel, CFA®, Managing Director of Sustainable Investing The long-anticipated nuclear renaissance is taking shape. A combination of insatiable power demand, supportive tax and regulatory frameworks, the drive to decarbonize, and advancements in technology is driving a new wave of nuclear development in the US. Nuclear generation, like geothermal, represents clean baseload power with […]
Earnings, AI, and the Second Half of 2026
By Ellen Hazen, CFA®, Chief Market Strategist Our constructive view on equities is validated by stronger-than-expected earnings growth in 2026. Fiscal policy has been supportive, AI-related capital spending has accelerated dramatically, and corporate profit estimates have risen throughout the year. While we remain positive on equities, the key question for the second half has shifted […]
Trump Accounts: A Closer Look
By Timothy Hamilton, CFP®, CPWA® The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduced a new type of savings vehicle for American children: the Trump Account. While our earlier article on the OBBBA touched on Trump Accounts as part of a broader overview, the program warrants a deeper look. […]
Waiting for the AI Productivity Boom
By Ellen Hazen, CFA®, Chief Market Strategist What We’re Watching in June • Federal Open Market Committee (“Fed”) meeting June 16-17. This will be the first meeting with Kevin Warsh as chair. Markets are expecting no action on the overnight federal funds rate (although are pricing in a rate increase later in 2026), but Chair […]
Resilience Amid Disruption: Markets Navigate War, Inflation, and AI Investment
By Ellen Hazen, CFA®, Chief Market Strategist Growth remains resilient despite geopolitical uncertainty Earnings upside is exceeding expectations and supporting equity valuations Markets are being driven by an expanding AI capital spending cycle Prediction markets can offer incremental signals Macro backdrop. Entering 2026, we saw three positive forces underpinning the US economy. Fiscal stimulus provided […]
Geothermal – A Hot Topic in Power Markets
By Andrew Wetzlel, CFA®, Managing Director of Sustainable Investing As the Iran conflict grabs attention, with related supply chain dislocations and spiking commodity prices, in the background, the structural growth in demand for power from electrification and AI datacenters continues apace. The conflict is a vivid reminder that the traditional energy system is rooted in […]