Markets have been walking a fine line, with a still-struggling economy on one side and hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough on the other. Heading into the fourth quarter, there are both encouraging signs and cause for caution.

The coronavirus shock is accelerating structural trends in inequality, globalization, macro policy and sustainability. This is fundamentally reshaping the investment landscape and will be key to investor outcomes.

Your social network may be an untapped and robust source for uncovering prospects. While you may be suffering from COVID-19 fatigue, we believe prospecting and having introductory conversations about the services you provide could be one of the best uses of your time.

Adding intangible assets to book value provides a more robust measure of firm capital. But, just as a home buyer considers a host of variables when evaluating the price of a new house, we prefer to use multiple metrics, not book value alone, to get the most complete picture possible of a firm’s valuation.

Ed Perks and Gene Podkaminer of Franklin Templeton’s Multi-Asset Solutions team discuss the attractions of alternative assets that can offer natural portfolio diversification. Over a longer-term horizon, they continue to believe global stocks have greater performance potential than global bonds, or alternatives, but this outlook will not be reached along a smooth path.

The December deadline for a Brexit deal is quickly approaching. One consequence of Brexit was that firms couldn’t plan—or they were forced to plan for a no-deal scenario. It’s a big reason why the pace of business investment was so sluggish in the years since the 2016 referendum...

I got very excited when I came across an excerpt from Jordan Ellenberg’s book, How Not to Be Wrong. His book was written to teach readers how much logic and common sense is provided by math. He tells the story of Abraham Wald during World War II, who worked for the Statistical Research Group (SRG).

The old adage that every crisis represents an opportunity is certainly true in the case of COVID-19. Now that the pandemic has lasted longer and wrought more destruction than many initially anticipated, it is all the more important that policymakers seize on the positive trends it has incidentally set in motion.

Markets may press even higher this year, but some areas may fall behind.

The best reason to conduct a virtual meeting is to motivate some kind of action. This means that a well-managed meeting is always moving toward a clear and specific close. There are six steps to a meeting’s flow that will help you “keep your close on.”

In recent years, global equities had slightly outpaced market forecasts for lower equity returns. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit the global economy, putting an end to the 10-year bull market. Equity markets have now started to recover, but the pandemic introduced and exacerbated challenges that we expect to subdue financial market returns over the next five years.

Another market high, with expectations for a “V”accine-shaped recovery.

Overall, EM IG bonds represent a great opportunity for investors seeking to monetise the EM risk premium with moderate volatility in a world, where higher yielding IG-rated securities are increasingly difficult to come by.

Breakout inflation is not our top concern. Europe explores support for national champions, and the U.S. unemployment rate masks some fragility.

The risk of a “no deal” Brexit and the potential economic harm that accompanies it increased last week.

Review the latest Weekly Headings by CIO Larry Adam.

Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions.

A wave of policy support to stabilize the world economy has left developed nations with a growing public debt load. What path will governments follow to address the issue? History offers several debt-reduction templates.

In a challenging year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the municipal market is recovering on the strength of unprecedented federal support.

As we near the end of the third quarter, key economic reports will be released that will influence our forecast for third quarter real Gross Domestic Product. It will be a very strong quarter.

At the recent Jackson Hole Economic Summit, Jerome Powell unveiled the Fed’s new monetary policy designed to create inflation. In today’s #Macroview, we will discuss the 5-reasons why the Fed will not get inflation, and why deflation is the bigger risk.

One of our favorite natural resource companies, Ivanhoe has returned more than 146 percent in the past six months alone as investors anticipate the start of production at the Kakula Mine, which has the potential to become the world’s second-largest copper mining complex, with annual output projected to be 800,000 metric tonnes a year.

The U.S. stock market hit pause in early September, as investors took a harder look at market overconcentration and frothy sentiment. Meanwhile, global economies may be entering a new phase, and the Federal Reserve’s newly announced inflation policy is likely to keep U.S. rates lower for longer.

My theme today is on the pandemic’s future economic impact, especially in the United States.

The Federal Reserve has changed its inflation policy. Here’s what it may mean for markets.

Resiliency and diversification potential remain critical in a world with meaningful uncertainty ahead.

Sovereign bonds have long been the prime defensive asset for multi-asset portfolios. But in today’s extraordinary market conditions, should investors make more extensive use of other defensive choices?

Franklin Small Cap Value Fund Portfolio Manager Steve Raineri gives five reasons why he thinks small-capitalization (small-cap) value stocks could perform well as the US economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s open season on capital gains. Four ways advisors can help clients navigate potential unpleasant taxable distributions.

Portfolio managers Taizo Ishida and Michael Oh, CFA, explore the growth drivers for Asia's new economy sectors, including how to measure and assign potential future value of intangible assets.