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Financial advisors routinely adhere to the discipline of rebalancing portfolios, so much so that they invest tens of thousands of dollars in software to automate the process. That adherence has been regularly reinforced by financial writers. I show why this conventional wisdom is wrong and rebalancing may be as unwise an investment as the software used to do it.

Here in the U.S., I estimate that the actual number of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 to-date is currently just over four times the number of reported cases. Actual cases are undercounted partly because, based on very large-scale, unbiased testing, roughly 45% of people who acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection are asymptomatic.

In the last few weeks stock market sentiment as expressed in options has come full circle. Back in August we were noting a rather amazing level of outright speculation in stock options, mostly by small traders that were buying short-dated out of the money calls on the FAAMGs.

“Resilience” was this week’s theme as better-than-expected market data came to light. Earnings season has begun, and so far reports have proven the doomsayers wrong. Even industries that have been hardest hit by the economic downturn, including air travel, are expressing optimism that we’re at the “end of the beginning” in terms of recovering from the worst health crisis in 100 years.

Month-over-month nominal sales in September increased by 1.91%. Real Retail Sales, calculated with the seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index, increased by 1.70%.

Actual third-quarter earnings may be less important than what business leaders say about their expectations.

Given current low yields, some investors wonder whether bonds can continue to provide diversification in a portfolio. Here’s why those fears may be overblown.

The Census Bureau's Advance Retail Sales Report for September was released this morning. Headline sales came in at 1.9% month-over-month to one decimal and was above the Investing.com forecast of 0.7%. Core sales (ex Autos) came in at 1.5% MoM.

Euro-area countries were struggling to achieve growth and inflation even before the coronavirus pandemic. Now global lockdowns and trade disputes have compounded their problems. Still, we believe euro fixed-income markets offer active investors attractive opportunities and worthwhile income.

This morning's seasonally adjusted 898K new claims, up 53K from the previous week's revised figure, was worse than the Investing.com forecast of 825K.

The latest Manufacturing Index came in at 15, down 2.2 from last month's 17.2. The 3-month moving average came in at 18.8, down from 21.0 last month. Since this is a diffusion index, negative readings indicate contraction, positive ones indicate expansion. The Six-Month Outlook came in at 56.6, up 17.8 from the previous month's 38.8.

Markets are facing choppier waters, but the backdrop for risk assets remains positive.

Investors should consider many angles when evaluating what active managers can offer through a global crisis and an indefinite period of uncertainty.

Our Dina Ting offers three reasons she and her team believe the case for international markets is once again strong, and opines on how recent market events have created new—or amplified existing—opportunities for investors to express views on specific countries.

The transition toward a more sustainable energy system presents potential opportunities for investors. We explore what those opportunities are, and identify potential watchpoints.

Passive investing continues to gain share at the expense of active. In doing so, however, it is also substantially increasing systemic risk.

Third-quarter revenue from buying and selling stocks and bonds increased 29%, driven by a 49% surge in fixed-income trading.

Let's do some analysis of the Consumer Price Index, the best-known measure of inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) divides all expenditures into eight categories and assigns a relative size to each. The pie chart illustrates the components of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, the CPI-U.

The price of Regular and Premium are unchanged from last week. According to GasBuddy.com, California has the highest average price for Regular at $3.19 and Mississippi has the cheapest at $1.83. The WTIC end of day spot price closed at 39.43, up 0.5% from last week.

Here is a table showing the annualized change in Headline and Core CPI, not seasonally adjusted, for each of the past six months. Also included are the eight components of Headline CPI and a separate entry for Energy, which is a collection of sub-indexes in Housing and Transportation. We can make some inferences about how inflation is impacting our personal expenses depending on our relative exposure to the individual components.

The potential economic and market impacts a “Blue Wave” for the U.S. election could have on five key areas: taxes, labor, the environment, oil and trade.

There’s more consensus than usual over the likely winner of the U.S. presidential election. After that, there’s plenty of disagreement on strategies to wager on an election that’s been flashing warnings of chaos ahead in volatility markets.

Flows into U.S. fixed-income products this year have surpassed the total for all of last year.

The headline number for September came in at 104.0, up 3.8 from the previous month. The index is at the 90th percentile in this series.

It is well-established that “lottery” stocks – those offering the potential for outsized returns, like penny and growth stocks – deliver poor performance. While one might expect that naïve, retail investors are the ones buying those stocks, new research shows that is not the case.

We compare fixed annuities to other safe investments, such as CDs and Treasury securities, to better understand whether they provide attractive risk-adjusted performance and are a reasonable alternative for risk-averse investors.

The U.S. presidential election is adding to market angst. How much do politics matter in the long run? Tony DeSpirito answers in this one-minute read.

I can’t wait until the election is over so that these horrible election year clichés will disappear.

Emerging markets have had different approaches to coping with COVID-19 and are at different stages of recovery. Our emerging markets equity team examines trends, news and data shaping emerging markets in the third quarter, and shares its latest outlook.

To some critics, Trump’s behavior and decision-making process may seem erratic, but I believe they make a sort of sense when viewed through the lens of game theory.

Shares of renewable-energy companies expected to benefit from Biden’s energy policy plans have surged.

The economy is at a crossroads and this commentary addresses why it’s critical to acknowledge the risks, as well as providing some specifics on how to deal with those uncertainties.

The transportation sector in the municipal bond market faces significant headwinds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Market update from BlackRock's municipal bond team.

Domestic equity markets have certainly shown a significant amount of movement thus far through 2020, with the S&P 500 Index SPX undergoing its swiftest decline from all-time highs in March, only to rally over the next few months to print new all-time highs at the beginning of September.

Across emerging markets, urban consumption provides ballast and stability to a number of sectors and industries.

The beat went on in the third quarter as growth stocks once again shone, propelling the S&P 500 to a 9% gain. The market continues to be narrow, with the index being carried by a relatively small number of companies. While the index is up this year, the average stock is down. This is generally considered to be unhealthy.

Given elements of uncertainty tied to COVID-19, geopolitics and policy decisions to come in the United States and across the globe, our K2 Advisors team believes the current environment may favor nimble, shorter-term strategies.

The Mexican ESG ETF has been one of the company’s most successful out of 40 new ESG products launched this year.

A famous Wall Street bear-turned-bull is urging clients to double down on V-shaped economic bets, even as talks on fresh stimulus collapse.

Here’s my take on the six worst pandemic clichés that advisors keep using, which are ruining their credibility.

High-yield bonds can generally offer more income in a very low-interest-rate world. However, if the economic or stock market outlook deteriorates, it could be a bumpy ride.

Variable annuities were created to give retirees access to lifetime income with the potential for growth. Today’s products offer a range of features such as liquidity, investment risk hedging, access to a risk premium, tax deferral, and longevity protection. This panel address the tradeoff of these product features and when they provide the greatest value to retirees. The best variable annuities offer reasonable-cost options that provide income, investment flexibility and downside protection when clients need them most. CFP and IWI CE credits pending.

The pandemic has amplified four long-term macroeconomic disruptors, and fiscal policy – a key swing factor – may hold the key to upside or downside surprises. Read our long-term outlook and learn implications to consider when investing.

The moving average for the per-capita Light Vehicle Sales series peaked in 1986. Thirty-plus years later, it is now down 40% from that 1986 peak.

As of September 30, the 10-year note is 17 basis points above its historic closing low of 0.52%, reached on August 4.

Let's take a closer look at Friday's employment report numbers on Full and Part-Time Employment.

With the Q2 GDP Third Estimate, we now have an updated look at the popular "Buffett Indicator" -- the ratio of corporate equities to GDP. The current reading is 171.7%, up from 124.7% the previous quarter.

Rates are likely to continue being low for a long period of time. Where can bond investors turn for income? Diversifying with credit in fixed income can improve a strategy’s potential to deliver income, provide capital appreciation and help defend against risk. Different from simply cap-weighting, applying certain factors in a rules-based approach can improve outcomes. Given recent market volatility, investors are encouraged by these alternative fixed-income strategies. Join our experts as they provide an in-depth discuss that will cover:

· Uncovering the most attractive risk-adjusted returns for your clients
· Multi-sector / multi-factor solutions
· Positioning portfolios to exploit pockets of yield, quality and liquidity

JAY MCANDREW

Investments Expert

GENE TANNUZZO

CFA

MARC ZEITOUN

CFA

Whether you’re focused on improving risk management, pursuing sharper business-development strategies, or enhancing M&A outcomes, data analytics will improve your RIA’s overall success.

Here's an interesting set of charts that will especially resonate with those of us who follow economic and market cycles. Imagine that five years ago you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500. How much would it be worth today, with dividends reinvested but adjusted for inflation? The purchasing power of your investment has increased to $17,936 for an annualized real return of 11.74%.

She is taking a number of steps to position herself more defensively.

The U.S. economy improved significantly this quarter, but investors continue to face several serious risks. In late September, confirmed COVID-19 cases were rising worldwide, and the pandemic may intensify as winter approaches. A combative U.S. presidential election looms.

With recently elevated volatility levels some investors are afraid to hold overnight as it’s much harder or not possible to make trades. While it seems intuitive to take risk off the table when there’s not much you can do if things head south, it takes you out of the market when most of the returns are harnessed.

If we do a good job of investing in high-quality companies with the potential for strong, long-duration earnings growth, we think starting valuations will matter less in generating attractive long-term performance. When we invest in a company with a high P/E ratio today, we don’t do so with the expectation the ratio will stay high indefinitely.

We have a modest economic calendar including the ISM non-manufacturing index, JOLTS, jobless claims data, and the NFIB index. The Fed minutes from September’s meeting will be released. The Vice-Presidential debate is set for Wednesday.

The latest JOLTS report (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary), with data through August, is now available.

With investors already on edge regarding election uncertainty, an “October surprise” arrives yet again. Can history provide some guidance on how elections impact markets?

Rick Rieder and team highlight the critical facts that will drive the markets in the year ahead, as well as the myths that could mislead investors.

Can bonds continue to play defense and provide income when yields are at historic lows? We think so.

The U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, also known as the FT-900, is published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis with data going back to 199 and details U.S. exports and imports of goods and services. Today's headline number of -63.56B was more negative than the Investing.com forecast of -58.0B.

While the world focuses on COVID-19, there’s another virus that’s getting far less attention – the volatility virus. Investors and traders who embrace and capitalize on volatility (or “vol”) are jumping into indices that track volatility. And 2020 is surely the year to do so.

This commentary has been updated to include Friday morning's release of Nonfarm Employment. September's 661K increase in total nonfarm payrolls had revisions that resulted in 145K more jobs than previously reported. The Investing.com consensus was for 850K jobs gained and the unemployment rate to decrease to 8.2%.

Equity markets advanced in the third quarter but pulled back during September. Market moves were dominated by a small group of giant US stocks. How should investors react?

Given the United States is the world’s largest economy, investors around the globe will be watching the US presidential race—and market implications—with keen interest.

Investors should try to avoid getting distracted by the feuding political parties within the U.S. A lot of the infighting is being fueled by outside actors, who thrive on the chaos and the division. Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi Jinping are delighted that we’re so divided right now.

Policy will continue to be carefully calibrated as China walks a tightrope between supporting growth and maintaining financial stability.

The failure of equity fund managers to deliver outsize returns commensurate with the fees they charge for their stock-picking services continues to be a source of ammunition for advocates of lower-cost index tracking products.

Whether it is Paul Tudor Jones or any other great investor throughout history, they all had one core philosophy in common; the management of the inherent risk of investing.

Despite a September slump, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ wrapped up the third quarter with gains of 8.47% and 11%, respectively.

Emerging markets are developing richer, more consumer-led economies as China expands its infrastructure investments and trade relationships.

The BEA's Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Chain-type Price Index for August, released this morning, shows that core inflation is below the Federal Reserve's 2% long-term target at 1.25%. The August Core Consumer Price Index release is higher at 1.57%. The Fed is on record as using Core PCE data as its primary inflation gauge.

Taxes matter and tax-managed investing can make a meaningful difference over the course of an investor's time horizon. The market volatility in 1Q2020 and other factors may make 2020 an especially challenging year for capital gain distributions. This paper discusses tactical and structural reasons why investors may want to consider taking advantage of market events and transitioning to tax-managed investing now and examines the potential benefits of opportunistic tax-loss harvesting. Act now to get ahead of this looming tax surprise.

With the release of this morning's report on August Personal Incomes and Outlays, we can now take a closer look at "Real" Disposable Personal Income Per Capita. At two decimal places, the nominal -3.24% month-over-month change in disposable income was at -3.55% when we adjust for inflation. This is a decrease from last month's 0.30% nominal increase and 0.09% real decrease last month. The year-over-year metrics are 4.85% nominal and 3.44% real.

Quarterly commentary giving an overview of the markets and the importance of having and implementing a strategy when investing in the markets.