Following strong gains in 2023 and 2024, U.S. equity markets enjoyed another year of double-digit returns in 2025. The S&P 500 gained 17.9% and small-cap stocks as measured by the Russell 2000 Index also rose double digits, up 12.8%. These … Read More

By Christine R. Quillian, CFA, CFP®, Helen M. Donahue, CFA Investors, who had been banking on a broad-based economic boom, have found themselves consternated by a wall of tariff-ic uncertainty. President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement on April 2, 2025, … Read More

By Helen Donahue, CFA, Portfolio Manager In the investment world, a diversified portfolio is one of the central tenets for success, with asset allocation being one of the most important determinants of portfolio returns.       While equities typically provide superior … Read More

By Helen Donahue, Portfolio Manager   As we all know, the current landscape in the fixed income markets has drastically changed from the near zero-rate environment we have had for years.  With the goal of slowing growth and getting inflation … Read More

By HELEN DONAHUE, CFA Much has been made of the labor shortage in the pandemic era. Many economists predicted that unemployment would decrease with the expiration of the extended unemployment benefits. While claims have dropped, it has not been to … Read More

By HELEN DONAHUE, CFA Rising interest rates have caused volatility in the equity markets recently. The 10-Year Treasury started the year yielding less than 1% and swiftly moved to a recent high of nearly 1.6% the last week of February. … Read More