The recent direction and pace of change in bond yields and the stock market is not unusual or inconsistent with the environment of the past five years

Another week brought another record close for equities. The S&P 500 Index increased 1.2% for the week (1), notching a new high, but investor attention appeared to be focused elsewhere. Low levels of market volatility, a pickup in M&A activity, a ...

Advisors' confidence in the economy ticked downward in May, fueled by a waning optimism in future stock market returns

More advisors are investing in exchange traded funds and cash than they were eight years ago, while variable and fixed annuities are becoming less popular. The Financial Planning Association’s 2014 Trends in Investing Survey found that nearly ei...

Why advisors need to consider the use of 529 plans for their clients' college savings strategies

We don’t think the economic weakness in Q1 is the start of another recession, and, indeed, we continue to expect that real GDP will expand 3.0% in all of 2014...

For the third year in a row, the summer driving season kicked off with national gasoline prices at $3.67 per gallon, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy. Prices at the pump are below the $3.80 – $4.00 danger zone where they contr...