Structuring equity portfolios to withstand macroeconomic uncertainty means rethinking geographic diversification, focusing on quality stocks, and positioning for secular tailwinds from broadening AI adoption and greater defense spending.
The recent large moves in the US dollar have brought the idea of currency hedging to investor attention. Currency hedging is often ignored when discussing international equity investments but this recent period of unusual currency moves (discussed in another insight) reminds us of the impact of currency risk.
Chair Powell has managed to stay on message about remaining cautious ahead of the potential effects of tariffs and resisted getting sucked into partisan politics. Since nothing he wrote or later said was particularly market-moving, equity traders could resume buying.
As autonomous vehicles and industrial robots converge under the banner of autonomous systems, investors should recognize robotics as the foundational layer of a new physical economy operating system.
In financial parlance - mindful living requires minimum investment and can yield multi-dimensional returns as it also allows one to choose healthier and more sustainable lifestyles. In short, it’s the perfect foil to our current state of getting nowhere really fast.
In an environment where uncertainty is the only certainty, building resilient portfolios for a wide range of possible outcomes means diversifying differently with multi-asset strategies, real assets, and gold.
Stocks fell last week as an up-and-down mix of trade progress and anxiety, economic news, and geopolitical tensions netted out. Beginning Friday morning, all three averages were under pressure all day following news of an escalated conflict in the Middle East. Oil prices pushed higher on Friday on supply concerns.
The effects of a rising TGA due to tax payments this week, increased repo usage heading into quarter-end, and higher overnight funding costs are likely to reduce overall market liquidity. This combination could make trading conditions challenging over the final two weeks of June, potentially placing significant downward pressure on stock prices.
Early in the week, markets notched steady gains as investors awaited key economic indicators and monitored ongoing trade discussions. Megacap tech names—particularly AI chipmakers—led the broader market higher, as sentiment stayed bullish on prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal.
Pricing power remains a growth lever, but volumes are showing strain. The new tariff regime is set to test the limits of pricing power further. Companies are still managing to push through price gains, but elasticity is no longer negligible. And tariffs threaten to raise input costs, squeezing margins.
Currency risk can be material, and hedging decisions can make a real difference to return the outcomes. At a time when markets are witnessing sharp shifts in historic relationships, such as that between the US dollar and US equities in 2025 thus far, it is worth revisiting those decisions.
Scores generally provide a relative way to gauge a participant from amongst many, and therefore drive outcomes related to eligibility for one. Interactive Advisors (IA) uses risk scores to facilitate investment strategy matches between a client and a portfolio offering.