Our team regularly reads articles from industry peers and trusted resources to stay up to date on financial markets.  We enjoy reading about topics related to economics, investments, current events, and financial planning.

In addition to circulating some of the best pieces internally, we thought our clients, partners, and friends might enjoy reading some of the same articles as us.

Here are recent pieces that our team members have read, along with some commentary on why we found the respective articles interesting.

Brittany Argaez – Investing for the Long-Term – A Wealth of Common Sense

This recent article highlights that long‑term returns matter most to investors, even though markets can be uncertain and choppy in the short run. While the market has experienced steep drawdowns at times, history shows that, over decades, global markets and balanced portfolios have delivered solid returns. For long-term investors with a diversified approach, maintaining commitment and keeping a long-term perspective are among the most effective strategies.

Ben Bremen – Federal funds rate: What it is and how it affects you

Interest rates are dominating headlines right now, and this article does a nice job of cutting through the noise. It explains what rate the Federal Reserve influences, the reasons why they adjust rates, and how those decisions flow directly into savings rates and borrowing costs.

David Budzisz – Why the economy is dragging, but the stock market is thriving

The article discusses how recent market performance has been driven largely by the “Magnificent 7” stocks, resulting from their reported earnings and reinvestment into AI technology. While economic indicators may look mixed, the strong performance of these companies has helped lift overall market returns, showing the market can move independently from broader economic sentiment. Overall, the article highlights that market performance is not directly tied to general economic outlook, though one can often influence the other.

Tom Buhrmann – Is Private Equity the New Small Cap? Understanding the Overlap – and the Divide

This article is an interesting read, as we have recently used private equity as a replacement to traditional public small-cap stock exposure for reasons the article cites: structural headwinds, fewer companies, companies that mature to mid or large, lackluster performance (companies <$2 billion), and generally greater volatility than large-cap stocks.

Andrew Cohn – House to Consider Legislation Allowing CITs in 403(b) Plans

Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) can allow retirement plans to save on fees. Participants will end up with more money in their retirement accounts with CITs in their plans. Currently, 403b plans cannot access this investment type. Congress continues to work to bring these investments to 403(b)s.

Michael Garrison – The Week in Charts (12/3/25)

In this holiday season, Charlie Bilello gives us some market statistics to be grateful for.  I am grateful for chart number 5, which shows the diversification of the US economy across different industries.

Michael Karmin – Rational Exuberance? – The Big Picture

This article challenges the idea that current market optimism is obviously a bubble, emphasizing how hard it is to predict turning points without hindsight. Barry Ritholtz points out that moments like the post-1987 crash or the 2009 lows looked obvious only after the fact, highlighting our limited ability to know the future in real time. He explores whether today’s enthusiasm—especially around AI and markets—is genuinely justified by fundamentals or simply speculative mania. That tension between rational growth expectations and irrational crowd behavior made the discussion feel both relevant and thought-provoking to me

Kathy Klein – How AI Is Transforming the Financial World – The ANSI Blog

This article discusses how AI enables finance teams to make smarter, faster, data-driven decisions by improving fraud detection, enhancing trading and trade execution, increasing the accuracy of credit-worthiness assessments, strengthening personal finance services, including faster and cheaper cross-border payments, and improving the tracking of regulatory compliance. As these capabilities expand, AI is transforming nearly every area of the financial sector. With this rapid evolution, international standards have become essential for responsible development, deployment, and oversight.

Ruben Rivas – The AI Bubble That Isn’t There

AI is not a speculative bubble but a transformative, general-purpose technology comparable to electricity or the internet, poised to reshape every industry. While short-term market volatility may occur, the long-term trajectory of AI adoption will drive massive productivity gains and structural changes in business operations. Companies that delay integrating AI risk falling behind as it becomes a core strategic asset rather than a trend.

Michael Tuber – More Than a Feeling: The Disconnect Between Consumer Sentiment and Behavior

Recent narratives suggest the economy is deteriorating, marked by persistent inflation, a softening labor market, and sentiment as poor as it was in the dog days of Covid. Yet markets continue to approach all-time highs, and consumer spending appears to be resilient. What’s the reason for the disconnect? This article digs into the mixed signals and looks at which trends might prevail.

Conclusion:

If you’d like to discuss how the topics in these pieces may apply to your own portfolio, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team.

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