Goldman Sachs Asset Management is making a major push into the fast-growing buffer ETF market with a roughly $2 billion deal to acquire Innovator Capital Management. The acquisition will add about $28 billion in assets and 159 defined outcome ETFs, positioning Goldman among the industry’s largest active ETF providers once approvals are complete. 

Buffer ETFs, which use options to deliver preset downside protection and capped upside, continue to gain traction as investors seek greater predictability amid market uncertainty. 

Goldman has already expanded its presence with its own large-cap buffer strategies, seeing strong advisor demand for controlled-risk equity exposure. Industry projections point to defined outcome ETFs more than quadrupling by 2030, underscoring the category’s accelerating adoption. 

Finsum: This deal could provide innovator a global distribution platform and expanded reach, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution and mainstreaming of buffer ETFs.

Catholic investment managers and institutions have pledged to begin building a comprehensive set of faith-aligned investment services in 2025, aiming to align $1.75 trillion with Catholic Social Teaching. The initiatives stem from the second Mensuram Bonam conference in London, where leaders from 16 countries gathered to advance Christian-aligned financial practices. 

Key projects include a new Catholic market index, a proxy-voting consortium, long-term performance research, expanded fund identification, and a standardized reporting model to help investors monitor faith-consistent strategies more easily. 

These efforts reflect growing demand for portfolios that deliver competitive returns while avoiding activities inconsistent with Church teachings. 

Finsum:  With Christian assets large these initiatives could mark a turning point in building a global market for Catholic and Christian investors.

Private infrastructure—things like toll roads, utilities, and digital networks—can be a compelling “core-alternative” investment rather than a niche add-on. Private infrastructure assets generally produce predictable, long-term cash flows, supported by stable demand and often regulated pricing, which helps shield investors from market cycles. 

Because revenues tend to rely more on usage fees and long-term contracts than on economic growth, these assets can act as a hedge against inflation and equity volatility. 

Combining private infrastructure with traditional stocks and bonds can increase diversification and improve portfolio resilience, especially when public markets are unstable. For investors willing to accept lower liquidity in exchange for stable income and downside protection, private infrastructure offers a unique risk/return profile. 

Finsum: If traditional 60/40 portfolios feel too fragile, private infrastructure may be one of the closest things to a “stable core” available outside mainstream bonds and equities.

Stable value funds, bond portfolios wrapped with insurance guarantees to reduce volatility, are emerging as a prominent contender thanks to their steady crediting rates, principal protection, and daily liquidity. A recent white paper highlights that stable value funds can also serve as a predictable income source for systematic withdrawals. 

Although short-term returns have lagged money markets and traditional bonds amid elevated interest rates, stable value’s exceptionally low volatility has supported stronger relative performance over longer horizons. 

The strategy also benefits from being easy to integrate into existing plan infrastructure, avoiding the operational and fiduciary complexities of annuities. With applications ranging from smoothing target-date fund glide paths to serving as a retirement “income floor,” stable value offers flexibility for diverse participant needs. 

Finsum: As demand for retirement income solutions accelerates, its combination of familiarity, stability, and adaptability positions stable value as a central component of income-focused investment design.

Large brokerage firms are increasingly prioritizing shareholder value over advisor autonomy, creating an environment where advisors often no longer own their client relationships or control how they serve them. Years of gradual restrictions, including major firms withdrawing from the Broker Protocol, have made it harder for advisors to leave without legal or logistical barriers.

As compensation shrinks, support staff declines, and compliance tightens, many advisors find the economics of staying at large firms less compelling. Meanwhile, independent RIA platforms now offer robust infrastructure, modern technology, and far greater freedom, 

Clients themselves are more informed and loyal to their advisor rather than the firm, increasingly asking whether they can follow their advisor to independence. 

Finsum: With the heat rising in the wirehouse model, more advisors are recognizing that staying put could be the higher-risk choice.

Investor interest in ESG, environmental, social and governance, continues to surge, driving rapid growth in ESG-focused ETFs that bundle stocks based on sustainability and responsible business practices.

Some ESG ETFs have delivered standout performance this year, while others appeal to cost-conscious investors with expense ratios as low as 0.05%. Supporters argue that ESG investing empowers individuals to influence corporate behavior while still pursuing competitive long-term returns, a point underscored by research showing ESG portfolios outperforming traditional ones over multiyear periods. 

Choosing the right ESG fund requires evaluating active versus passive strategies, aligning the fund’s mission with personal values, and understanding how it fits into an existing portfolio. 

Finsum: Investors who want their capital to reflect their priorities can use ESG ETFs as a straightforward and scalable way to invest responsibly.

With market swings driven by lofty AI valuations and shifting expectations around future rate cuts, many investors are turning to dividend-paying stocks for steadier income and ballast. 

MPLX offers one of the most attractive income profiles in the large-cap MLP universe, supported by an 8%+ yield and continued EBITDA growth driven by major midstream expansion projects and Gulf Coast assets. 

ConocoPhillips delivers a blend of rising dividends, deep global resource optionality, and strong free cash flow growth powered by cost cuts, LNG expansion, and decades of high-quality drilling inventory.

 IBM rounds out the list with a long history of shareholder returns, consistent free cash flow, and renewed momentum from its transformation into a software- and consulting-led enterprise with emerging tailwinds from AI and quantum computing. 

Finsum: Resilient balance sheets, visible cash-flow pathways, and multi-year catalysts are good ways to select dividend players potential anchors for income-oriented portfolios.

Boeing’s latest outlook has injected fresh optimism into its long-running turnaround efforts, as executives signal that the company may finally return to generating positive free cash flow after several challenging years. 

The planemaker now expects free cash flow to swing back into the black in 2026, emphasizing that rising aircraft production, a shrinking inventory backlog, and improving profitability across key divisions are setting the stage for a meaningful financial rebound. Leadership reiterated its long-term ambition to deliver $10 billion in annual free cash flow, a target long viewed as a marker of Boeing’s full recovery and strategic reset. 

At the same time, the company acknowledged that the certification delay of the 737 Max 10, now projected into late 2026, will push some high-value deliveries into 2027. Still, the strong demand for Boeing’s 737 and 787 families, combined with improving performance in defense and services, has reinforced expectations that sustained free cash flow growth remains within reach. 

Finsum: Free cash-generation trajectory—not just deliveries—could be the key catalyst that could redefine valuation in the years ahead.

U.S. equities have continued to grind higher, supported by resilient earnings and a steady economic backdrop, prompting increased speculation that markets may be shifting into a more selective, late-cycle environment. Technology names remain a key driver of sentiment, fueled by expectations that AI-related capital spending will shape corporate investment.

In fixed income, lingering inflation pressures and uncertainty around future monetary policy have kept interest-rate expectations volatile, making duration risk harder to navigate. Against this backdrop, investors are showing a growing preference for multi-asset income strategies that can blend dividends, high-yield credit, and alternative income sources to support total return through shifting cycles. 

High-yield credit’s relative resilience has only strengthened the view that diversified, multi-asset income portfolios may be better positioned to withstand volatility as markets adjust to evolving macro conditions.

Finsum: Diversifying when the landscape is uncertain is good for gains as well as risk. 

Active taxable fixed-income strategies are attracting renewed interest as many investors recognize that the bond market’s complexity can create opportunities for skilled managers to add value. 

Rather than relying solely on broad benchmarks, these funds aim to navigate shifting interest-rate environments, credit cycles, and liquidity constraints more dynamically. The strongest offerings span a wide range of categories, from ultrashort and short-term bonds to intermediate core, core-plus, and even emerging-markets debt, giving investors multiple ways to tailor portfolios. 

For most, intermediate bond strategies remain the backbone of a diversified fixed-income allocation, while short-duration funds offer stability for money needed in the near term. Costs remain a key factor, as lower-fee share classes and ETF structures often provide a clearer path to outperformance. 

Finsum: High-quality active bond funds offer investors a compelling way to seek better risk-adjusted returns.