Private credit firms are increasingly shifting from traditional cash-flow lending toward asset-backed finance using collateral that now includes intellectual property, data centers, and energy infrastructure. 

Despite the US ABF market totaling $5.5 trillion, private credit holds only a small share and is partnering more frequently with banks to expand. The recent bankruptcy of First Brands has raised concerns about how well lenders understand the risks in ABF, especially as more unfamiliar assets require precise valuation in a downturn. 

Demand for digital and energy infrastructure is driving ABF growth, with data center financing alone expected to jump sharply by 2028. Yet the sector has not been tested under high interest rates or recessionary conditions, prompting warnings from regulators about potential systemic risks. 

Finsum: Look for asset return correlation in stress scenario to test your demand for private markets.

The S&P 500 fell last week, marking its weakest performance since early October as investors sold off tech stocks amid fading hopes for a December rate cut. Market volatility jumped sharply, with the CBOE Volatility Index rising roughly 14 percent and signaling heightened investor anxiety. 

Expectations for a rate cut dropped meaningfully, and concerns around inflated AI valuations added further pressure to the tech-driven market. 

In this environment, some investors are turning to volatility ETFs as tactical tools to hedge near-term uncertainty and potentially benefit from market swings. Several ETFs, including VXX, VIXY, and VIXM, offer exposure to VIX futures for those seeking short-term protection or volatility-linked opportunities.

Finsum: Rapid capital inflows into AI resemble past speculative bubbles, increasing the risk of concentrated losses if sentiment shifts.

Capital Group and KKR have launched two new interval funds that double quarterly share repurchase limits from the industry-standard 5% to 10%, offering a more liquid twist on traditionally illiquid products. 

The funds—Core Plus+ and Multi-Sector+—blend public and private credit, allowing them to support higher liquidity while still targeting alternative-style returns. Advisors are watching closely, as adding liquidity by holding more cash or Treasuries could dilute performance even as it broadens investor access. 

The move comes amid surging demand for alternatives, with interval fund sales tripling in recent years and overall alternative investment fundraising expected to hit $200 billion this year. While advocates say these products help democratize private credit, skeptics warn that rising rates or economic stress could expose the risks in leveraged private-market borrowers. 

Finsum: Many advisors may take a cautious, wait-and-see approach before embracing the new 10% liquidity model, but some may be more willing. 

FUTY and XLU both provide strong exposure to U.S. utilities, but FUTY stands out thanks to broader diversification, lower volatility, and more balanced subsector representation. As interest rates gradually decline and AI-driven electrification boosts long-term power demand, utilities are increasingly attractive for investors seeking stability and income. 

Both ETFs benefit from these structural trends, with similar yields and nearly identical top holdings, but FUTY’s larger roster of companies helps reduce concentration risk. While performance and valuation metrics between the two funds remain very close, FUTY’s lower standard deviations give it a slight advantage for risk-adjusted returns.

Investors should remain aware of sector risks, including interest-rate uncertainty and the heavy influence of top holdings like NextEra Energy. 

Finsum: This is a great way to get exposure to the energy AI boom.

The industry is entering a new macro environment that challenges long-standing assumptions about returns, inflation, diversification, and governance. After decades in which strong returns and easy diversification masked deeper structural risks, asset owners now face a paradigm where high valuations and slower economic growth may limit future returns. 

Inflation appears contained in the short term, yet structural forces such as deglobalization and rising public debt suggest it remains a long-run risk that investors must manage more deliberately. These shifts elevate the importance of real returns and purchasing-power protection as core objectives for DC plans, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and retirement savers. 

They also imply that traditional diversification is less reliable than it once was, requiring new approaches to allocating across asset classes and seeking differentiated return streams.

Finsum: In this environment, multi-asset investing becomes inherently active, demanding broader use of private markets.

Asian equities saw significant foreign selling in early November as investors took profits amid concerns over stretched tech valuations and the durability of the recent market rally. 

Across Taiwan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, foreign investors pulled a combined $10.18 billion for the week ending November 7, reversing October’s net inflows. 

South Korea and Taiwan were hit hardest, with outflows of $5.05 billion and $3.86 billion respectively, largely driven by weakness in major AI-related companies. Regional tech indices reflected this pressure, as MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan IT sector fell over 4% after massive multi-month gains. Elsewhere in the region, India saw $1.42 billion in outflows, while Indonesia and the Philippines bucked the trend with moderate inflows.

Finsum: Despite volatility, some strategists argue valuations remain justified, citing strong expected global tech earnings growth.

The Silver industry is benefiting from a strong rally in silver prices, driven by rising industrial demand, especially from solar, electronics, and EV applications, and a fifth consecutive year of global supply deficits. Silver’s recent designation as a U.S. critical mineral is increasing its strategic importance and attracting more investment to the sector. 

Despite cost pressures from energy, labor, and materials, mining companies are improving efficiency through technology and disciplined cost management. 

Silver mining stocks have surged 79% over the past year, far outperforming both the broader materials sector and the S&P 500. Given this backdrop, companies like Fresnillo, Pan American Silver, Hecla Mining, and First Majestic Silver are well-positioned due to expanding production, strong assets, and meaningful earnings growth expectations.

Finsum: The industry’s strong momentum is reflected in its near-term prospects, and these stocks could benefit. 

As 2025 wraps up, investors are reassessing portfolios for tax-loss harvesting opportunities, and covered call ETFs present unique advantages in this process. Because these ETFs can distribute more income than their total return, they may show negative price returns, even when overall performance is positive, creating tax-loss opportunities. 

Investors holding traditional monthly covered call ETFs can use harvested losses to upgrade into daily covered call strategies that aim to capture more upside while maintaining high income. Monthly covered call funds often miss market gains once underlying stocks exceed strike prices early in the month, leaving many investors disappointed during strong rallies. 

Daily covered call ETFs, such as the ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF (ISPY), seek to improve the balance between income and return by resetting options each day. 

Finsum: Daily covered call strategies are increasingly compelling for investors looking to reduce taxes and enhance performance.

Total return reflects both price appreciation and reinvested dividends, and over time, reinvesting those dividends can dramatically boost wealth. A comparison of two SPY investors from 2023 to 2025 shows that reinvesting dividends produced a 10.12% annualized return versus just 8.14% without reinvestment. 

While that difference seems small, compounding turns $10,000 into $223,691 over decades—versus only $124,424 for the non-reinvestor. Dividend growth accelerates this compounding effect, as rising payouts generate more shares, more dividends, and stronger long-term momentum. 

Dividend growth ETFs specifically target companies with consistent and sustainable dividend increases, setting them apart from high-yield or dividend-quality funds that use different selection criteria. 

Finsum: After screening for dividend growth opportunities, low costs, strong liquidity, and meaningful scale are some of the most important factors

Portfolio income remains a priority for investors, especially with rate cuts and shifting macroeconomic conditions creating uncertainty. 

Closed-end funds (CEFs) offer an alternative income approach, since they issue a fixed number of shares at launch and then trade on exchanges, often providing higher yields than traditional bond strategies. 

Because CEFs behave differently from standard fixed income, they can also enhance diversification at a time when bond markets remain unpredictable. The Calamos CEF Income & Arbitrage ETF (CCEF) simplifies access to this space by actively investing in discounted closed-end funds to capture both income and potential capital appreciation. 

Finsum: CEFs could be a nice opportunity to gain exposure to alternative income streams