Wealth Management
The July jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls rising by just 73,000, with major downward revisions to previous months, signaling that the U.S. economy may be slowing more sharply than expected. This has fueled recession concerns, especially as three-month average job gains dropped to just 35,000 and consumer spending, the key driver of GDP, remains tepid.
Economists point to Trump-era tariffs and weakening labor market data as contributing factors, with some suggesting we may be on the brink of a recession, though GDP still rose 3% in Q2 due to import timing.
Market reactions were swift: the Fed is now widely expected to cut rates in September, while stocks wavered amid political backlash and uncertain economic signals. Despite the White House expressing confidence, housing and manufacturing data continue to falter, and experts warn of potential consumer pullback.
Finsum: While some remain optimistic about a soft landing, the outlook is increasingly clouded by high inflation, policy risk, and weakening employment trends.
KKR and Capital Group have announced plans to launch a hybrid investment fund, Capital Group KKR U.S. Equity+, giving investors access to both private and public equities. Slated for early 2026 pending regulatory approval, the interval fund will allocate 60% to publicly traded stocks and the remainder to private companies, with low investment minimums to increase accessibility.
As private firms remain off public markets longer, the new fund aims to meet rising demand for diversified exposure and the potential outsized returns from private markets. Interval funds like this offer limited liquidity, allowing redemptions only during set periods, balancing investor access with long-term investing goals.
The partnership builds on an earlier collaboration between KKR and Capital Group, which launched blended credit funds in April that have already attracted $100 million in assets.
Finsum: With this new venture, investors can their stake in the growing trend of democratizing alternative investments for a broader investor base.
Momentum investing has gained traction as a powerful tool for capturing upside in post-recessionary bull markets, and the iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) exemplifies this approach.
Designed to overweight stocks with strong recent performance, MTUM delivered a 1,030% total return from 2009 to 2025, recovering quickly from drawdowns and outperforming broader market indices. Its risk-adjusted returns, reflected in a Sharpe ratio of 0.68 and Sortino ratio of 0.90, show that it balances volatility with consistent performance, particularly when tilted toward high-growth sectors like tech.
Academic research backs this strategy, highlighting its resilience and efficiency during economic recoveries, especially when managed with volatility controls. While MTUM carries market risk, its focus on large and mid-cap stocks helps mitigate exposure to smaller, more volatile names.
Finsum: For long-term investors willing to ride short-term swings, MTUM presents a disciplined way to harness the enduring power of momentum.
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Fall is an ideal season to visit U.S. national parks, with thinner crowds, cheaper lodging, and stunning foliage making for a perfect adventure.
Parks like Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, and Acadia each offer unique fall experiences, from the vibrant colors of deciduous forests to cooler hiking weather and scenic drives. In the Smokies, trails like Alum Cave and drives through Cade’s Cove come alive with color, while Zion’s cottonwoods turn golden beneath towering red rock cliffs.
Acadia shines with coastal sunrises, colorful hikes like the Bubble Trail, and charming downtime in Bar Harbor. Fall travel also opens up opportunities for budget-friendly accommodations, fewer lines at popular spots, and unique perspectives like helicopter tours or bike rides through canyons.
Finsum: Whether you’re chasing peak colors or quieter trails, these national parks showcase autumn at its very best.
The rise of direct indexing is transforming public equity portfolio construction, giving institutional investors unprecedented control over market exposures through access to increasingly granular trading data.
Instead of relying on traditional benchmarks, allocators can now customize portfolios to reflect sector convictions, exclude undesirable industries, and manage risk concentrations, like avoiding overexposure to mega-cap stocks such as Microsoft. Experts note that direct indexing's growth has been supercharged by post-pandemic volatility and evolving client expectations around values-based investing and tax efficiency.
Industry leaders view custom indexing as a flexible, modular solution that enables investors to “build any sector tilt, factor fiesta, or thematic maze,” as one CIO put it. As technology advances and AI becomes embedded in portfolio design, managers must evolve into tech-savvy strategists capable of leveraging these tools for tailored outcomes.
Finsum: What began as a “nice-to-have” has rapidly become essential in a market where precision, personalization, and proactive risk management drive success.
U.S. Treasury yields plummeted, particularly on short-term notes, after July’s jobs report came in significantly weaker than expected, reigniting investor expectations for an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut.
The two-year yield dropped 25 basis points to 3.71%, its steepest one-day fall in a year, as traders priced in an 80% chance of a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting. The labor data showed just 73,000 jobs added in July, well below forecasts, and revisions to prior months brought the three-month hiring average to a pandemic-era low of 35,000.
The market’s reaction signaled a dramatic pivot in sentiment, further fueled by political pressure from President Trump and dovish dissent from two Fed governors. Treasury futures volumes surged as traders abandoned flattening yield curve bets, and BlackRock analysts now anticipate a 50-basis-point rate cut in September, with more to follow by year-end.
Finsum: The Fed can afford aggressive easing without stoking inflation, setting the stage for a bold monetary policy shift.