Wealth Management
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.
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.
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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.
Institutional appetite for sustainable investing is rising sharply, with more than 80% of global asset owners and managers planning to increase allocations over the next two years, according to Morgan Stanley’s new Sustainable Signals 2025 report.
Surveyed investors overwhelmingly cited strong performance and the growing maturity of ESG strategies as the primary reasons behind their expanding commitments. Demand is also reshaping the competitive landscape, as roughly 9 in 10 asset owners now view sustainable investment options as a key differentiator when selecting or retaining managers.
Top areas of focus include renewable energy, energy efficiency, and, surging in priority this year, climate adaptation, reflecting mounting concern about physical climate risks and their impact on asset prices.
Finsum: ESG remains a long term play as the short run outlook appears clouded by regulatory changes.
Large-cap growth stocks include many of the market’s most innovative and resilient companies, and tilt toward mega-cap tech and consumer names has helped fuel their long-term performance. U.S. large-cap growth ETFs provide concentrated exposure to the companies that have played a major role in shaping the modern economy.
This focus has benefited QQQ over the past decade, supported by the outperformance of mega-cap stocks and strong results from the technology sector. While no strategy works in every market environment, growth companies, often characterized by rapid earnings expansion and reinvestment in new technologies, have historically contributed to long-term capital appreciation, even with the higher volatility that can accompany them.
For many investors, large-cap growth strategies like QQQ serve as a core allocation, offering access to companies driving economic transformation from cloud computing to artificial intelligence.
Finsum: Although growth stocks can be more sensitive to interest rates and market cycles, they remain key components of portfolios aiming to capture the momentum and innovation.