News & Views

As the midterm election season unfolds, investors are keeping a close eye on the outcome due to the implications for Congressional control. Current forecasts suggest that a divided government is the most likely scenario, since Republicans hold slim majorities in both the House and Senate.1 Although a shift in party control would represent a change from the past two years, these situations are common and tend to occur during midterm election cycles.

Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve Chair, often said that "monetary policy is not a panacea."1 Just as there is no cure for the common cold, except to let it run its course and address the symptoms, the Fed’s tools often cannot fix the underlying issues in the economy. In theory, monetary policy is meant to help ease these challenges, especially when it comes to the job market and inflation. In practice, however, the Fed does not control the economy directly, but instead responds to the economic environment.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer once wrote that "economic growth springs from better recipes, not just from more cooking."1 This key idea in economics is that raising our standard of living is not just about adding more workers or more equipment, but about enabling each worker to produce not only more goods and services, but higher quality ones as well.

reasury rates have surged to their highest levels in recent years due to a combination of concerns around inflation, oil prices, the national debt, and the Fed. The 10-year Treasury yield is once again above 4.6% and the 30-year has been above 5% for the longest streak since 2007.1 In general, this is positive for long-term investors since higher yields support portfolio goals such as income and stability.

There is a saying that smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. When it comes to investing, at no time has this been more true than during the first half of the year. Investors faced major events including the war in Iran, oil prices pushing inflation to multi-year highs, and questions around artificial intelligence (AI). And yet, markets have climbed to new all-time highs, corporate earnings have grown at a double-digit pace, and many asset classes have performed well. The first six months have been a reminder of the importance of staying invested and maintaining a longer time horizon.

Discover why starting early is often more powerful than saving more. This article uses a side-by-side comparison of two hypothetical savers to illustrate the remarkable impact of compound growth over time.