Cautious Footing
Following a stellar quarter of performance for most risk assets, financial markets understandably started the third quarter on cautious footing as investors continue to contrast ongoing headwinds with a strong economic and fundamental backdrop. Market direction continues to be influenced by three main themes: the threat of persistent inflation stemming from the war in the […]
Video Discussion: 2026 Attention-Grabbing Headlines and the Market
Market performance in 2026 has been a rollercoaster ride for investors. With several factors at play including the war in Iran, inflation, corporate earnings and more, the first six months of the year have left investors feeling anything but certainty. Will that continue through the remainder of the year, considering ongoing attention-grabbing headlines and midterm […]
Shifting Narratives
As we started 2026, global stocks hovered near all-time highs and investors’ expectations for the year seemed relatively clear: inflation would continue to ease, the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates a handful of times, and a high bar was set for corporate earnings to continue justifying relatively expensive valuations and an ongoing bull market. […]
No Signs of Stopping
May was another month for the record books. Global stock markets continued their strong advance following April’s stellar recovery from the pullback caused by the war in Iran: the S&P 500 notched its ninth consecutive weekly gain (something that has only happened twice over the past 25 years), the Dow closed above 51,000 for the […]
No April Showers
Stock markets are off to a very strong start to the second quarter of 2026, having recovered all losses stemming from the conflict in the Middle East and then some. We recently highlighted how April is historically one of the strongest months of the year for the stock market, and U.S. stocks just delivered their […]
Where do we go from here?
We entered 2026 on the heels of another strong year of market performance. Global stocks hovered near all-time highs, the economic backdrop was sound, and investors expected a handful of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the year ahead. Even so, concerns lingered about stock valuations and the long-running bull market. Threats are always […]
Recognizing Increased Uncertainty
When periods of weakness in the markets occur, it is vitally important for investors of long-term portfolios to “stay the course.” Here at JNBA Financial Advisors, we also believe there are steps that investors can take to potentially improve their long-term outcomes following periods of market weakness. To bridge the gap between long-term strategy and […]
Implications of the Iran Conflict
Financial markets were already in a sensitive spot at the end of February amidst a growing backdrop of challenging economic and inflationary data and heightened vulnerability of companies susceptible to disruption from the advancement of AI technology. The initial strikes on Iran have since grown into a more widespread conflict across the Middle East, sparking […]
AI Disruptions, Geopolitics, and Evolving Risk
February 2026 was another month when it was beneficial to be a diversified investor. Market anxiety surged, driving the S&P 500 to its worst month since March 2025 as February was filled with headlines warning that AI could disrupt various industries or even be the demise of certain companies. On the contrary, mid-cap and small-cap […]
Earnings Season
January has kicked off 2026 with a full sampling of the same themes from 2025: geopolitical concerns, tariff threats, AI developments, and international equity strength, to name a few. While markets have weathered these various concerns so far, a key indication for how 2026 could shape up is already arriving: earnings season. January and February […]