Insights and Educational Resources
Articles, market commentary, and educational materials designed to provide context and understanding around financial topics and market conditions.
Featured Market & Economic Commentary
2026 Outlook: The Policy Engine
In 2025, we observed a market environment where fiscal and monetary policy decisions, rather than traditional business fundamentals, were the primary drivers of market direction. This shift means that policy influence and market momentum have become significantly more impactful in shaping market trends, often overshadowing underlying economic performance…
Weekly Market Commentary
Navigating Market Volatility During the Iran Crisis
In our2026 Outlook: The Policy Engine, we listed several risks to stocks that could prevent the S&P 500 from achieving our forecast for high-single-digit returns in 2026 (to a fair value target range of 7,300–7,400).
How LPL Research Thinks About Dividends
Dividend strategies, a.k.a. equity income strategies, have outperformed to start the year, owing to the value-led cyclical rotation we are seeing in domestic equity markets. Looking beyond current performance, this week, we ask and answer the question “How should I think about dividend stocks or building an equity income portfolio?
LPL Research’s 2026 Strategic Asset Allocation
LPL Research’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) sits at the center of our portfolio construction process because it defines how we expect diversified portfolios to generate more stable long‑term outcomes across shifting market environments.
Market Signal Podcast
Macro Market Movers
Weekly Market Performance — March 6, 2026
LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of March 2, 2026. Capital markets faced a challenging start to March as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, rising oil prices, and renewed inflation concerns pressured global equities and bonds…
Managed Futures: Current Positioning and Geopolitical Risks
Managed futures strategies, also known as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) or trend-followers, are designed for environments where macro shifts drive persistent price trends across equity, bond, commodity, and currency markets…
Iran Escalation: How Markets Have Reacted to Geopolitical Events
As with the recent escalation in the Middle East, financial markets are constantly exposed to unpredictable events — from geopolitical conflicts and terror attacks to political transitions, corporate crises, and systemic financial shocks…