Market Commentary

The Warsh Era: Less Fed, More Market Volatility

A lot has changed in the financial markets over the last seven months, including the transition to the Warsh Federal Reserve era. When President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair at the beginning of the year, there was wide anticipation that Warsh would be hawkish and narrowly focused, prioritizing […]

Market Commentary

The Warsh Era: Less Fed, More Market Volatility

A lot has changed in the financial markets over the last seven months, including the transition to the Warsh Federal Reserve era. When President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair at the beginning of the year, there was wide anticipation that Warsh would be hawkish and narrowly focused, prioritizing […]

Aerial view of a lush, green rural landscape split by a fork in a road.

The Case for Quality to Enhance Portfolio Resilience

Heading into 2026, investors are grappling with a market environment that is as perplexing as any we’ve seen in recent history. Both risk assets (stocks) and traditional safe haven assets (bonds and gold) have performed well this past year. At the same time, we’re seeing divergences in both financial markets and the real economy that […]

Daniel H. Cheng
Perspectives Blog, Market Commentary Category

A Stock-Picker’s Market

As of early-August, US stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, are up about 12% in 2024. A first-half rally wasn’t supposed to happen for a number of reasons. Entering the year, the market traded at over 19x forward earnings – not particularly cheap. The Fed Funds rate had exceeded 5% since Summer 2023, putting […]

Daniel J. Mintz
A customer hands a gold Visa credit card to a merchant over a handheld POS terminal.

Market Update: Short-Term Pessimism, Long-Term Optimism

Around the time of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), a guest comedian on Late Night With Conan O’Brien poked fun at airline passengers who complained about boarding difficulties and tarmac delays. The comedian pointed out that if these passengers would just focus on what happened next – participating in the “miracle of human flight” – they might […]

Daniel J. Mintz
Perspectives Blog, Investment Management Category

Stop the Inflation Swindle

As a key tenet of our mission at Clifford Swan is to preserve and grow our clients’ wealth, inflation protection is always on our minds. Recently, however, the topic has made national headlines, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year ended March 2022 rising 8.5% versus the previous year—the highest jump since 1981. […]

Daniel J. Mintz
Perspectives Blog, Investment Management Category

Long-Term Investors Cannot Ignore ESG

It’s no secret that ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) investing is more than a passing fad. ESG investors select companies with a focus on how the business impacts the environment, manages relationships with employees, customers, partners, and communities, and maintains fair and transparent corporate governance. These criteria matter to the investing public, which over the past […]

Daniel J. Mintz

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