Real Estate

With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, this note briefly discusses some of the implications for energy broadly and the energy infrastructure space.

As 2025 progresses, investors and policymakers are navigating a highly complex economic landscape shaped by three powerful and interrelated forces: evolving trade policy, a cautious U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), and growing concerns over U.S. fiscal discipline.

It is easy to invest when markets are rallying, but it can be tough for investors to stay in their seats when markets inevitably decline again.

Every year around this time, we update our Periodic Table of Commodities Returns to reflect the performance of raw materials in the first six months. I’m biased, but few tools do a better job of providing a clear, interactive picture of the commodities landscape than ours.

Tokenization of real assets might make liquidity problems even more obvious. Making assets digital doesn't mean they'll be easier to sell or trade. It could just highlight how hard they really are to sell, and it won’t change the market demand either.

Fixed income benchmarks have two fundamental flaws. First, their exposures prioritize the needs of borrowers rather than investors. Second, they tend to expose investors to the biggest risks at the worst times.

Last week, the iShares Flexible Income Active ETF (BINC) reached a significant milestone and became the latest member of the $10 billion of the active fixed income club.

A full three months since President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements sparked panic in financial markets, macro developments have been benign. The passage of the Big Beautiful Bill has brought clarity on the fiscal outlook, but uncertainty on trade negotiations remains. Franklin Templeton Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai explains what this means for investors going forward.

One of the more storied headlines this year has been President Trump’s disappointment with the Fed for not cutting rates. We should all know by now that the President cannot fire a Fed Chair simply because he/she is not lowering interest rates to their liking.

Liberation Day seems like a lifetime ago. But the 90-day pause is almost over, and—thus far—there are few deals that have been consummated.

In this month’s issue, Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity explains how markets in many regions are weathering US policy uncertainty and offers an upbeat assessment of Vietnam after a recent research visit.

In the weeks leading up to last month’s Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, oil prices climbed – not due to actual supply disruptions, but in response to a geopolitical risk premium.

Looking at the first half of 2025 reveals a nuanced landscape for private equity (PE) and principal investors.

ClearBridge Investments believes positive forces from One Big Beautiful Bill Act passage and future interest rate cuts should soon outweigh negative forces of tariff actions.

Markets rebounded sharply in 2Q 2025 following April’s tariff-driven selloff. Our mid-year market outlook breaks down the recovery, Fed policy, and where to invest next.

Are interest rates too high? A lot of people think they are, and a growing chorus of voices is calling on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates.

How the Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Fund’s strategy helped it achieve outperformance during a historic period for global markets.

We upgrade equities to neutral from underweight as falling interest rates and improving economic conditions in emerging markets offset uncertainty over US tariff policies.

The earnings bar is fairly low for the second quarter, setting companies up for a potential easy jump—but there will likely be more focus on forward guidance.

The bull market is alive and well, even amid widespread talk of the “death of U.S. exceptionalism.

Investors looking for cash flow from commercial real estate may want to check out the debt side.

After a tumultuous few months, June of 2025 saw a strong rally which took global markets to (or close to) new highs. The rally was broad-based, with international and U.S. markets all up strongly.

Some say private credit hasn’t been tested. We disagree…and stress can sharpen the senses.

Proposed regulatory changes involving the Supplementary Leverage Ratio may have benefits for both large banks and the Treasury market.

Equity markets continued to march higher in June, seemingly unfazed by heightened Middle East tensions (which were short-lived) and the looming July 8 deadline for the administration’s pause on reciprocal tariffs.

We began the year optimistic that an environment of slowing growth, disinflation and easier monetary policy would be favorable for fixed income markets. Now at midyear, we maintain that view, while acknowledging that policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks may likely result in continued volatility.

It has been over six months since the FOMC has made a change to the Fed Funds rate. While the debate continues as to when the next cut will be, market consensus (per Bloomberg calculations) is currently for a 25 basis point cut in September.

With the first half of 2025 in the books, it’s been a very interesting six months — emphasis on “V” because the S&P 500 saw a nice V-shaped formation following the April sell-off. As markets always reveal, interesting times call for interesting ETF trends to follow.

In recent months, markets have whipsawed amid changes in trade policy, geopolitical shocks, concerns about fiscal sustainability, challenges to central bank independence, technological advancements, and earnings surprises in both directions. Despite this, stocks and bonds in much of the world are close to where they began the year.

As direct lending matures and other private credit areas expand, active investors can apply relative value strategies across sectors – and even entire markets – to pursue enhanced outcomes.

For sophisticated investors, this technical shift marks a subtle but powerful pivot in monetary mechanics. It could create demand for Treasuries, improve market liquidity, and push yields lower at a time when the economy is slowing.

With the market roughly at the midpoint for 2025, investors and advisors are still assessing how changing macroeconomic conditions could affect their fixed income portfolio.

Growth is expected to decelerate, but not come crashing down.

Chief Economist Eugenio J. Alemán discusses current economic conditions.

The United States’ tariff announcement on April 2, 2025, created significant market volatility, as the tariffs were perceived as higher, broader, and more punitive than expected, and the implementation sooner.

For years, Americans have lamented that rising housing prices and elevated mortgage rates have made homeownership unaffordable for too many first-time homebuyers, while prompting many homeowners to stay put rather than sell.

The Fed’s credibility rests not on never being wrong, but on being adaptive and forward-looking. Inflation has cooled, wage growth has moderated, and economic momentum is slowing. Now is the time for the Fed to focus not on headline fears, but on real-time data.

We continue to suggest an "up in quality" fixed income bias for the short run, but investors can still consider some of the riskier parts of the fixed income market in moderation.

Until recently, commercial real estate appeared poised for a long-awaited rebound. However, 2025 has revealed a new reality: Uncertainty has become structural.

It’s often said there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. However, the tax landscape may become somewhat murkier, as the recently passed U.S. House budget bill may potentially lead to some non-U.S. investors paying more taxes than previously anticipated.

Chuck Carnevale provides an update on Medical Properties Trust (MPW), a hospital real estate investment trust (REIT) he has held for several years.

Today’s investment landscape, shaped by persistently above-target inflation, structurally higher debt and deficits, and reduced global dollar recycling into US financial markets, has contributed to elevated market volatility alongside historically high policy uncertainty.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida explains where yields may be headed, as well as positioning considerations for the long-run by charting the relationship between r* and term premium.

It wasn’t too long ago that you could confidently proclaim that most of the Street was ebullient, maybe even wildly so, with respect to the greenback’s prospects.

Target-date fund glide paths can be important tools for retirement planning. Advisors should focus on assumptions, transparency, and outcomes to ensure they align with participants' needs.

It’s said nothing in life is certain save death and taxes. There is also certainly an increase in investors’ appetites for nontraditional instruments like hedge funds as their wealth grows.

While both valuation and technical factors suggest to us that the dollar may continue to weaken in the near-term, we would caution investors against reading too much concerning the US’ long-term economic stability into further dollar weakness.