The beginning of a new year gives us an opportunity to look back at the prior 12 months and set goals for the coming year. How was 2017 for you?

Concerted global growth has provided a foundation for equity gains over the past several years. Absent a significant exogenous shock, corporations – and their shareholders – should continue to benefit from this growth in 2018...

As we close the books on 2017, fixed income investors find themselves in a familiar situation: Hoping 2018 will be the year that the U.S. economy breaks its multi-year trend of modest growth, ultimately leading to higher interest rates.

While the 24-hour news cycle careened from one potential political crisis to the next, from North Korea, to the Affordable Care Act repeal, to Supreme Court changes, and finally to tax reform, volatility in the equity markets remained subdued, and the pace of the upward climb continued throughout 2017...

As 2017 closed, it has become clear that the "animal spirits" that guide the markets can shake off natural disasters, populist uprisings, a nuclear threat, and an ongoing stream of fodder for what once would have been Presidential scandals, but now pass for business as usual in the Trump Administration...

The thirst for yield in the low interest rate environment of the last several years has created persistent demand for dividend paying stocks. Indeed, with investment grade bonds struggling to pay an attractive yield, dividends have taken on the role of cash flow generation for many investors...