As the first quarter closed, equity and bond markets were searching for direction following the losses posted in the back half of the quarter after an exemplary January.

As January began, it was clear that 2017 was going to be a tough act to follow for investors. It was a year marked by historically low volatility, essentially unchanged Treasury yields, and a straight up trajectory for equity markets, and as such, it seemed unlikely for this Goldilocks scenario to repeat itself again in 2018.

Tax reform is front and center in Washington. Tax writers are expected to release details of corporate and individual tax plans in a few weeks and start House and Senate debate.

Entrepreneurs take pride in addressing issues head on, taking risks and making the tough calls that ultimately yield business success. But when it comes to thinking about what it takes to transition a successful enterprise, many entrepreneurs do not ask the tough questions...

With the failure of Congressional Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, tax reform is now thrust to the front of the line as the White House and Congressional Republicans look for their first major legislative policy win.

First quarter economic and investment results are in and they are overwhelmingly positive. So why the long faces? For many, it is the dysfunction in Washington D.C. and the fear that the other shoe is about to drop. If you are familiar with the work of Kahneman and Tversky (I recommend Michael Lewis’ The Undoing Project if not), you know that investors are not always rational in their decision-making. We look for narratives that explain past events and give us insights into future events. We look for confirmation of our biases. For many, it is illogical that the stock market is...

In the first quarter, U.S. equity markets continued the momentum from the close of 2016. Economic data remained steady, providing a foundation for greater asset gains even without progress on stimulative fiscal policy. Large cap stocks, as represented by the S&P 500 Index, outperformed small and mid cap counterparts in the quarter, perhaps a result of modest profit taking in the smaller end of the capitalization range following a strong end to 2016. Growth stocks, too, remain leaders over value stocks...

2017 began on the heels of a fairly euphoric move in the U.S. markets following the election of President Trump and the expectations for a meaningful bump in growth on the back of Republican-sponsored fiscal stimulus in the form of spending packages and tax reform plans. Underlying these stimulus expectations, however, was a steady improvement in economic data beginning in August of last year, and that supported the markets through the end of the...