As we move into the final quarter of 2018, the landscape is dotted with both opportunities and challenges, created by a combination of Federal Reserve policy, the Trump Administration, and frankly, time.

One of the most challenging aspects of evaluating opportunities at this point in the market cycle is the tendency of the market to be rather binary in its assessments.

A strong U.S. economy, continued global growth improvement, a concerted effort by global central banks to remain accommodative as long as possible, and a general sense of complacency about valuations in the equity markets provided the backdrop for 2017’s wins.

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...

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.