1. The Real Reason Clients Pull Away
When a client pulls away, it’s easy to assume they’re not interested. But the truth is, their hesitation often has nothing to do with your offering. It’s about how they feel in the moment. Clients don’t make decisions based on logic alone. They decide based on trust, safety, and emotional connection. — Ari Galper
2. Artificial Intelligence: Generational Transformation or the Next Dot-Com Bubble?
The short answer to the first proposed question is simple: Artificial Intelligence is sparking a generational transformation, similar, or even greater than that of the combustion engine, the radio, or the internet. The second part of the question is more complex, given the inherent idiosyncrasy of what truly constitutes a bubble. — Ben Vaske
3. The Rally No One Trusted Is Unraveling—Here’s Why Fundamentals Are Taking Over Again
A curious dynamic has asserted itself in the markets this year: the low-quality rally. While the S&P 500 is enjoying its third consecutive year of double-digit returns, speculative pockets of the market have climbed multiples higher than the index’s performance. Yet, the air in this balloon is sputtering out, with a stunning reversal underway in low quality stocks. — Meera Pandit and Jaime Steinhardt
4. Investing in an Era of Animal Spirits
“Animal spirits” have driven most of the gains for the U.S. stock market in the recent past, which could be a bullish signal for equity gains in the coming 12 months, according to a historical analysis. Past periods of animal spirits that drove the stock market tended to point to durable earnings growth in future years—even when stocks were expensive. — Denise Chisholm
5. Here Are Next Big AI Winners
Two weeks. Six cities. 25,000 thousand miles from my new home in Abu Dhabi. RiskHedge publisher Dan Steinhart and I recently wrapped a whirlwind trip across America. We met 40 leading innovators, including at least six billionaires. The innovators we met were working on everything from supersonic jets… to nuclear microreactors… to kamikaze drones and more. The #1 topic on everyone’s mind was… artificial intelligence (AI). — Stephen McBride
6. A Case for Systematic Protection Amid Market & Political Uncertainty
One year ago, we launched Calamos Laddered S&P 500® Structured Alt Protection ETF™ (CPSL) to address a critical gap in the market. Financial advisors needed a turnkey solution to provide structured outcome ETFs through a laddered approach, but they lacked the time and resources to implement this strategy on their own. Meanwhile, institutional clients sought upside potential while preserving assets, creating additional demand for innovative protection solutions. — Calamos
7. Institutions Are Loading Up on Bitcoin—Here’s What They Know That Retail Doesn’t
Amid expectations of soaring demand and a favorable policy environment, Bitcoin has actually been an overt disappointment this year. Yes, the largest digital currency hit a record high earlier this year while notching a roughly five-month long rally, but as of this writing Monday, the cryptocurrency traded at prices below what was seen a year ago. — Todd Shriber
8. The AI-Powered Advisor Is Here: Why Nitrogen Wants to Be Your Growth Engine
Nitrogen wants to help advisors “crush it in every meeting,” and at the 2025 Charles Schwab IMPACT Conference in Denver, CEO Dan Zitting made it clear that the firm’s expanding AI-powered platform is built to do exactly that. From transforming raw 1040s into actionable planning moments, to delivering deeply personalized agendas in seconds, Nitrogen is positioning itself as the growth engine behind the modern, AI-enabled advisory firm. — Douglas Heikkinen
9. How Your Brain Shapes Your Advice: Neuroscience Strategies To Build Trust and Ease Client Anxiety
In this episode of Top Advisor Podcast, Bill Cates and Tessa Santarpia dive deep into the fascinating world of neuroscience and its impact on financial decision-making. This is a compelling conversation about your clients’ brains – as well as YOUR brain – that offers insight into the way we think, feel, and act around money. Tessa explains why logic alone doesn’t drive financial behavior and how factors like negativity bias, survival mode, and early “money memories” can have a powerful influence on everything from market anxiety to risk-taking. — Bill Cates
10. Thinking of Acquiring a Practice? Ask These Questions Before You Make a Costly Mistake.
Many firms facing increased overheads and infrastructure costs in the next few years are considering acquisition or merger strategies as a survival or growth strategy. Generally there appears to be 5 main reasons that advisers suggest as their reasons for acquisition of another business. — Tony Vidler
11. The Bull vs. Bear Crossroads: How to Read the Market’s Next Big Shift
Markets opened in December with a surge in optimism as retail investors regained their “bullish spirit.” That improvement continues to build on the bullish case we discussed last week. — Lance Roberts
