Portfolio Intelligence

Financial literacy is especially important for college students, given the costs of taking on excessive student debt or selecting a school or major that isn’t a good match. With a background in college admissions, recruitment, and finance, the University of Alaska’s Lael Oldmixon shares insight on navigating today’s costly higher education environment as she explores student loans, 529 savings accounts, and balancing academics with a job. Lael, the executive director of the Education Trust of Alaska, also discusses considerations in choosing the right college, making the most of aid and scholarships, and selecting the right type of student loan, if one is necessary. Among the pieces of advice she shares with podcast host John Bryson: If one is available, choose a subsidized loan over an unsubsidized one and try to avoid using a credit card to cover college costs.

In a year where investor focus was squarely trained on mega-cap technology stocks, small caps finally found their moment in the second week of July. Was it just a momentary break from normal service, or is it a signal of a broader stock rotation to come? Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, our Co-Chief Investment Strategist, shares his views.

The continuing sense of euphoria surrounding the technology sector may suggest that growth stocks are the place to be. But at what point does valuation become a stumbling block for investors? Our Co-Chief Investment Strategists Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, share their views.

Dusting off the stock-rotation playbook in the past few months turned out to be a good decision for some investors, but will it continue to be relevant going forward? Our Co-Chief Investment Strategists Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, take stock of recent market developments and explain why, amid the uncertainty, it may not be a good idea to sell in May and go away.

How do you make your college application and essay stand now that AI can influence how application materials are generated and screened? Hear from Nancy Steenson, a college admissions coach, as she joins the podcast and host John Bryson to offer tips for students and parents as they navigate today’s college admissions environment. Nancy explores how admissions officers are factoring in standardized test scores, grades, essays, extracurricular activities, and interviews differently than they had been just a few years ago. She also explains how admissions officers at the most selective schools may assess application materials differently than their peers at less selective colleges. Among the pieces of advice that she shares: standardized test scores still matter; grade-point average standards can vary widely from high school to high school; and don’t get fooled into thinking grammar is just as important as personal voice in an essay.

An initial round of interest-rate cuts no longer appears to be imminent, given recently uneven inflation data and robust jobs growth that have prompted the U.S. Federal Reserve to put a dovish policy shift on hold. What does this delayed timeline mean for equities and fixed income heading into earnings season? Emily R. Roland, CIMA, and Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, co-chief investment strategists at John Hancock Investment Management, join the podcast and host John Bryson to discuss the need for a patient approach to investing and a focus on fundamentals, given a recent market rally that’s pushed equity valuations higher. Emily and Matt explore monetary policy, the outlook for stocks and bonds, and pockets of opportunity that they’re seeing in mid-cap equities and industrial stocks tied to economic growth in Midwestern states. With an election coming up in November, the strategists also discuss the importance of keeping politics out of portfolios.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-19/record-bloat-set-stage-for-record-pain-in-cross-asset-portfolios

The U.S. equity market continued to rally in early 2024, even as the latest inflation data and the economy’s resilience prompted the U.S. Federal Reserve to dampen expectations for a full-fledged pivot to an aggressive rate-cutting stance through year end. What’s an investor to do in this highly uncertain environment? Matthew D. Miskin, CFA, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, joins the podcast to assess where the most attractive equity opportunities lie while also gauging current risks. Matt explains why he continues to see strong potential in semiconductor companies and other technology stocks despite their lofty valuations. He also warns about the risks for equity investors should the flow of economic data cause the Fed to once again embrace a hawkish stance on rates. Finally, Matt assesses the latest quarterly earnings season, cost-cutting initiatives that may enhance profit margins but could hurt long-term growth, and the challenges that advisors and investors face in putting cash to work in today’s markets.

Amid a shifting interest-rate outlook and inflation picture, the U.S. fixed-income market saw a swift reversal in 2023 as bond yields spiked through most of the year before sinking beginning in late October. With that recent volatility fresh in mind, we explore the outlook for the rest of 2024 with Jeffrey N. Given, CFA, senior portfolio manager and co-head of U.S. core and core-plus fixed income at Manulife Investment Management. Jeff joins podcast host John Bryson to assess current opportunities for shifting cash allocations into fixed income. Jeff sees plenty of factors that he believes are likely to be supportive of bond prices going forward, particularly in market segments such as U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities and corporate investment-grade credit.

As market expectations of interest-rate cuts solidifies, the investment case for fixed-income asset is likely already well telegraphed. The story for equities, however, could be slightly more complex. Might U.S. stocks extend their 2023 winning streak into the new year as the lagged effects of monetary tightening make their way into the real economy? Will current valuations—and, crucially, earnings expectations—hold up as economic growth slows? Podcast host John P. Bryson, head of investment consulting and education savings at John Hancock Investment Management, caught up with Emily Roland and Matt Miskin, co-chief investment strategists at John Hancock Investment Management to get a clearer sense of where stock prices and corporate earnings could be headed. He also asked them to share their views on where investors might find opportunities.