Equities

More than half of active equity products have beaten their benchmark indexes in the first quarter, JPMorgan Chase data show.

Data reported by the Investment Company Institute.

“Trump keeps talking about a new spirit for America and so you could (A) believe that or (B) you could believe that other investors believe that,” the widely followed economist says.

How does the future look when equities jump this fast? There’s good and bad news.

Advisers report that the president's policies (and tweets) are affecting fund allocation requests.

Planners act on expectations of pro-business, anti-trade initiatives by the incoming administration.

"People want to chase gains," an adviser says of clients.

The fresh equity records also came as American companies ended a five-quarter profit slump.

Stocks added to gains that pushed four major equity benchmarks to simultaneous records for the first time since 1999.

Advisers say clients have become much more hesitant about making new investments.

"This has caught a lot of people off guard. We're all very surprised," said Karl Goody, a private wealth manager at Shaw and Partners.

Advisers and clients stockpile cash while waiting for better buying opportunities.

Good dividend stocks can pay back their cost if held long enough.

During the dotcom craze, the conversation was about retiring before age 50. Today, it’s about working until age 80.

Clients are becoming less cautious about upping allocations to developed international and emerging market stocks, planners report.

Traders have piled into global equities, heartened by deal activity and better-than-expected corporate earnings.

Clients are hesitant to invest more in the face of global upheaval, advisers say, citing the recent coup attempt in Turkey, terrorist attacks and the outcome of the U.S. election.

"If we don't see better-than anticipated corporate earnings I think the rally will be short-lived," Laurence Fink said.

Planners ask whether events like Brexit have rewritten the rules on current portfolio allocations.

"This is the new normal -- politics could add more volatility to all financial assets," said Barbara Reinhard, head of asset allocation for multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management.