Simple, but Not Easy

While presidential elections often create tension and leave many feeling on edge, the stock market didn’t share this level of apprehension. Remarkably, October was one of the least volatile months in history leading up to a presidential election. Although this might seem surprising, it’s not entirely unusual. Markets frequently display greater resilience than we might expect. However, it’s important to remember that volatility isn’t always synonymous with selloffs or down days. As Morningstar Wealth Chief Multi-Asset Strategist Dom Pappalardo recently explained during his podcast appearance on Simple, but Not Easy, market activity post-election highlights the varied forms volatility can take. In his role, Pappalardo focuses on helping clients understand how Morningstar's research efforts translate into actionable portfolio management decisions.

Some have called this the weirdest housing market in recent history due to the unusual mix of high interest rates and declining affordability. And yet, we still have record high home prices across the 20 largest housing markets in the country. This month, we're diving into the U.S. housing market, a topic very relevant to many investors given a house is often the largest single asset one owns. In this episode, we're excited to shed light on the US housing market, what makes it challenging, what makes it unusual, and what needs to change for it to improve. We're joined by Preston Caldwell, Morningstar's Chief US Economist and Brian Bernard, Director of Equity Research specializing in the industrial sector, which includes homebuilders.

Welcome back to Simple But Not Easy. We hope you had an enjoyable summer and are ready to finish the year on a high note. In today's episode, we're excited to dive deep into the world of investing, market strategies, and the future of wealth management. We'll start by getting to know Philip Straehl, Morningstar's new Chief Investment Officer of the Americas, as he shares insights from his career journey and a wealth of knowledge on the evolving market landscape. From there, we'll explore Morningstar's mission and investment philosophy, and importantly, what sets it apart in an ever-evolving financial world. Wealth management industry trends are also on the agenda, and we'll close with some investing themes that everyone should be thinking about.

A special live episode from the Morningstar Investment Conference. Two of Morningstar Wealth’s investment leaders—Matt Wacher and Ricky Williamson—joined the show to help us dig into what’s already happened this year and where we may be headed. The topics covered included: • The Fed and where rates may be headed • Further discussion on fixed-income • US stocks are off to another hot start this year. Can outperformance continue? • Every business is thinking about AI. How is it impacting markets? • And how should investors be preparing for a presidential election? And as always, we address the implications on client portfolios and help consider action items.