Jason Blackwell, CFA, CAIA^®

March 2021 was profitable for equity investors, with the S&P 500 advancing more than 4%. The path to get here has been volatile, however, something we suggested may occur at the outset of the year. Volatility was particularly evident in the U.S. Treasury markets, which saw rates dance along in a “two steps forward, one step...

One year ago today, on March 23, 2020, the market reached its COVID-Crash nadir. Anniversaries, such as this, provide an opportunity to reflect on what transpired. Unlike past crises,...

Inflation was at the top of investors’ minds for much of February as they tried to parse inflation expectations and its impact on their portfolios. Equities capped off an...

Both Jason Blackwell and Richard Steinberg share their investing advice in Money's comprehensive guide for new investors.

In the 2021: Great Expectations webinar, our Investment Leadership Team provided their insights on the markets and economy and addressed questions on the minds of investors including: Should investors anticipate similar...

"Though there’s been some run-up in emerging markets, there is still plenty of room to grow, in part because countries haven’t completely recovered from the pandemic-induced economic shock," said Jason Blackwell.

December marked the end of the best quarter over the last 25 years for smaller, publicly traded companies’ stocks. The S&P SmallCap 600 Index advanced 8.3% for the month and a whopping 31.3% for the quarter. These gains are more impressive when compared against the S&P...

The best part of getting a shot in the arm is the sugary treat that often comes with it. As concerns shifted in November from if an effective vaccine...

Election watchers have experienced a range of emotions over the last few days, as votes have trickled in from key battleground states. As of this writing, we do not yet have a definitive outcome, except that, while still possible, neither party is guaranteed to control both...

Surgery is scary but relatively easy work for the patient thanks to anesthesia. The hard work comes after the patient wakes up and starts the rehabilitation and recovery process....

“This is a lower-stakes way to learn how to manage money,” says Jason Blackwell in his interview with Money.com in responding to purchasing fractional shares.

"For most investors, the Dow's changes likely don't impact much in their portfolios,” says Jason Blackwell to US News & World Report.

A 2019 study by the National Academy of Sciences confirms the widely held belief that humans are drawn to negative news. Results from a 17-country, 6-continent study showed that...

Plan sponsors often struggle to develop an investment plan that meets the diverse needs of their plan participants while fulfilling the requirements of their fiduciary duties. This white paper is a guide to optimize your retirement plan for participant success....

It may surprise you that the deepest recession in modern history has not hit Main Street, yet. While this data glosses over the pain being felt by some households,...

As schools shut down this spring, many students missed out on a lesson often taught in physical education classes: how to dance the box step. Forward-side-together; backward-side-together. Coming into...

Data like OpenTable reservations, which have “been encouraging so far,” can help track whether business is picking back up, said Jason Blackwell, a CFA and Chief Investment Strategist of The Colony Group.

Despite a wild ride thus far in June, the S&P 500 Index is effectively flat for the month. After rising 6.2% through Monday (June 8th), which took the index...

Distressed debt and real estate present opportunities but "...be wary of buying into existing real-estate portfolios because the estimated value of properties within the portfolios may not reflect coronavirus-related declines yet," said Jason Blackwell, CFA, CAIA®, Chief Investment Strategist.

"Keep an eye on indicators like unemployment numbers and consumer behavior. When people are out and resuming their normal activities, that will be a sign that the country is on the path to recovery," said Jason Blackwell, Chief Investment Strategist.

In considering a recovery from the current crisis, our focus has been on relaxing (but not eliminating) social distancing measures, the impact of fiscal and monetary responses, and the...

"You either risk not keeping up with your required returns by increasing cash and protecting principal, or you take on more principal risk for a better opportunity to meet long-term targets," said Jason Blackwell, Chief Investment Strategist.

The Colony Group is advising investors to “focus more on domestic demand” than global trade, said, Jason Blackwell, Chief Investment Strategist.

“We’re looking at strategies that will help the Chinese middle-class consumer paint the inside of their home rather than ones that focus on selling a television made in China to an American consumer,” Blackwell says. “The number one pizza delivery company in India deserves attention, as do online education services in China.”

Investment markets have spent the past few weeks consolidating its big bounce off the lows. We believe returns have stabilized, as evidenced by relatively measured daily price moves in...

A number of memes have circulated over the last six weeks describing April as the longest month in history. We yearn for everyday occurrences like getting haircuts, enjoying a meal at a restaurant, and seeing our friends, clients, and coworkers in person. The...

Oil was in the spotlight this week, and the news here was not positive. Oil futures contracts for May delivery settled in negative territory for the first time in...

Jason Blackwell, Chief Investment Strategist at The Colony Group, a national wealth management firm, agrees: “Market timing rarely works out,” he says, “and we believe that investors need to determine the right shares to buy more than the right time to buy more of them.”

He would rather “investors take a measured approach to allocate to new or existing opportunities and are comfortable being ‘a little early’ now and potentially 'a little late’ later by spreading out investments over a number of weeks or even months."

One of the most dangerous phases of a hurricane comes as the first half of the storm passes and the eye of the storm is overhead. The winds calm...

One asset class, in particular, is set to receive the most intense scrutiny, says Jason Blackwell, Chief Investment Strategist for The Colony Group. “The coronavirus crisis is likely to be most impactful on fixed income,” Blackwell says.

People are gripped with fear. We fear getting sick, losing our jobs, and watching our portfolios decline in value. That is a very understandable reaction to the crisis in which we currently find...

At The Colony Group, we take a long-term perspective despite a shorter-term news cycle. During this period of higher uncertainty, we aim to provide more frequent market updates and...

For our most recent update on the COVID-19, please read: What A Week, Really This Time Equity markets opened sharply down again this morning following President Trump’s address to the nation....

This week was another wild ride in the markets but we returned almost back to where we started. Virus Global cases have now topped 100,000 and we anticipate seeing...

January 2020 started off well enough with both U.S. and Emerging Markets taking turns as the top performer among equities, both up ~3% year-to-date as of January 17th. Then,...

By: Jason Blackwell, CFA, CAIA®, Chief Investment Strategist; Brian Katz, CFA, Chief Investment Officer; Richard Steinberg, CFA, Chief Market Strategist A review of October’s investment returns may cause you...

By: Jason Blackwell, CFA, CAIA®, Chief Investment Strategist; Brian Katz, CFA, Chief Investment Officer & Richard Steinberg, CFA, Chief Market Strategist Movies developed using technicolor appear highly saturated if...