Vicus Capital

10/16/2026

Economic developments next week include U.S. housing starts and crude inventory data. September housing starts will offer insight into homebuilder activity and demand for new homes following a 2.6% monthly decline in August, while changes in crude inventories may provide further perspective on energy markets amid shifting global supply conditions.

On the corporate side, investors will be focused on earnings from Netflix, General Motors, and Tesla. Netflix’s results will provide an update on revenue growth, advertising, engagement, and margins, while General Motors’ earnings will offer insight into North American performance, cash generation, and its raised full-year outlook. Tesla’s results will provide a look at vehicle demand, automotive margins, energy storage growth, and management’s broader outlook for the remainder of the year.

Explore the latest economic and corporate developments that may influence markets in the week ahead.

Read more: https://www.vicuscapital.com/2026/10/16/the-week-ahead-october-19-2026/

10/15/2026

Running a small business involves more than managing day-to-day operations. Having a thoughtful financial plan can help business owners prepare for unexpected expenses, manage cash flow, and work toward long-term goals.
Separating business and personal finances, creating a realistic budget, maintaining cash reserves, planning for taxes, and managing debt are all important parts of building a strong financial foundation. Setting measurable goals and seeking professional guidance when needed can also help business owners make informed financial decisions as their businesses grow.

Whether you’re launching a new business or planning for its next stage, understanding the fundamentals of financial planning can help you build greater stability and prepare for the future.

🔗 Read more: https://www.vicuscapital.com/2026/10/05/what-are-some-financial-planning-tips-for-small-business-owners/

10/14/2026

Global birth rates have dropped dramatically in the 21st century. This, coupled with rising average lifespans, has resulted in the rapid growth of the over 65 population relative to other groups. As recently as 2010, people over age 65 accounted for just 7.5% of Earth’s inhabitants. The very young (under 6 years of age) accounted for 11.5%. Today, those lines have crossed and the over 65 cohort now accounts for over 10% of the global population while those under 6 account for less than 10%. If current trends continue, this gap will expand rapidly, and we can expect a senior population over 3x the size of the sub-6 year old group in the next 30 years or so.

What’s going on in the market?

Equities: Domestic equities experienced a mixed week with the S&P 500 (1.2%) and NASDAQ (0.6%) earning gains, while the Russell 2000 (-0.9%) fell. International markets also mixed, as the MSCI EAFE decreased 0.5% and MSCI Emerging Markets remained the same.

Fixed Income: The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate TR rose 0.4% and the S&P National Muni Bond lowered 0.2%.

Commodities: Crude Oil and Natural Gas Spot grew 4.8% and 2.4% respectively.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Chart), Bloomberg (Index, Commodities, and Rates Data)

10/09/2026

Economic developments next week include the latest core inflation data and existing home sales. Investors will be watching the September core inflation reading for signs of whether the recent slowdown in underlying price growth continued, while August existing home sales fell 2.0% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.98 million units amid continued pressure from elevated mortgage rates.

Investors will also be watching earnings from Domino’s, UnitedHealth Group, and BlackRock. Domino’s results will provide insight into whether the company can regain momentum following slower domestic and international sales growth, while UnitedHealth’s earnings will offer an update on medical costs, enrollment trends, and its full-year outlook. BlackRock’s results will provide a look at asset flows, assets under management, margins, and continued growth across ETFs, private markets, and technology services.

Explore the latest economic and corporate developments that may influence markets in the week ahead.

Read more: https://www.vicuscapital.com/2026/10/09/the-week-ahead-october-12-2026/

10/08/2026

Understanding how capital gains work can help investors better prepare for the potential tax implications of buying and selling investments.

In their article, “10 Things You Should Know About Capital Gains,” Hartford Funds highlights several important considerations investors should keep in mind:

✅ Understand the difference between capital gains and capital-gains distributions – Selling an investment for more than its cost basis creates a capital gain. Capital-gains distributions, however, come from a fund selling investments within its portfolio and passing those gains along to shareholders.

✅ Know the difference between short-term and long-term gains – In taxable accounts, investments held for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains, which are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Investments held for more than one year generally qualify for long-term capital-gains rates, which may be lower.

✅ Capital-gains distributions can occur even if you didn’t sell your shares – Mutual funds may distribute capital gains generated from selling underlying investments, meaning investors can receive a taxable distribution even when they have not sold any fund shares themselves.

Planning for the potential tax impact of capital gains can help investors make informed decisions about their portfolios and overall financial strategy.



🔗 Learn more:
https://www.hartfordfunds.com/practice-management/client-conversations/financial-planning/10-things-you-should-know-about-capital-gains.html

Source: Hartford Funds

Selling stocks, bonds, or fund shares at a profit could have implications for your wallet beyond simply increasing its contents.

10/07/2026

Which style is outperforming this year? Growth or value? Usually, it is easy to figure out. We’d say that it “feels” like growth is winning this year as AI names have generally led the market higher. However, as the chart above shows, this is not necessarily the case. The S&P and Russell have different methodologies to determine which stocks get classified as growth or value. This year, that has resulted in the S&P 500 Growth outperforming the Value index by almost a 2:1 margin. However, in the Russell Indices, we see the Value index more than tripling the performance of the growth style. When the market is driven by a limited number of stocks, how those specific stocks are classified matters tremendously. It is quite a rare event to see what the above chart demonstrates.

What’s going on in the market?

Equities: Domestic equities experienced a mixed week as NASDAQ (0.5%) earned gains, while the S&P 500 (-0.2) and Russell 2000 (-0.1%) fell. International markets were down, as the MSCI EAFE decreased 1.5% and MSCI Emerging Markets declined 1.3%.

Fixed Income: The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate TR and Bloomberg U.S. Corp. HY TR both lowered 0.6%, but the S&P National Muni Bond rose 0.3%.

Commodities: Crude Oil was down this week, falling 2.5%, while Natural Gas Spot and Gold USD Spot grew 1.7% and 0.6% respectively.

Sources: Vicus Capital / BlackRock (Chart), Bloomberg (Index, Commodities, and Rates Data)

10/02/2026

Economic developments next week include the release of the latest U.S. trade balance and initial jobless claims data. The August trade balance will provide an update on the nation’s trade deficit following its expansion to $88.6 billion in July, while new jobless claims will offer further insight into recent trends in the labor market.

Earnings from Levi Strauss, PepsiCo, and Delta Air Lines will provide updates on consumer demand, revenue growth, profitability, and management outlooks. Levi Strauss’ results will offer insight into direct-to-consumer sales and demand in the Americas, while PepsiCo’s earnings will provide a look at consumer spending amid higher costs of living. Delta’s results will offer an update on travel demand, fuel costs, margins, and its full-year outlook. Explore the latest economic and corporate developments that may influence markets in the week ahead.
Read more:

https://www.vicuscapital.com/2026/10/02/the-week-ahead-october-5-2026/

09/30/2026

Election years can bring increased uncertainty to financial markets as investors respond to campaign coverage, policy proposals, and potential changes in government leadership. While political developments may contribute to short-term market volatility, factors such as inflation, interest rates, corporate earnings, consumer spending, and Federal Reserve decisions also play an important role in market performance.

Historical market data provides perspective on how markets have behaved around elections, including midterm elections and changes in presidential leadership. Our latest Portfolio Strategy Insights article explores these trends and highlights the importance of maintaining a long-term perspective and diversified portfolio rather than allowing the political news cycle to drive investment decisions.

🔗 Read more: https://www.vicuscapital.com/2026/09/03/what-do-election-years-typically-mean-for-investors/

09/29/2026

Concentration in the utilization of AI is quite extreme. Here, you can see that for the two largest AI-model firms, OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude), 80% of their total revenue comes from just 1% of their customers. One important note is that this chart is only for corporate accounts, meaning it does not include individual users. While they do not disclose how many (or few) companies comprise this top 1%, it cannot be that many which leaves OpenAI and Anthropic highly dependent on the future budgets of their heaviest users. If productivity gains do not ensue, we should expect a pullback in spending.

What’s going on in the market?

Equities: Equities: Domestic equities experienced a mixed week with the S&P 500 (0.1%) and NASDAQ (0.4%) earning gains, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%) incurring losses. Alternatively, international markets were positive, as the MSCI EAFE grew 0.9% and MSCI Emerging Markets rose 2.2%.

Fixed Income: As the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate TR and the Bloomberg U.S. Corp HY TR dipped 0.1%, the S&P National Muni Bond decreased 0.7%.

Commodities: Crude Oil and Gold USD Spot increased 3.8% and 3.1% respectively.

Sources: Daily Chartbook / Ramp (Chart), Bloomberg (Index, Commodities, and Rates Data)

09/25/2026

Economic developments next week include the release of the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data and the second-quarter GDP growth rate. Investors will be watching inflation data for insight into the potential direction of interest rates, while the latest GDP report will provide further insight into the pace of economic growth following a 1.5% annualized increase in the second quarter.

Investors will also be watching earnings from Carnival, Micron, and Nike for updates on consumer demand, revenue growth, profitability, and management outlooks. Carnival’s results will provide insight into continued demand for travel and leisure, while Micron’s earnings will offer an update on demand for memory chips amid continued interest in artificial intelligence. Nike’s results will provide further insight into the company’s efforts to drive sales growth. Explore the latest economic and corporate developments that may influence markets in the week ahead.

Read more:
https://www.vicuscapital.com/2026/09/25/the-week-ahead-september-28-2026/