TGIFryeday! Another Frye celebration - this time it was Ana Ortiz's turn to be feted and her cake was as scrumptious as it looks!

Stocks are back at new highs and the S&P 500 Index is up more than 20% for the year with more than two months to go in 2021. This week in the LPL Market Signals podcast, LPL Financial Strategists Jeff Buchbinder and Ryan Detrick discuss why there could still be some fuel left in the tank for stocks to move higher.

We have used most of the superlatives we know to describe corporate America’s stunning performances over the past two earnings seasons. Despite lofty expectations, results exceeded estimates by the biggest margins we’ve ever seen (and one of the authors of this report has been doing this for 23 years).

TGIFryeday! Another birthday for a Frye team member; this time we are celebrating Briana Arturo. She may be wearing a mask but you can still tell from her smiling eyes how excited she is with her scrumptious cake and tarts!

With the fourth quarter underway—historically the best quarter for stocks, by the way—2022 is fast approaching. While a lot can still happen between now and the end of 2021, we don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about what stocks might do next year.

TGIFryeday! A big smile to go along with a very happy birthday celebration for Alex Holguin, and, of course, a delicious – and healthy - cake!

And just like that, the calendar turned to October and volatility picked up in a big way, with three consecutive 1% moves for the S&P 500 Index to start the month. This month gets a bad rap for being a bearish month (it isn’t), but it absolutely owns the title as the most volatile month.

It took nearly a full year, but the S&P 500 finally had its first 5% pullback of 2021, thus ending hopes of 2021 joining 1954, 1958, 1964, 1993, 1995, and 2017 as the only years to go a full calendar year without a 5% move lower.

“Volatility is the price of admission,” explained LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “Sure, we’d all prefer stocks go straight up forever, but that isn’t reality. Investors must learn to embrace and accept the eventual scares and bouts of volatility that are common even in the strongest bull markets.”

They're back! Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are back in 2021 after a hiatus in 2020 thanks to the COVID-inspired CARES Act. And new for 2021, there are some changes you need to know about.

LPL Research explores a few policy-related risks that may increase market volatility in the near-term but maintains the fundamental backdrop for the economy remains strong.  "We believe the priority will be to tune out the noise and not panic over deadline drama.

According to LPL Research’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) recently released Beige Book, business sentiment on Main Street has declined in recent months as the economy navigates the latest wave of COVID-19, but nevertheless remains elevated as business leaders look past current obstacles.