Today’s post will be a quick note as I catch up after a couple of weeks out for the holidays.

As I’ve said many times before, I believe that gratitude is a foundation for both happiness and a mindful life. Every day, I write down at least three things I’m grateful for, a practice that is proven to increase well-being. Beyond that, I also try to make time every couple of months to really think through my life and all I have to be thankful for.

Today’s post comes from Anu Gaggar of Commonwealth’s Investment Research team. Take it away, Anu! —Brad

Today's post is from Peter Essele, manager of Commonwealth's Investment Management and Research team. 

A little over a year ago, my colleague, Anu Gaggar, and I conducted a study for the Independent Market Observer. We examined the emerging markets and international asset classes through the lens of investor behaviors, noting at the time that many investors had shed these asset classes during 2016. They did so largely because they feared underperformance and higher volatility. We believed there could be negative consequences on portfolio returns from this decision, however, so we took a closer look.

Today, we're revisiting this topic to see whether investors have changed their minds since then, choosing to once again accept the risks of global diversification. And, if so, what might that mean for their portfolios going forward?

One of the questions we often get is whether people should invest in hedge funds. This question is more complicated than it seems. Today, Rob Kane will take a look at whether you can—or should—consider such investments. Commonwealth’s Research team provides this kind of expertise to advisors and clients, and I am happy to offer a sample of what we can do for an asset class that is so much in the news. Over to you, Rob.

Brad here. One of the great things about Commonwealth is that we have a team of expert analysts to provide valuable context on pretty much anything we need. Today’s post, from Nathan Parker, highlights the evolving energy landscape in the U.S. We must understand where we came from to know where we are going, and this is a great read that does just that for the energy sector. Over to you, Nathan.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Catchy beginning, yes? Dickens certainly used it to good effect. As I was thinking about 2017 in retrospect, it seemed almost unavoidably appropriate.

Yesterday, we talked about some of the current economic trends that have carried the markets up but that may be shifting in the near term. Indeed, those negatives are potentially very real, and we need to keep an eye on them. But there are also several emerging positive trends that are likely to show up in the next 5 to 10 years that should help us ride out those changes. Consider this the Tigger response to yesterday’s Eeyore message.

I have been wrestling with what to write about today. There’s not much to add that is new. The economy is doing well, and the data is coming in strong. Although the stock market is reacting to events in Washington, it is still within 1 percent of its all-time highs. From my beat, there is not a lot worth commenting on at the moment.

I am really coming to grips with my 2018 outlook, and I find myself wrestling with the implications of slowing growth on the economy and, in particular, the markets. The fundamentals have been strong, with good earnings growth driving the markets up. The other major factor has been confidence, both business and consumer, which (despite everything) has been rising. Typically, rising confidence drives stock market multiples higher—and that is exactly what has happened this year. So, the great market results we’re seeing have been the result of a double whammy: improving fundamentals as confidence and valuations rise.