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Today marks a bittersweet moment for the Independent Market Observer (IMO) as we publish our final blog post and bring IMO to a close. Thank you to our readers for following along over the years. We look forward to continuing to share timely market perspectives through the combined research efforts of Commonwealth Financial Network and LPL Financial. I will continue writing for the LPL Research blog, and I hope you will join me there to keep abreast of the latest market and economic news.
Before I officially sign off here, I want to share a few thoughts on what this blog and you, the readers, have meant to me over the years.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
Brad McMillan started this blog back in June 2012, and readers embraced his unique style of communicating investment ideas. It was my honor to take the reins from Brad a couple of years ago.
My goal has always been to provide thoughtful market commentary in my own way. Some of the investment lessons I learned early in my career have served as my guide. Those lessons still resonate after all these years, despite the many changes I’ve seen in the investment business since then.
For regular readers, you’ll be familiar with two ideas I write about often. The first is that there are always opportunities to add value to portfolios; you just need to find them. The second is that over the long term, fundamentals drive markets. While it is never easy to tune out the headlines and ignore short-term market moves, remembering those two life lessons has helped me navigate the most difficult market environments of my career.
The Liberation Day tariff announcements in April 2025 and the start of the Middle East war earlier this year are two periods of turmoil investors recently had to navigate. While those periods were certainly fraught with risks, they created opportunities. And strong earnings growth from corporate America drove markets higher once the worst-case scenarios were removed from the market landscape. Having an investment process and philosophy to follow whether markets are up 20 percent or down 20 percent is key to successful long-term investing.
We Appreciate You
No matter what I think or write for this blog, it wouldn’t be valuable if you didn’t take the time out of your busy day to watch, listen, or read. Thank you for doing so—I am very grateful you did.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my editor, Becky Lucca. She made me sound smart when I couldn’t find the exact words I wanted. I appreciate all her efforts.
The Next Chapter
Looking at the current investment landscape, there are a number of concerns to consider. But fundamentals remain solid, with strong earnings growth driving markets higher. Of course, there is likely an unknown risk out there that we will be talking about at some point. When that time comes, I hope you will visit the LPL Research site, where my LPL colleagues and I will share our thoughts and analysis on what it means and how to adjust portfolios where applicable.
I look forward to engaging with you soon on all things markets and economy. An exciting new chapter awaits.
Commonwealth and LPL Financial are each a registered investment adviser and member of FINRA/SIPC. Commonwealth and LPL Financial are affiliates under control of a common parent company.
