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Writing covered calls is a perennial strategy when otherwise good stocks stall and investors who need current income want to hold on for better long-term upside. Unless you want to manage a sprawling and volatile options book, exchange-traded projects do all the heavy lifting on an automated basis. But even in that automated environment there are still choices: how much income should we reach for, how far do we think the stocks themselves can move before the monthly expiration window closes?

References to "ESG" principles doubled last quarter and a full 35% of S&P 500 constituents talked about injustice and equality on their earnings calls. It's a smart choice. When real returns are compressed, realistic investors seek different rewards and adroit wealth managers need to find other value levers to justify fees while performance recovers. Aligning the portfolio with the client ethos is a great place to start.

Some market environments are easier to explain than others. But whether the cards on the table make sense or not, we all have to play the hand the market deals us. 

Years of dithering and missed opportunities in Washington have forced innovators and investors alike to create their own infrastructure boom. With the economy crying out for stimulus and an election on the horizon, these companies may finally be ready to rebuild the nation and the world.

Big Tech has made the difference between a lingering market correction and recovery, but those gigantic stocks are now so big that they obscure stronger and potentially more sustainable performance elsewhere. One way or another, today's small innovators contain the seeds of tomorrow's giants . . . provided your clients are in the right spots.

For investors purely focused on long-term returns, exposure to the world's second-biggest economy seems compelling as a dollar hedge if nothing else. But the conversation can be fractious in the post-COVID world. Astute advisors don't need to settle for portfolios that no longer reflect today's geopolitical realities.