By Mike Petrino, Senior PM, Market Historian for Affinity Most metrics used to form expectations about future stock-market performance point to a volatile outlook. The trailing twelve-month Price/Earnings Ratio (P/E) is roughly 30x, well above the long-term average of about 18x. The largest seven stocks—NVIDIA, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon—now constitute nearly 37% of the Index on a capitalization-weighted basis. These companies, concentrated in the

OP Ed - Gregory R Lai, CFA Independence? Or theater? Every few months, headlines flare about “protecting Federal Reserve independence.” The outrage feels staged. How independent can the Fed be when its charter points in two directions at once? The dual mandate—price stability and maximum employment—is less a compass than a hall pass. Imagine one owner controlling both the Dodgers and the Yankees in the World Series. The outcome isn’t competition, it’s choreography. The Fed,

OP Ed - Gregory R Lai, CFA For me, investing has never been about the outcome. It’s always been about the process. Okay, not totally true—but it sounded good. Truth is, I’ve been gambling my whole life. It started with poker and mahjong home games, and evolved into BFF road trips to Vegas. But investing isn’t gambling—and it’s a shame more people don’t understand that. Gambling, by design, is a losing game. Investing, when done right, delivers long-term returns. (And yes, for