FactSet Insight

Back to Basics: Hartford Retains 95% of Hartford Funds’ Cash and Transfers Operating Costs

Stewart Johnson — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:01:52 GMT

Up until last week, Hartford was both an insurance underwriter and an asset manager. Running two businesses ended last week when HIG announced that its Hartford Funds subsidiary, a platform that includes $160B in assets under management, would be transferred to Wellington Management. Hartford Funds is a profitable platform that the company has built over the last 40 years.

Highest Number of S&P 500 Earnings Calls Citing “AI” Over the Past 10 Years

media_request@factset.com (John Butters) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:22:27 GMT

Artificial intelligence has been a focus topic for the market for the past few years. Given the heightened interest, did more S&P 500 companies than normal comment on “AI” during their earnings conference calls for the first quarter?

UK CCS Development: Liverpool Bay and Morecambe Net Zero in Focus

jamie.braun@factset.com (Jamison Braun) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:44:59 GMT

In our recent Insight covering decarbonization trends in Europe, we spotlighted the North Sea's role in furthering carbon storage projects. Here, we continue the conversation on European CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) project development, focusing on the eastern Irish Sea region, where two major storage facilities are following a similar playbook of repurposing legacy offshore oil and gas assets and securing government funding to decarbonize onshore industries.

Rewiring Wealth: Integration, AI, and Alternative Assets

insight@factset.com (Greg King, CFA) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:00:03 GMT

The wealth management industry is at a crossroads. Years of layering modern technologies atop legacy systems have created a paradox: more tools, less connection. Advisors are juggling disparate systems, creating friction instead of efficiency.

15-Year Plan: Checking on 2010-2015 Vintages as Lifecycle Reaches Realization

insight@factset.com (Colin Devereaux) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:59:59 GMT

The investment horizon for private equity has long been a defining feature, with investors expecting quality returns for their 10- to 15-year commitments. With Cobalt’s Q4 2025 benchmark data now live, we are examining the cohort of funds that have reached or are soon reaching their realization period: the 2010-2015 vintages.

Stress Testing Amid Rising Fears of an AI Bubble

Kristina Bratanova-Cvetanova — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:06:18 GMT

In the light of recent market reactions to rising fears of an artificial intelligence bubble, we have conducted stress testing on investable indices and strategies as a response to a hypothetical AI bubble burst. As concerns of tech companies being overpriced is often compared to the dot-com bubble burst from 2000, we will use this historical period and respective responses of market factors as a starting point for our analysis.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May 2026 is Projected to Rise 4.2% Year-Over-Year

media_request@factset.com (John Butters) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:47:35 GMT

The median estimate (year-over-year, not seasonally adjusted) for the consumer price index (CPI) for the month of May 2026 is 4.2%.

Highest Number of S&P 500 Earnings Calls Citing “Oil” Since 2020

media_request@factset.com (John Butters) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:18:43 GMT

Given the sharp increase in the price of oil since the beginning of March, did more S&P 500 companies comment on oil during their earnings conference calls for the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter?

Insurance: Combined Ratios Look Fine, But Schedule-P Shows Releases Helped

Stewart Johnson — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:16:14 GMT

Most of the recently reported combined ratios are positive. We commented back in March that higher gas prices and the rollout of AI projects were likely to have a favorable impact on benefit ratios and specifically cited Allstate and Progressive. Combined ratios reported in 261Q support this view.

Total Nonfarm Payrolls for May 2026 Are Projected to Rise By 105,000

media_request@factset.com (John Butters) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:37:36 GMT

The median estimate for total nonfarm payroll employment for the month of May 2026 is 105,000.