What I’m telling clients right now is that the market is catching its breath in a Goldilocks expansion. The data shows a positive yield curve at 2.26%, stable credit spreads, and a labor market that’s cooling but not collapsing. That’s the environment we’re in. My confidence in this regime is about 70%, which means we’re positioned for resilience, not runaway acceleration. The plumbing is functioning, with investment-grade spreads around 95 basis points showing no immediate s

What I'm telling clients this week: the market narrative is evolving, but the fundamentals remain steady. As economic data pours in, stock futures have shown resilience, albeit with a touch of volatility, as seen with the SPX easing by 0.4% to 6,817. This slight pullback is more of a valuation recalibration than a sign of distress. The cost of capital remains elevated, with the 10Y yield at 4.18%, yet the curve is signaling a positive shift. The 2s/10s spread has swung to +64

The tension in markets this week is the gap between how jumpy prices feel and how steady the underlying data still look. The S&P 500 is hovering near record territory around 6,870, barely 1–2% off its recent highs, hardly the behavior of an index pricing in imminent recession. Short rates have stopped marching higher, long rates have settled, and yet day-to-day equity moves carry that uneasy, “something must be wrong” tone. What the numbers actually show is a late-cycle econo

By Parson Tang It was 8:10 a.m. at the Centurion Lounge in Hong Kong when Linda Cheung, a long-time family office client with a knack for buying after markets rose, waved me over with the kind of calm confidence that only a steady monthly payout can create. “Parson,” she said as she slid her tea aside, “I don’t know why everyone is nervous. My income fund pays me every month. Seven, sometimes eight percent a year. Never missed. Why should I touch it?” I smiled. Questions like

What I’m telling clients this week: the market is catching its breath, not breaking. The tape still rhymes with a late‑cycle slowdown, not a crash. U.S. GDP is running about 1½–2%, Europe is hugging zero, Japan just above 1%. Unemployment has drifted only a few tenths off the lows, wage growth has cooled toward ~4%, and core inflation is gliding into the high‑2% zone in the U.S. and the low‑3% range in Europe. That’s disinflation without choking growth, which gives the Fed an

Nov 5th 2025 There’s a quiet kind of comeback happening in portfolios this year—the return of 60/40. Not the 1980s version with a cigar in one hand and a Fed put in the other. I’m talking about a new, more disciplined 60/40—one rebuilt on higher yields, cooling inflation, and a dose of AI humility. A few weeks ago, my Copilot and I ran a full diagnostic on the classic mix. What came out wasn’t nostalgia—it was validation. Setting the Stage The bot started by pulling five deca

Nov 6th, 2025 By Parson Tang It was 7:45 p.m. in the lobby of the San Francisco Marriott when Sarah Lopez, the CIO of a foundation I’ve advised for years, stopped me with a familiar mix of urgency and fatigue. “Parson,” she said quietly, “the board meets tomorrow morning. I need proof our 40/30/30 policy can still fund scholarships without giving up our U.S. overweight.” I smiled. “Then we have one night to make the data speak louder than opinions.” That’s how it began — one

June 12th, 2025 A few weeks ago, I spoke at a biotech incubator event hosted by QB3 at UC Berkeley . The room was filled with brilliant...

Common Mistakes and Smarter Strategies I’ve worked with many successful entrepreneurs, family offices, and investors from Asia and around...

July 11th, 2025 A few weeks ago, I was walking through Central Park with a childhood friend who now leads macro strategy at a top hedge...

June 26, 2025 A few years back, I was sitting in a quiet boardroom with a founder in his early 60s. He’d built his empire from the ground...

June 25th, 2025: The market is rising, but under the surface, not everything is as strong as it seems. We’re seeing leadership from a few...

There’s a moment in every investor’s life when the market punches you in the face. Hard. For me, one of those moments came in early April...

Most founders are taught to pitch like they’re on Shark Tank or demoing to a venture capitalist.But family offices? They don’t think—or...

By now, you know why  family offices are a valuable source of capital—and how they think. But most founders still get stuck on the next...

One of the biggest fundraising mistakes I’ve seen founders make is assuming that family offices behave like venture capital firms. They...

You don’t need to have it all figured out. That’s the first thing I tell people — whether it’s a college grad unsure what to do next, or...

A Practical Reflection on Rules, Integrity, and Quiet Discipline Several years ago, I received a late-night email from a foundation...

Why It’s Not Just About What You Give — But How You Grow It Years ago, I met a founder in Asia who was incredibly thoughtful about his...

Why Clarity is a Gift — to Grantees, and to Yourself A few years ago, I worked with a foundation that felt… stuck. They had generous...

On Legacy, Letting Go, and Watching the Next Generation Rise I remember meeting a retired businessman in Los Angeles—first-generation...

The Quiet Power of Choosing the Right People From the Start I once sat in a board meeting where no one spoke for the first few minutes....

And Why It’s Not Just a Legal Question A few years ago, I helped a family in California set up a private foundation. They had just sold...

Lessons from Families Who Chose Purpose Over Pressure A few years ago, I met with a client who had recently received a major inheritance....