The stock market has been supported by a healthier-than-expected economy this year, generating returns that have helped many portfolios to partially recover from last year's bear market. Investors now hope these growth trends will translate into stronger corporate earnings since, in the long run, markets tend to follow the same trajectory as profits. With the future of the economy still uncertain, what signs are there that companies might begin to see improved profitability?

While it may not feel like it, investors truly do have much to be thankful for this holiday season. Over the past year, investors have navigated both short-term challenges due to interest rate swings, the banking crisis, and political battles in Washington, as well as long-term uncertainty resulting from inflation, the Fed, geopolitical conflicts, and more.

While the holiday season is ideally a time for family and friends, it is also the best time to review tax strategies for the coming year. Tax planning includes topics such as tax-loss harvesting, choices of investment vehicles, optimizing the order of withdrawals, and many others.

There's a common saying among investors that markets take the stairs up and the elevator down. This is because the long-term trends that drive markets higher tend to be slow moving and compound over time, whereas the events that create short-term panic tend to be sudden and unexpected.

The author F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that "the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." This concept, often referred to as "cognitive dissonance," is something all investors must grapple with on a regular basis.