The second quarter of 2017 proved fruitful as political trends in Europe were more favorable than some had feared, while aspirations for global macroeconomic growth remained positive atop seemingly more auspicious public policies. Risks both obvious and unknowable abound, but so do reasons for optimism with regard to the supports for potential further investment gains. Even so, such progress leads us to remind readers that returns do not come with guarantees and that now is as good a time as ever for an examination of portfolio allocations in the context of risk tolerances and investment time horizons.