Jitalia17 Resilient Labor Market, Stubborn Inflation Test Team Fed’s Rate Cut Path 2023 finished on a powerful note, fueled by near-historic performance in November and December, pushing the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index into positive territory and potentially setting the tone for an ongoing recovery from 2022’s challenges. Alas, this was not to be the…
Olemedia Market Commentary In a volatile first quarter of 2024, markets moved choppily higher, delivering positive returns across most regions and countries. US stocks rose +10% (as measured by the Russell 3000 Index), led by large-cap stocks, which were likewise up just over +10%, followed by mid caps (+9%) and small caps (+5%), as measured…
jetcityimage Summary Following my coverage on Yum China Holdings (NYSE:YUMC) in Feb’24, which I recommended a buy rating due to my expectation that YUMC should do well in the current macroclimate in China and that its valuation is cheap relative to its growth and margin outlook, this post is to provide an update on my…
Hinterhaus Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Fidelity Magellan ETF (BATS:FMAG) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that invests across large-cap U.S. stocks. The attraction here is the potential to outperform broad-market indexes, through a fundamentals-based approach, focusing on companies that benefit from long-term “mega-trends”. Indeed, FMAG has been a big winner in this latest bull…
Galeanu Mihai Macro Overview The Micro Opportunities Strategy began 2024 trailing its microcap benchmark. During the quarter, the performance of the benchmark was predominantly led by unprofitable and heavily shorted stocks, presenting a significant challenge for the strategy to outperform due to the high-quality focus of our portfolio. Additionally, our stock selection fell short of…
Rasi Bhadramani Small vs. Large Caps In Q1 2024, the Riverwater Sustainable Value Strategy outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 2500 Value Index. Small-caps continued what appears to be a new bull market since hitting bottom last October. Small-caps still have significant ground to cover, having last peaked in 2021, while large-caps have continued to hit…
Metaplanet, a decades-old Japanese Public company providing hospitality and technology-related services, recently announced a major strategic pivot – embracing Bitcoin as a core corporate treasury asset. Last month, Metaplanet revealed it acquired over $6 million worth of Bitcoin, marking the company’s foray into digital assets. This mirrors MicroStrategy’s pioneering move to allocate part of its reserves to…
megaflopp The BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation ETF (NYSEARCA:DYNF) invests across a diversified group of large and mid-cap U.S. companies. The attraction here is the fund’s actively managed strategy that considers each return factor exposure the portfolio management team believes is best positioned based on forward-looking insight. Favorably, DYNF is up more than 30% over…
sankai By Brian Angerame, Jeffrey Bailin, CFA, Aram Green & Matthew Lilling, CFA SMID Playing Catch Up in Growth Rally Market Overview Equity markets rallied in the first quarter as resilient corporate earnings, continued enthusiasm over artificial intelligence (‘AI’) and the prospect of interest rate cuts spurred performance that surprised even the most optimistic investors….
FeelPic By Grace Su & Jean Yu, CFA, PhD Improvers Outpace Broader Value Gains Market Overview Global markets generated positive returns in the first quarter driven by optimism over an economic soft landing, improving economic data, the prospect of rate cuts in the U.S. and Europe and structural economic and corporate reforms in Japan. The…
Michael H/DigitalVision via Getty Images By Charles Hamieh, Shane Hurst, Nick Langley, & Simon Ong Reshoring and Data Centers Support Select Utilities Market Overview Infrastructure assets trailed global equities in the first quarter amid a robust rally for equities, in many ways a continuation of the bull market begun in late 2023 as softening inflation…
MarekUsz/iStock via Getty Images By Albert Grosman & Brian Lund, CFA Picking the Right Odds, Not the Right Horse Market Overview Spotting a secular trend and identifying the winners, as many small cap investors are trying to do with AI- and bitcoin-related beneficiaries, is a time-honored investment strategy that has made investors a lot of…
Rasi Bhadramani By Reed Cassady, CFA, Albert Grosman & Sam Peters, CFA AI Solutions Require Solving Power Problems Market Update The market is focused on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (‘AI’) but, in our view, has not come fully to grips with the real-world bottlenecks attached to this emerging technology. While markets appear to…
think4photop By Michael Clarfeld, CFA & Chris Eades Cyclical Kick Helps Midstream Lead Equities Market Overview and Outlook A boost for cyclical sectors amid rising oil prices helped energy infrastructure stocks outperform equities in the first quarter. Winter storms dampening production across several U.S. oil fields, a weaker U.S. dollar and lower production levels by…
Disclosures Indices are unmanaged. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. They are shown for illustrative purposes only, and do not represent the performance of any specific investment. Index returns do not include any expenses, fees or sales charges, which would lower performance. The S&P 500® Index is a large-cap market index which measures…
Disclosures Indices are unmanaged. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. They are shown for illustrative purposes only, and do not represent the performance of any specific investment. Index returns do not include any expenses, fees or sales charges, which would lower performance. A basis point is one hundredth of a percent. Bond Spread…
anyaberkut Market Environment And Performance Equity markets had a solid start to the year, with the S&P 500 up 10.6%. The Madison Sustainable Equity Fund lagged the S&P 500 for the first quarter. Although growth stocks continued to lead the market, we did see broader participation in the first quarter rally. Equity markets were encouraged…
Rob Daly/OJO Images via Getty Images The Madison Investors Fund (Class Y) increased 9.63% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the 10.56% increase in the S&P 500 index. Portfolio Performance In the first quarter, the top five individual contributors to performance relative to the benchmark were PACCAR (PCAR), Arch Capital (ACGL), Progressive (PGR),…
Urupong Last year’s stock market momentum carried over into the first quarter, with growth stocks leading the charge (once again) across market caps and geographies. Investors seem complacent, as the fundamentals do not appear to justify the current levels of exuberance. Germany, the UK, and Japan are all either in – or teetering on the…
gopixa Finding income in the current market is more difficult. With prices still high even though the rate of inflation has come down and many leveraged funds focused on income struggling with rates up, dividend and income investors are having a harder time in the economic environment. An increasingly common investment that is focused on…
akinbostanci/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis I recommend buying Inter & Co (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:INTR) shares. Inter & Co was one of the first digital banks to carry out an IPO in the West and simply quadrupled the number of customers between 2018 and 2020, reaching more than 8 million. At that time, Inter & Co had…
Galeanu Mihai/iStock via Getty Images By Samantha McLemore A Differentiated View on Diversification “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” – Misquote by Charles Darwin Patient Opportunity Equity strategy advanced 11.8% net of fees in the…
Jordan Feeg By Garey J. Aitken, CFA, & Michael Richmond, CFA Upgrading Portfolio Quality into Strength – Market Overview After nearly two years of managing through steadily higher policy rates and regular prognostications of economic troubles, investors clearly expected 2024 to be a transition year. Rather than a change, the first quarter of 2024 looked…
malerapaso Today’s article is supposed to provide an updated analysis of the AdvisorShares Focused Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:CWS), an actively managed vehicle that I previously covered in August 2023. In the review, I would like to pay special attention to the changes its portfolio has undergone since then and how they have impacted the factor story,…
champja In my last Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) article, I discussed Sarepta’s Q3 performance and their clinical progress in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and other rare diseases. At that time, Sarepta had recently revealed their Q3 product revenue was up 49% year-over-year, aided by ELEVIDYS, which pulled in $69.1M in its first quarter on the market….
Donny DBM/iStock via Getty Images By Reed Cassady, CFA, Sam Peters, CFA, & Jean Yu, CFA The Internal Engine of Returns Market Overview We have previously written about how a lifetime of being a pilot can influence how one approaches portfolio management. The basic principle of flying is to generate lift, while the basic principle…
Trevor Williams By Scott Glasser | Michael Kagan | Stephen Rigo, CFA Paths to Outperformance Broaden Beyond Tech Market Overview The soft landing rally that took hold in November 2023 continued in 2024’s first quarter. The S&P 500 Index advanced in each month of the quarter, bringing the benchmark’s winning streak to five consecutive months…
yalcinsonat1 There is good reason to be disappointed with the Federal Reserve. It has gotten us into an awful economic mess as a result of its earlier ultra-easy monetary policy. That policy managed to create both an inflation and a financial stability problem. But the Fed has only one interest rate policy to address those…
Hiraman By Jeffrey Bailin, CFA & Aram Green Benchmark Concentration Even More Severe in Small Growth Market Overview Entering 2024, we were hopeful that, after a year of extreme relative underperformance versus large cap peers, conditions were aligning for a broadening market more favorable for small cap stocks. Thus far, it has been more of…
Pogonici By Peter Bourbeau & Margaret Vitrano Staying Disciplined in a Broadening Market Market Overview The positive momentum of 2023 extended into the first quarter as a likely economic soft landing and being past the peak of monetary tightening sent stocks broadly higher. The S&P 500 Index (SP500, SPX) advanced 10.56% for its best start…
nielubieklonu Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is making strides in positioning itself for strength as a carbon-friendly oil producer as the firm further develops its full-cycle well enhancements through CO2 direct air capture and EOR for well enhancements. As the oil industry faces a flat-to-down oil market for eFY24 paired with easing inflationary pressures relating to production,…
bgsmith My dear long-term readers certainly remember that I pay special attention to multi-factor equity exchange-traded funds. Today, I would like to assess yet another such vehicle, the Global X Adaptive U.S. Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:AUSF). I initiate coverage with a Hold rating, as I am frankly unimpressed by its total returns. I believe its inability…
Robert Way Investment Thesis: I continue to take a bullish view on Hugo Boss and believe the stock could have further upside going forward, based on strong sales growth and a strong digital strategy. In a previous article back in March 2023, I made the argument that Hugo Boss (OTCPK:BOSSY) could see further upside going…
erdikocak CEFA: Welcome to CEF Insights, your source for closed-end fund information and education, brought to you by the Closed-End Fund Association. Today we are joined by Tony Huang, Portfolio Manager with Advent Capital Management. Advent manages the Advent Convertible and Income Fund (NYSE:AVK). We’re happy to have you with us today, Tony. Tony Huang:…
Damir Khabirov/iStock via Getty Images Guess? (NYSE:GES) is a global apparel retailer with operations in 100 countries and nearly $3 billion in revenues. The company grew enormously in the early 2000s and until 2013. After that and until the pandemic, the company’s operations were bad, losing market and margins. In 2019, the company’s COO and…
We Are How should your approach to portfolio management change as you age, especially as you near retirement? Kathryn Del Greco, Senior Investment Advisor with TD Wealth, speaks with MoneyTalk’s Kim Parlee about the importance of having goals and time horizons when making investment decisions. Transcript Kim Parlee – How should your approach to investing…
LUMIKK555/iStock via Getty Images RCI Hospitality Holdings (NASDAQ:RICK) operates nightclubs and sports-bar restaurants. The company’s nightclub brands include Risk’s Cabaret, PT’s Showclub, Club Onyx, and Tootsie’s Cabaret. RCI Hospitality’s restaurant brand is the military-inspired Bombshells. The company has a long track record of acquisitions and some organic growth initiatives, growing its footprint in the United…
Jinda Noipho/iStock via Getty Images By Garey J. Aitken, CFA, & Timothy W. Caulfield, CFA Market Overview The S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index returned 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark 10-year interest rates in Canada and the U.S. reached 2023 highs of 4.24% and 4.99%, respectively, in October before ultimately giving way in the final…
alvarez/E+ via Getty Images LianBio (NASDAQ:LIAN) was a rising star of the Chinese pharmaceutical scene but the drugs startup has flamed out just four years after its launch. The biotech’s abbreviated lifespan underscores the challenges and costs of bringing novel drugs to the market, even with financial backing and big ambitions. The company’s mission was…
Daniel Bosma/Moment via Getty Images NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE:NEE) is an American energy company. Founded in 1925, NextEra Energy is now a $116 billion (by market cap) power utility giant that employs more than 15,000 people. By market cap, this is the largest utility holding company in the US. NextEra Energy reports results across three…
We-Ge/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images trivago (NASDAQ:TRVG), established in 2005, is a leading hotel metasearch engine, aggregating and comparing prices from over 5 million hotels and other types of accommodation across 190 countries. TRVG provides users with comprehensive price comparisons and simplified hotel discovery. TRVG generates revenue by acting as a middleman, connecting users with…
Francesco Carta fotografo/Moment via Getty Images Momentum factor strategies aim to overweight securities with strong relative recent price performance based on the idea that in the near term, what is “up will go up.” The Vanguard U.S. Momentum Factor ETF (BATS:VFMO) is an ETF that targets U.S. large and mid-cap Momentum stocks. VFMO is actively…
Phiromya Intawongpan We were wrong about the ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKK) when we covered the fund back in 2022 suggesting the high-growth and tech-heavy thematic strategy was poised to outperform. ARKK is down about 20% from that article publication date and we’ll admit it’s not one of our finer works. While stocks did indeed rebound…
Nemes Laszlo/iStock via Getty Images Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) has been one of my favorite growth stocks over the past several years. In fact, REGN is one of my “Top Ideas” in the Compounding Healthcare investing group on Seeking Alpha. Yet, I have never published a premium article covering Regeneron for Seeking Alpha despite all of…
Scott Olson Thesis Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) represents an ideal candidate for a low-risk income-producing strategy of writing covered calls to enhance the dividend. In a previous article, I discussed how the riskiness of the underlying investment changes covered call option choices. The company operates in the highly stable Personal Care Products subsector of the economically…
Ford Lightning Electric Truck RoschetzkyIstockPhoto Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has been contending with what its CEO describes as a “seismic change” in the BEV market over the past six months. The cause? A 20% collapse in BEV prices around the world precipitated by mismatched consumer demand against “a ton of new capacity into one single…
krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment via Getty Images By Brian Angerame, Jeffrey Bailin, CFA, Aram Green & Matthew Lilling, CFA Small and Mid Caps Attractive Amid Rate Transition Market Overview and Outlook Equity markets generated strong returns in the fourth quarter, bolstered by declining bond yields and a resurgence of optimism that the U.S. economy could indeed achieve…
Igor Kutyaev/iStock via Getty Images By Samantha McLemore “The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting.” Charlie Munger In this letter, we discuss the current environment and how we are responding. We also reflect on 2023: what we’ve done well and where we made mistakes. Before we get to…
SasinT Gallery/Moment via Getty Images Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (OTCQX:TCNNF) [CSE:TRUL] presents a fantastic opportunity for investors interested in the U.S. cannabis sector. Its high-quality and consistent leadership, sound business strategy, and a genius tax plan can yield great results for years to come. This position aligns with Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating of “Buy”. Introduction Trulieve…
SEAN GLADWELL/Moment via Getty Images By Reed Cassady, CFA, Albert Grosman, Sam Peters, CFA Deeper Dive on Soft Landing Reveals Risks Market Update What an ending to the year for U.S. equities. The market has become increasingly convinced of a soft landing and inflation is easing toward the Federal Reserve’s target range across total, core…