The history of quantitative analysis goes back far before computers, and this work leads directly into how the field progresses once computers can be applied. In this first post we explore the history and development of quantitative analysis as it applied to finance in the pre-computer world of the early through mid 20th century. Actively … Read more
Existing subscribers alert: ValuEngine is preparing to launch a completely redesigned website in the coming weeks. Alerts and more information will be sent a few days prior to the launch. Financial journals have been deluged with stories to the effect that all of the 2023 gains in the S&P 500 were caused by 7 (or … Read more
Eight years after the first application for a “Spot Bitcoin ETF” was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ten of them started trading on January 11, 2024. The landmark decision was precipitated by Grayscale’s legal victory against the SEC in 2023. Sponsors of the nine so-called “ETFs” include well-known firms like Ark … Read more
“The Magnificent Seven” was the most popular sobriquet among stock market strategists, portfolio managers and reporters in 2023. Stocks such as Google, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple dominated performance and volume charts. Almost unnoticed, Broadcom pushed its way to 4th in Market Cap in the Nasdaq and more than doubled in price last year … Read more
I’m frequently asked for a top ten picks list for the new year. The nature of ValuEngine Ratings is that the ten stocks picked for the highest 1-year price gain among the 6,000 in our universe are better suited for high-risk tolerance traders than mainstream advisors and their retail clients. Therefore, in compiling this top … Read more
Farewell and thank you to 2023 which exceeded almost everybody’s expectations after a dismal 2022 and predictions of a dire recession. This blog was more positive than most, projecting a 5% to 10% gain for the S&P 500 vs. the actual price gain of 23.9%. Now it’s on to 2024. Let’s start with our quarterly … Read more
Despite all the negative-to-flat market expectations from Wall Street specialists and other pundits that frequent CNBC for 2023, the recession they feared did not manifest itself, soft landing or otherwise. The economy continued to be strong enough to avoid negative GDP growth. S&P 500 Index ETFs, including SPLG, continue to outperform other broad-based benchmark ETFs … Read more
The “Magnificent Seven” has now replaced “FAMANGs” as the nickname for current market leadership. It is also a somewhat deridingly used term for the “overpriced” stocks hated by value managers. Holdovers include Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Gone is Netflix. New are Nvidia and Tesla while Facebook had a facelift to be renamed Meta. As … Read more
Let’s start this topic with describing what Smart Beta is. I’ll be using the definition from Investopedia. “Smart beta investing combines some of the efficiencies and cost savings characteristic of passive investing while mimicking active investing strategies that have the potential to produce excess risk-adjusted returns, also called ‘alpha.’” All 5,000 stocks, 16 sector groups, … Read more
The third quarter of 2023 is now history. The September effect overwhelmed mildly positive returns in July and August to submerge all six benchmark indexes we monitor quarterly into the red. Although the order of best to worst varies among the six indexes, one commonality is having September as the worst historical month, both in … Read more