Market volatility last week was the highest it has been in 2025. While it sent a portion of investors heading for the exits, many more looked to shift assets from large-cap technology stocks and cap-weighted ETFs into less volatile investments. For example, low beta stocks and low beta ETFs have seen increased interest as investors … Read more
Conversations about Trump’s tariffs, despite two of them being placed on hold for now, continue to dominate market discussions. Although it could be different this time, historically these announcements cause volatility in the short run. But by about the time they become reality, if not before, their effects are absorbed by the market with barely … Read more
Following on last week’s top 10 list, this week’s blog focuses on ETFs related to the stocks in the list. We begin with lots and lots of data in the form of several tables, and end with our written analysis. Skip to the end if you prefer to jump to the conclusions we make on … Read more
On May 28, 2024, a new rule went into effect that will affect almost every stock, bond, and ETF trade in U.S. markets. This new rule establishes the “T+1” settlement cycle, and it relates to how long it takes for securities transactions to clear and settle. These securities include all US exchange-traded stocks, corporate and … Read more
Part I of this article (posted on Blog.ValuEngine.com on May 22, click HERE) started with Louis Bachelier’s work from 1900 and covered all the theoretical work done up to and including William Sharpe, Ph.D.’s seminal work in 1964. However, none of that early research had yet been applied successfully to actual investments in any meaningful … Read more
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
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
Cambria Advisors recently sent out a mailing that was somewhat self-congratulatory noting the 10-year anniversary of the launch of its first ETF. As we will explore shortly, I contend that the congratulations are well-deserved from a number of perspectives. The email missive piqued my interest for a specific reason. The main comparisons made in the … Read more
Throughout my career, I’ve heard professional investors assert that index funds are fine for bull markets but in volatile-to-down markets, active management will outperform. SPIVA (S&P vs. Global) published research available from S&P Global has demonstrated that this was not true for actively managed mutual funds for 2022, and less true for the 2020-2022 period. … Read more