October 28, 2025 Falling interest rates and restrained inflation have been a key context supporting the current equity bull market. A supportive Fed has guided rates lower in the absence of new inflation drivers which has been a boon to asset prices. Given our focus on potential interest rate risk, we wanted to talk about […]
A Note on Municipal Bonds: Can New York’s Ambitions Outrun Its Balance Sheet? Read More »
COMMENTARY: This week’s S&P 500 rally (+1.9%) was driven by a robust start to the Q3 Earnings Season: so far 29% of S&P 500 companies had reported earnings, with a higher-than-average percentage beating analysts’ expectation. Both the magnitude of earnings surprises and the rate of positive surprises exceeded 10-year averages. The index marked its ninth
Performance Summary: Week Ending October 24th, 2025 Read More »
October 24, 2025 The AI investment trend remains the dominant motif in the longer-term bull market that started in 2023. How long it lasts and whether it brings the promised efficiency and prosperity that bullish speculation implies is one of the key questions for every investor with longer-term time horizons. AI has been a difficult
Factor Friday: Risk Appetite Showing Cracks Read More »
October 23, 2025 Thematic investing has become a defining feature of modern portfolio construction. Rather than simply owning sectors, investors are targeting structural trends — from artificial intelligence and renewable energy to cybersecurity and space exploration — seeking asymmetric returns tied to long-term technological or policy shifts. Yet beneath the narratives, these themes differ sharply
Thematic Thursday: Putting Thematic ETFs in a Risk on/Risk off Context Read More »
October 19, 2025 Last week we got our first inklings of potential problems underneath the surface within the banking sector in 2025. Equities have faced some corrective price action in the past week and risks around trade, credit and government funding are starting to claim more attention. We wanted to use our weekly letter to
Narrations of a Sector ETF Operator | FOMO vs. “Oh No!” Read More »
COMMENTARY: For the week ending October 17, 2025, the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, and all the U.S. equity sectors advanced, led by real estate, consumer discretionary, and technology. S&P 500 Index gained on improved risk sentiment as investors grew more confident after President Trump signaled that U.S.–China trade talks were back on track, easing global
Performance Summary: Week Ending October 17th, 2025 Read More »
With ZION, WAL and FHN in the news for the wrong reasons today, we should revisit the relationship between banking stress and the AI trade which has grown to the point that it influences the primary trend for equity prices when it comes under pressure. Financial stress in the U.S. banking system tends to ripple
Factor Friday: Will Bank Stress Impact AI Leadership Dynamics? Read More »
October 15, 2025 We talked last week about strength in EM Asian Technology shares, particularly in Korea and Taiwan. Those exposures continue to hold up well despite some near-term risk-off sentiment around the AI trade. The flip side of the coin is how investors should think about positioning for potential corrections as investors have begun
Worldwide Wednesday: Core Europe Remains a Key Defensive Exposure for Equity Investors Read More »
October 12, 2025 U.S. equities finished sharply lower on Friday as investors reacted to a re-escalation in trade and technology tensions between Washington and Beijing. The S&P 500 (chart below) fell roughly 2.7%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 879 points (-1.9%), erasing several weeks of gains. The sell-off
COMMENTARY: Markets stumbled this week as investors digested a mix of hot inflation data and geopolitical developments, but defensive pockets provided shelter. The S&P 500 dropped 2.4% for the week ending October 10, 2025, as rising Treasury yields and renewed concerns over global growth pressured risk assets. Utilities led the market with a 1.5% gain,
Performance Summary: Week Ending October 10th, 2025 Read More »
Stay updated with the latests analysis and insights fromm etfsector.com