Show host, Jon fee, and Jane Edmondson, Head of Thematic Strategy at VettaFi, discuss the EQM Natural Resources Dividend Income Index (NDIVITR).

Investing in “smart beta” was the rage in the early 2000s, as small-cap-value stocks vaulted over large-cap-growth stocks. But like all supercharged investment strategies, it didn’t last. Factors premiums have not materialized since the financial crisis. For most of the last decade, value has underperformed growth, driving the underperformance of the largest category of smart-beta strategies. We’ll go over the case for and against factors in this interview with long-term investment adviser, Rick Ferri.

It should be no surprise that Bitcoin sold for over $44,000 this week, more than double its March 13 price. Going back to 2014, it has taken the cryptocurrency an average of nine months and 21 days to double; the milestone came 28 days early this time.

Artificial intelligence holds far-reaching consequences for modern economies. Many of the jobs we are asked to do will change; a lot of them might disappear altogether.

Bond traders who powered a ferocious rally in the $26 trillion US Treasury market are about to find out if they’ve gotten ahead of themselves.

History shows that returns are greatest when capital is scarce. But investors need to also realize that risks escalate when there is a glut of capital.

The capital markets are already pricing in rate cuts ahead of 2024, causing yields to fall. One way to continue supplementing income amid a potential drop in yields is to diversify income using a pair of active exchange-traded funds.

As of late Monday, bitcoin had surged nearly 14% over the past seven days. That’s exceeded 42% for the first time since May 2022.

Our portfolio managers field some tough questions on Matthews Asia Dividend’s performance, its positioning and what they believe are its unique strengths for investors.

In early October, gold was valued at around $1,820 according to Kitco. That is fairly close to its low for the calendar year. Its previous low came in late February, at $1,811.

As of last week, Morningstar Direct calculated that 391 new ETFs had begun trading in 2023. That's significantly higher than the 311 that had debuted by the final week of October in 2021, the year ETF launches set a record of 475.

Active strategies are playing a key role in that record-breaking pace. Despite holding about 6% of total assets, actively managed ETFs still added almost one-third of total flows in September. Nearly 75% of the launches so far this year have been active ETFs.

AllianceBernstein (AB) launched its first ETFs into that intensely competitive marketplace. My guest, Noel Archard, is here to discuss the competitive dynamics of the ETF industry and his strategy to gain market share in the advisor intermediary channel.

A year ago, I’m pretty sure I had little idea what artificial intelligence (AI) was and what it could become. While there were a few related ETFs, AI was just another one of the long-term investment themes.

Would you gamble your life savings on a few hands of blackjack? Probably not.

The sizzling global bond rally stalled on Thursday ahead of a key US jobs report, with a slump in Japanese debt adding to the nerves of Treasury traders already fretting that yields had dropped too far.

Stock investors are turning to roughed-up corners of the market from small caps to value shares as they seek out bargains with the S&P 500 Index riding a five-week winning streak and soaring almost 9% since the start of November.

The Treasuries market took another leg higher on Wednesday, as a slowdown in private-sector job creation further encouraged traders to bet on US interest-rate cuts ahead of broad labor-market data due Friday.

The notoriously saturated $7.7 trillion ETF industry is this year poised for the second-highest number of closures, as the pandemic-era day trading boom fizzles out.

The recent rate pause by the Federal Reserve is bringing optimism to the capital markets that interest rates may finally head lower. In turn, it’s pushing yields down. Conversely, bond prices rallied in November, which should help bring investors back to the market.

The real world and the digital world are converging every day and becoming increasingly interconnected, and where the two intersect is described by some as “phygital.”

Markets improved last month across the board as interest rates pulled back on signs of slowing growth. U.S. markets were up by high-single to low-double digits, while international markets were also up by high-single digits.

“BUY BTC.” The logo stamped on this week’s leaked version of the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, depicting a faux glamorous world of speedboats, supercars and “shoot-em-ups,” was well timed.

Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Marc Rowan said it’s getting harder for active managers to beat indexes in public markets and that it is easier for investors to find alpha in private markets.

Treasury yields resumed their downward slide — with the benchmark 10-year note’s falling to the lowest level since Sept. 1 — after the latest sign of labor-market cooling bolstered bets that a Federal Reserve shift to policy easing isn’t far off.

If Mike Tyson were speaking to a group of investors, what he may have been saying is that everyone has a financial plan until life throws a “punch.”

The message coming from Wall Street is that investor optimism is running dangerously high.

How do you get financial information to make sense to people who aren’t numbers-minded? How do you become the advisor who helps complicated things make sense without making people feel stupid or overwhelmed?

Taiwan’s economic and financial decoupling from China has deepened with the near-collapse of what was once the world’s largest Chinese bond exchange-traded fund market.

Our forecast for the federal funds rate has the Federal Reserve (Fed) starting to cut rates in July 2024, with a second rate cut before the end of 2024.

The global economy is still overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels, with more than 80% of primary energy sourced from coal, oil, and gas, as of 2021.

Among Asia’s major economies, China has long been the benchmark against which other countries’ growth is measured. India, currently the continent’s third-largest economy behind China and Japan, appears poised to take the baton of economic growth leadership.

Valuations for municipal bonds are very attractive right now. And as yields remain strong, so do their fundamentals.

“I kind of think we got back to what we do best, and that's to be in front of our clients, talk to them directly, sit at their kitchen tables, and we felt the best way to continue to grow is really with the two of us doing what we do best.” – Walter Scott

For more than 20 years, Walter Scott and his business partner Thomas Whelan have been helping businesses and families work towards their financial goals, while continuing to help their firm, Whelan Scott Asset Management, evolve. Don’t miss this episode of Cambridge Stronger as Walter shares why his family was a driving force behind his decision to join our industry and how flexibility plays a role in his decision-making. Walter also explains why he chose SEI, a company that partners with Cambridge to provide up-to-date research and anticipate changing investor needs, and how he’s using technology offerings to grow his business and open up more time to spend with his family.

Morningstar’s Ben Johnson recaps the year in ETFs, discussing the industry’s most noteworthy stories, trends, and players. VettaFi’s Lara Crigger offers her most overlooked ETF stories in 2023.

In mid-September, Rockefeller Asset Management, the asset management arm of Rockefeller Capital Management, and KraneShares, a leading global ETF provider specializing in China, climate, and uncorrelated assets, launched the KraneShares Rockefeller Ocean Engagement ETF (ticker: KSEA). The fund invests in public companies with significant impact on oceans and ocean resources, reflecting the meaningful investment opportunities within the blue economy.

KSEA aims to generate competitive returns and improve ocean health through shareholder engagement activity focused on pollution prevention, carbon transition, and ocean conservation. Holdings include companies from diverse sectors such as aquaculture, commercial fishing, waste management, renewable energy, and logistics, among others.

My guest, Casey Clark, will discuss this new ETF.

Our outlook for 2024 is for a gradual U-shaped recovery composed of seemingly chaotic movements in economic data with turning points in policy rates and earnings growth.

One of the big winners from the sudden furious rally in the US bond market: Bill Gross.

Banks using generative artificial intelligence tools could boost their earnings by as much as $340 billion annually through increased productivity, according to consultants hoping to help the industry adapt in this fast-moving area.

India is once again leading flows into US exchange-traded funds tracking emerging markets, boosting one of the most popular trades in 2023 as declining US yields and a weakening dollar turn investors toward assets in the developing world.

Recency bias is too ingrained within us as human beings to ever go away regardless of the evidence. As advisors, we must learn to manage it.

December’s whipsaw opening shows investors may be concerned November’s epic rallies went too far, too fast in anticipating a near-perfect soft landing for the economy.

Our portfolio managers field some tough questions on Pacific Tiger’s performance, its positioning and what they believe are its unique strengths for investors.

November was kind to fixed income investors as bonds posted their best month of 2023. High yield corporate debt participated in that rally as highlighted by the fact that the largest junk bond exchange traded fund is higher by nearly 4.3% over the past month.

With more than 3,000 ETFs to cover and many new ones launching each month, it is easy to forget. For many people, S&P 500 Index-based ETFs remain the core of their portfolio. Heading into 2024, these products topped the latest monthly flow leaderboard.

Have you registered for VettaFi’s legendary Exchange conference? Interested in what the hype is all about? Jon Fee and Dave Nadig, Financial Futurist at VettaFi discuss what you can expect from 2024’s Exchange conference.

I previously discussed a slate of recessionary indicators with high correlations to recessionary onsets. However, as we head into 2024, many Wall Street economists predict a “soft landing” or “no recession” outcome for the economy.

The AQR Style Premia Alternative Fund (QSPIX) was introduced a decade ago to provide pure exposure to four market factors that had historically delivered excess returns. Let’s look at how it performed over that period.

While corporate insiders are increasingly betting on shares of their own firms, bosses at the S&P 500’s best-performing company are cashing in.

Across Wall Street, analysts and investors had cheered 2023 as the year of emerging markets, only to be burned by a relentless climb in US Treasury yields. Now, as the Federal Reserve looks set to end its most aggressive monetary tightening campaign in a generation, they’re at it again.

US stocks are headed for a rocky end to the year after rallying in November as bond yields fluctuate, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.

Bitcoin has jumped more than 140% this year to outstrip other investments like stocks and gold, and optimism for further gains is high.