Blog

Mid-Quarter Update: Spotlight on US Corporate Profits December 04, 2019

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy

US corporate profits are down from the 2014 peak. In this mid-quarter special report, we dive deep into corporate profits, taxes, profit margins and the increasing government debt levels that have propelled stock and bond prices higher, in our view, leading to rising equity and government…

Innovation From the Top Down and Bottom Up – The Intangible Investor Podcast, Ep. 5 November 27, 2019

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Podcasts

A decade into the information revolution, corporate R&D is at an all-time high. Bryce reports in with new data that leads us to believe innovation investment is on the rise. Steve offers an update on how a shift in the Chinese Yuan could impact asset…

Spotlight Hexagon: Fusing the Physical World with the Digital November 25, 2019

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

Founded in 1992 to build sensor and measurement tools for factories, farms and mines, Sweden’s Hexagon AB is at work today fusing the physical world with the digital. By integrating hard data collection with software, mobile and cloud-based technologies, this Knowledge Leader uses the tools…

Consequences of an Inflection in the Chinese Yuan November 21, 2019

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

As hopes for a trade deal fade, similar to May and August, the CNY is devaluing against the USD again. In our work there are a handful of fairly mechanical relationships that should follow if the CNY continues to devalue. First, in the US, stocks…

Economic Growth Has Not Hit Bottom Yet November 21, 2019

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy, Markets

Even as left tail risks to US and global economic growth seem to have been mitigated over recent weeks (more accommodate financial conditions, rising of some PMI data, worst case trade outcome seemingly a lower probability now), incoming data continue to suggest the nadir of…

Direct Indexing. New China Data Signals a Possible Shift for Stocks and Bonds – The Intangible Investor Podcast, Ep. 4 November 17, 2019

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Podcasts

Steve looks at a trend change we’ve seen in the last week: hard data from China is deteriorating and may be leading to a shift in the relative performance of stocks and bonds. A few weeks since the big brokerage houses cut trading commissions to…

4Q Growth Expectations Crashing: A Tailwind for Bonds November 15, 2019

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy

Today’s US economic data releases have sent growth expectations plunging for fourth quarter GDP. First, retail sales ex-autos and gasoline rose only .1% in October, well below the .3% expectation. Second, industrial production fell twice as much as expected in October, dropping -.8% compared to…

Not So Fast on the Cyclical Chinese Recovery November 14, 2019

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy, Markets

This morning investors were unfortunately treated to a rather disappointing package of October Chinese economic data. Three of the most important hard data series were reported: fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales. Each was lower than the previous month and missed expectations, suggesting…

Technology & Materials: Do You Take the Over or the Under? November 08, 2019

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Markets

As each day passes and more evidence of some sort of bottom in economic activity emerges, the chances of market rotation into the more beaten down areas of the global equity market would seem to be rising. In fairness, this is likely not 2012 or…

Spotlight Glory Ltd: When Cash Goes Digital November 06, 2019

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

The one attribute all Knowledge Leader companies have in common – no matter their sector or geography – is a commitment to investing in innovation. Once we identify a company with a high R&D spend as a percent of sales, the next layer of research…

Disclosures

The information presented here is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, securities. Some investments are not suitable for all investors, and there can be no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful. Hyperlinks may be included in this message that provide direct access to other internet resources, including web sites. While we believe these links are to reliable sources, Knowledge Leaders Capital has no control over the accuracy or content of information contained on these sites. Although we make every effort to ensure such links are accurate, up to date and relevant, we have no control over pages maintained by external providers. The views expressed by these external providers on their own web pages or on external sites they link to are not necessarily those of Knowledge Leaders Capital.

The information listed on this blog is for example purposes only and should not be construed as the investment Advisor’s opinion or investment outlook. As of the most recent quarter end, the named companies may have been held by the investment Advisor. For full information including additional policies and full disclosures on the Advisor, please visit our website KnowledgeLeadersCapital.com.

An investor cannot invest directly in an index. Any reference to Index performance does not represent the performance of any investment product offered by Knowledge Leaders Capital, LLC. The performance of client account may vary from the Index performance. Index returns shown are not reflective of actual investor performance nor do they reflect fees and expenses applicable to investing. The Index data is the property of Knowledge Leaders Capital, LLC, which has contracted with SolactiveAG to calculate and maintain the indexes.

The launch date of the Knowledge Leaders Knowledge Leaders Developed World Index (Bloomberg ticker KNLGX is 7/1/14 and the base date of the index calculation is 3/31/2000. The launch date of the Knowledge Leaders Emerging Markets Index (Bloomberg ticker KNLGEX) is 9/2/14 and the base date of the index calculation is 4/1/2005. The launch date of the Knowledge Leaders International Index (Bloomberg ticker KNLGINX) is 8/15/16 and the base date of the index calculation is 3/31/2000. The launch date of the Knowledge Leaders United States Index (Bloomberg ticker KNLGUSX) is 8/15/16 and the base date of the index calculation is 3/31/2000. The launch date of the Knowledge Leaders Developed World ADR Index (Bloomberg ticker KNLGAX) is 9/13/16 and the base date of the index calculation is 3/31/2000. The launch date of the Knowledge Leaders International ADR Index (Bloomberg ticker KNLGINAX) is 8/30/16 and the base date of the index calculation is 3/31/2000.

The returns of the Index prior to the launch date are based on applying the rules in effect as of the launch date retroactively to historical periods to and including the base date. Results are not based on an Index that was maintained in real time. The pre-inception performance results of the Index are hypothetical returns which have been compiled by Knowledge Leaders Capital. The performance results are based upon a hypothetical model. Hypothetical performance results may have inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account did or was likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are prepared with the benefit of hindsight. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading strategy which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all of which can adversely affect actual trading results. These returns should not be considered as indicative of the skills of the investment adviser.To obtain additional index methodology and constituent components, please visit KnowledgeLeadersCapital.com.

Companies are selected for “Spotlights” based on high levels of innovation activities in their industries and illustrate innovation being employed across all sectors and geographies. Spotlight selection is separate from stock selection by the investment team. Spotlights are not necessarily representative of investment opportunities and can be selected regardless of investment performance.