Blog

What’s Behind the Breakout in Gold? February 20, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy, Markets

This week’s breakout in gold is an epic expression of our times in which potential economic problems are quickly followed by massive actual and expected responses by central banks and governments. The problem de jour (for both markets and the public) is of course the…

Spotlight Illumina: Unlocking DNA to Protect Humanity from Disease (Including Coronavirus) February 20, 2020

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

When companies commit to investing in innovation, the results compound over time, leading them to possess deep reservoirs of knowledge. We call these companies Knowledge Leaders, and such is the case for San Diego, California-based Illumina, the world leader in DNA sequencing and the No….

A JOLT to Job Openings & Asset Expectations February 11, 2020

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy

This morning the monthly job openings and labor turnover (JOLTS) report was released, and it came in significantly shy of expectations. While Bloomberg’s consensus estimate was for 6.925 million job openings, the actual number came in at 6.423. It is important to keep in mind…

A Recovery, But of the Square Root Variety February 06, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy

Regular readers of this blog and of our other commentary know that we have been been looking for some kind of cyclical rebound in economic activity starting in the first quarter of 2020. By many indications, we are getting just that, and right on time….

Coronavirus – The Intangible Investor Podcast, Ep. 8 February 04, 2020

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Podcasts

How will the coronavirus and quarantine impact China’s economy? Steve looks at what’s happened so far in China’s currency and fixed income markets. Bryce shares new data that casts doubt on comparisons to SARS, indicating coronavirus could be a much bigger deal. On The Intangible…

Why Coronavirus is Scary for Financial Markets January 31, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy, Markets

As we write, US stocks are down about 1.6% on the day, foreign developed market stocks are down 1.8%, and emerging market stocks are down about 2.4%. This type of corrective action did not really come as a surprise to us. Indeed just two weeks…

Short Anatomy of a Sell-Off January 31, 2020

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

Sell-offs can start for any number of endogenous or exogenous events. A mentor used to tell me, “There are a million reasons to sell a stock, but one reason to buy.” What he meant was that there are always personal reasons to sell: tuition is…

What is Driving US Treasury Rates Lower in 2020? January 29, 2020

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets

10-Year US Treasury yields are down about 30bps so far this year, continuing the trend of lower rates that began in the fall of 2018 and confounding investor expectations for rising rates which would validate a turn up in economic activity. The primary driver of…

New All-time Highs on Declining Breadth is Reason for Caution January 16, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Markets

There are a number of factors that have us tactically concerned about a period of over-exuberance among equity investors. Those include record low put/call ratios and extreme inflows into equity ETFs. But among the more troubling facts of late is the breakdown in breadth we…

When Companies Invest in the Future – The Intangible Investor Podcast, Ep. 7 January 09, 2020

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Podcasts

Have you ever wondered why innovative companies seem to beat expectations time and again? Bryce explains how investing in intellectual property can skew a company’s earnings and discusses some of the sectors and companies leading this trend. What will the recent drop in net savings…

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.