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Here’s Why 2/3rds of US Oil & Gas Companies May not Exist a Year from Now April 21, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy, Markets

Energy companies are facing a life or death moment in 2020 with the price of WTI crude oil falling to $13.64/barrel as of this writing. Indeed the collapse in energy prices combined with poor fundamentals leading into the COVID crisis make most of the oil…

Spotlight Naver: South Korea’s Top Search Engine Dominates with Web Cartoons March 25, 2020

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

With 30 million daily users, South Korea’s top search engine is focused not on the desktop, but rather the phones in people’s pockets, cars, city streets and shops, aiming to connect people with each other, shopping and entertainment. To do so, the firm relies on…

Welcome to the Death Throes of 60:40 Diversification March 11, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

Back in the good ole’ days of mid-January, asset allocators could look to long-duration US government bonds as a refuge for stormy weather. Those days are no longer. In recent weeks investors have panic bought into this supposed safety asset to a degree never before…

Why the Fed Cut Rates by 50bps: Will it Help? March 03, 2020

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, News

Despite the relief rally yesterday, financial conditions have tightened significantly in the last couple weeks. This likely explains why the Fed just made an emergency 50bps cut to the fed funds rate. The graph below highlights that the two main areas of weaker financial conditions…

Spotlight Energy Recovery: Changing Economics Where Fluids Flow March 03, 2020

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

What began as a breakthrough device for filtering saltwater in 1992 has – through a commitment to innovation ever since — transformed Energy Recovery Inc. into the most innovative industrials company in the world, as measured by R&D as a percent of sales. According to…

Anatomy of a Panic Selloff February 28, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Markets

Anyone reading this post already knows that palpable panic has set into equity markets over recent days. We present these charts to highlight the extreme nature of the selloff so far, and as a reminder of the rarity of these events. In times like this,…

Mid-Quarter Update: Prognosis Negative February 28, 2020

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, News

Widespread underperformance of Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks is a significant negative indicator for US stocks in our view. In this special report, we present charts of the 30 Dow stocks relative to long-duration US treasury bonds and gold for the last five years. Spoiler:…

How Deep Will This Selloff Go? The Intangible Investor Podcast, Ep. 10 February 27, 2020

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Podcasts

Bryce analyzes the indicators, looking for green shoots and signs of a bottom. Steve finds new data from PredictIt indicating the market’s move toward safe havens may have more to do with a Trump reelection than a Sanders nomination. On The Intangible Investor Podcast, Bryce…

A Selloff, But Not An Actionable Low…Yet February 25, 2020

By Bryce Coward, CFA in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

Watching while the largest equity market in the world falls by a whopping 8% in four trading days brings us back to the 2008-2009 meltdown period of the financial crisis. Normally an 8% drop in such a short time frame would present an interesting intermediate-term…

Ready for Action? February 24, 2020

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, News

Former Fed Governor and now professor at the University of Rochester, Narayana Kocherlakota penned the following short opinion piece in Bloomberg this morning: Fed Shouldn’t Wait to Cut Interest Rates: Narayana Kocherlakota By Narayana Kocherlakota The world economy is facing a material risk in the…

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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.