Blog

Stock Picks in the European Technology Sector June 10, 2015

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Portfolio Management

For the last five years the European technology sector has been locked in a trading range relative to the MSCI All Country World Index (USD). Recently, however, European technology stocks have been performing quite well. On an equal weighted basis, they have been the second…

June is Out… But 2015 Lift-off Still On June 08, 2015

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets

Looking at Fed Funds futures contracts, it would appear that the fixed income market has ruled out a June rate hike but is coming back to the idea of a 2015 lift-off. Currently June fed funds future are spot on the current effective fed funds…

WHITE PAPER – The Gavekal Knowledge Leaders Indexes: Capturing the Excess Returns of Highly Innovative Companies June 04, 2015

By Steven Vannelli, CFA in Knowledge Leaders

A rich academic history suggests equity returns can be explained by risk exposures, or factors. In our first white paper, we identified the Knowledge Effect, the tendency of highly innovative companies to experience excess returns. In this second report, we detail how we create the…

US Corporate Profit Margins Are Coming Back Down To Earth May 29, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in News

Today wasn’t the best day for US economic releases. The 2nd revision of 1Q GDP was (unsurprisingly) revised down from 0.2% to -0.7%. The release that caught our eye, however, was the initial release of corporate profits in the US for the first quarter. After-tax…

Inflation Expectations Are Turning Back Over In The US May 28, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Economy

TIPS derived breakeven inflation expectations have started to fall once again in May. For a little context, starting in last June, breakeven inflation started a steady march lower that lasted until January of this year. Since that time, we have seen a rebound in inflation…

Knowledge Leaders Are Outperforming YTD May 27, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Knowledge Leaders

In our white paper “The Knowledge Effect: Excess Returns Of Highly Innovative Companies”, we identified a stock market pricing anomaly in highly innovative companies. The tendency of stocks of highly innovative companies to experience excess returns can be traced back to two main factors: A…

Decline in Sentix Euro Break-Up Survey May 27, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in News

The 1,000 or so participants in Sentix’s monthly survey of whether or not a country will leave the euro collectively decided that the risk has subsided (slightly): The decline to 41% (from nearly 50% in April) was mostly attributable to risks related to Greece’s membership…

San Francisco Real Estate Is 75% Above Housing Crisis Lows May 26, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in News

The latest (March) Case-Shiller Home Price Index was released this morning and there were several noteworthy data points in the report. First, our 3-month diffusion index that measures the number of cities where prices are higher now than they were three months ago increased by…

European And Asian Stocks Are Approaching Overbought Levels May 22, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Markets

Unlike the majority of this six year old bull market, European and Asian stocks are outperforming North American stocks in 2015 (yes even measured in USD). Asian stocks are nearly 12% higher, European stocks are nearly 10% higher and North America stocks are just about…

Longer Term Trends Have Reasserted Itself In May May 21, 2015

By Knowledge Leaders Team in Markets

Remember back in April when we noted how equity trends had completely flip-flopped during the first several weeks of the second quarter and we wondered aloud whether this was a trend change or simply a counter-trend rally? Well, so far in May the market is…

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

Any reference to Index performance does not represent the performance of any investment product offered by Knowledge Leaders Capital, LLC. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. 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.

Companies are selected for “Spotlights” based on high levels of innovation activities in their respective 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 or inclusion as a KLC holding.