Portfolio Management

Tale of the Tape: Equity Investors More Concerned About Rising Inflation Than Slowing Growth July 23, 2018

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Knowledge Leaders, Portfolio Management

We calculate statistics for all developed and emerging equity markets around the world. For our mid/large cap indexes, we take the top 85% of all stocks in a given region or country and convert all prices into US Dollars. These Knowledge Leaders Selection Universe (KLSU)…

Mid-Quarter Update: The Monetary Policy Pitchfork June 15, 2018

Posted by Knowledge Leaders Team in Economy, Markets, News, Portfolio Management

The big three central banks (Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan) met this week to review their monetary stance. In this mid-quarter update, we share our analysis, The Monetary Policy Pitchfork. Summary: After a decade of emergency monetary policy, the major…

Semiconductor Leadership Highlights the Rotation Into Value Stocks June 06, 2018

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Knowledge Leaders, Portfolio Management

Semiconductor and semiconductor capital equipment stocks have been stellar performers lately, a trend we have been a bit slow to recognize. So, I decided to do a deep dive on semis and semiconductor capital equipment stocks to see if there is opportunity left to capture….

Quarterly Strategy Update: Volatility Shocks & Dollar Bears April 26, 2018

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

Price excesses have built up over a long bull market. Stocks are expensive, and the volatility shock wave is traveling the globe. This quarter, we discuss the risks correlated with the current volatility, potential new sources of instability, and the sectors that could be the…

Energy Stocks Are Starting to Flow April 05, 2018

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

Energy stocks are looking lively today, with energy the best performing sector in the US and second best performing sector in Europe. The likely reason for the buoyant performance is a continued improvement in fundamentals. Inventory data released yesterday showed a steady decline in crude…

Navigating a USD Bear Market with Equity Factors February 27, 2018

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Knowledge Leaders, Markets, Portfolio Management

The US Dollar appears to have entered a new bear market. In this mid-quarter update, we analyze equity factors and their performance tendencies in recent USD bull and bear markets. Download the slides for Navigating a USD Bear Market with Equity Factors. Questions? Email us at investmenteam@klcapital.com.

Bifurcated Energy Sector Performance Presents Opportunity February 13, 2018

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

Year-to-date the energy sector is the worst performing sector in the developed markets. In the tables below, I highlight statistics from our Knowledge Leaders Selection Universe (KLSU) which captures the top 85% of market cap in the developed and emerging markets. The KLSU DM Energy…

Quarterly Strategy Update: Breaking Out & Breaking Down January 26, 2018

Posted by Knowledge Leaders Team in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

Oil prices have pushed through resistance and are breaking out while the US dollar has pushed through support and is breaking down. All of the major industrial commodity prices are moving in lock step, while the global economy appears to be accelerating led by the…

Special Report on the Energy Industry December 14, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

We expect momentum in the energy sector and resource-related currencies to continue into 2018. In this mid-quarter update to investors, we analyze what this means for the market. In summary: Oil prices are testing resistance, and if they can break out, there is significant upside. Oil…

Cash is an Asset Class Again! November 30, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

In a US Dollar bull market with interest rates at zero, cash is rightfully dismissed as a non-asset class. But, when the US Dollar is in a bear cycle, things change, irrespective of what US interest rates are. There are a handful of indicators we…

Shifting Currents in the US Treasury Market October 03, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

Employing basic bond math, we can decompose the US Treasury bond into two pieces: real rates and break-even inflation expectations. Because real rates (TIPS) and nominal rates (US Treasuries) are directly observable, break-even inflation is relatively easy to determine. Taking this logic one step further,…

Back to the Future: A US Dollar Bear Market? September 08, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Economy, Markets, Portfolio Management

This slide package is our Knowledge Leaders Strategy mid-quarter update and can be downloaded at the link below. The discussion is broken into three sections: SECTION 1: History does not support the view that the USD is propped up by a monetary tightening cycle. The…

Investing in Gold for RICs August 29, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Portfolio Management

For retail investors, there are a few vehicles for exposure to gold. The SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) and the iShares Gold ETF (IAU) are the biggest, lowest cost funds for retail investors. Below are charts of the GLD and the IAU, with price and USD…

How to Play the Gold Break-Out in Fixed Income Markets August 28, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

Today gold is trading over $1,305, for the first time since November 4, 2016. The breakdown in the USD Index last week was a good signal telegraphing the short-term breakout in gold. Gold is notoriously difficult to value, but we have found one relationship that…

No Matter How You Slice It, the Crude Oil Market is Coming into Balance August 17, 2017

Posted by Steven Vannelli, CFA in Markets, Portfolio Management

As the title suggests, any way we slice the data, it appears that the crude oil market is coming into balance to a greater extent than is generally recognized. This has broad asset allocation implications. There are two basic ways we look at balance in…

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.