Articles authored by Grant Engelbart

Investment factors are characteristics of securities that explain their risk and return profiles over time. Factors such as value (buying inexpensive stocks), momentum (systematically owning recent outperformers), quality (high margin, low debt, high return on capital businesses), minimum/low volatility (stocks exhibiting lower beta or standard deviation), and size (small caps- lower market cap stocks), have …

The second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, has now made its way into US-listed exchange-traded funds. Last Tuesday, the SEC greenlit 9 products (one conversion) to begin trading in  a quiet and almost unexpected launch, especially relative to the craze seen earlier in the year surrounding Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum was the logical approval after …

Well, that didn’t take long. Since the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday- presumably waiting on continued solid data supporting their case – the data confirmed otherwise. Thursday’s set of economic data saw initial jobless claims rise to their highest level in a year, alongside a weak manufacturing ISM number. Stocks fell …

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting concluded Wednesday, leaving target interest rates unchanged, almost exactly a year after raising rates to their current level. In their statement and press conference, the committee acknowledged moderation of the labor market and the move higher in the unemployment rate. Chair Powell went beyond hinting when referring to …

We cover a lot of ground in our 2024 Midyear Outlook, but one area worth diving into more is non-US equities. Over the past 15 years, international stocks have only outperformed the U.S. stock market in 12.5% of rolling 12-month periods, not exactly compelling! This year has not started off any different, with the S&P …

Small cap stocks have been left in the dust by their larger-cap cousins since early 2023, with a few fits and starts along the way. Small caps showed strength coming out of the 2022 lows but were unable to build on their momentum as the Fed continued to raise interest rates until the summer of …

Omaha in May brings value investors from around the world to the ‘Woodstock of Capitalism,’ a chance to listen to Warren Buffett opine on life and his latest investments. The event serves as a good reminder to take time to step back and look at the long term. After an April swoon, a May rebound, …

We’ve written a lot recently (here, here, and here) on the recent backup in yields as Fed Reserve interest rate cuts have been repriced following hotter-than-expected inflation and stronger-than-expected economic growth. Interest rate volatility as measured by the MOVE Index, the VIX’s cousin but for bonds instead of stocks, has also subsequently picked back up …

Another strong quarter in markets can be met with skepticism if the fundamentals are not keeping up with price returns. Quarter end is a great time to dive in and take a look at the health of equity performance this year, and see where the opportunities are here and abroad. Earnings As we say often, …

Happy Pi Day to all those math fans out there! Math is nothing new to traditional finance (Tradfi), and math serves as a cornerstone of the blockchain technology that underpins the world of cryptocurrencies, perhaps more appropriately referred to as digital assets. Blockchain technology and it’s features such as security, immutability, decentralization, and ever-increasing use …