Grant Engelbart
Mid-Year Earnings Recap
Nearly all S&P 500 companies have reported earnings for the second quarter of 2025, with the notable exception of Nvidia, which we will cover in detail next week. Spoiler alert: earnings results were quite solid despite the uncertainties. A.I. companies shined, particularly in the “Mag 7” (as we discuss here and here), but there were …
Grant Engelbart
August 20, 2025
Momentum for the Second Half
In our writings and conversations about the markets or portfolios, it would be rare for a mention of momentum not to come up (see a couple of recent writings here and here). Either via the market’s continued strong momentum off of the April lows, or the factor itself — which we utilize in portfolios as …
Grant Engelbart
July 14, 2025
Yield and Total Return, Friends or Foes?
Let’s go back to basics (it’s not quite back-to-school time) to discuss a topic that can occasionally cause communication issues for investors of all types. While the yield to maturity on an individual bond is typically the best predictor of total return, as we’ve noted in many of our Market Outlooks, the current yield on …
Grant Engelbart
June 26, 2025
ETFs and Taxes: A Quick Refresher
Bloomberg reported this week that the number of listed, actively managed ETFs now exceeds passive ETFs for the first time, although assets in active ETFs remain significantly lower. This milestone comes as the “ETF as a share-class structure” gains traction, potentially paving the way for even more active strategies to enter the market. There are …
Grant Engelbart
June 18, 2025
How Have Active Managers Navigated 2025?
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” – Warren Buffett. An apt quote at this part of the year, as we head towards the Berkshire annual shareholder meeting to pay homage to one of the best active managers of all time. The first four months of this year have …
Grant Engelbart
May 1, 2025
When in Doubt, Diversify It Out
What a week it has been — days that feel like weeks, weeks that feel like months. The last two weeks have seen the largest intraday market moves we have experienced since the depths of the COVID pandemic in March of 2020 and 2008 before that, periods marked with enormous uncertainty. Even though we saw …
Grant Engelbart
April 11, 2025
Offense and Defense in 2025
March Madness is a fantastic time of year to talk about playing offense and defense. As we wrote about in our 2025 outlook and have revisited a time or two since, in markets you can play offense with momentum and defense with low volatility. Combining these together in portfolios builds resiliency – something investors have …
Grant Engelbart
March 28, 2025
Using Valuations to Cut Through the Noise
There is never a dull moment in financial markets, which can be both the attraction to and distraction of our industry. The start to 2025 is, of course, no exception. A strong economic backdrop and calm start to the year has given way to headline risk and even more over-analysis of economic data, Fed speak, …
Grant Engelbart
March 13, 2025
What’s Next for Crypto?
Digital assets had another great year in 2024, led by strength in Bitcoin and ETF inflows, catalyzed further by the new administration. However, as we enter more volatility in February of 2025, the prospect of higher prices now appears to be in question. Bitcoin hovers around 22% below its all-time high, but other major digital …
Grant Engelbart
February 28, 2025
2024 Year in Review: ETF Edition
This time of year has no shortage of year-end reviews and year-ahead prognostications, with none other than our own 2025 outlook releasing in mere days. I want to take a look at the year that was through the lens of various Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), their asset growth, returns, and problems solved for investors along the …
Grant Engelbart
January 9, 2025