Today I thought I’d provide an update on the performance of the Alpha/Active portfolio compared to the passive portfolio. To recap, I run two portfolios simultaneously. One is an Alpha portfolio where I try to beat a benchmark passive 60/40 portfolio. For those of you who are new to investing, an Alpha or active investment […]
Category: Equities
Bye bye money printing
Money printing or more accurately called credit creation is the driving force behind economic growth and bull markets. How do we correctly measure money creation? There are two ways real economy money is created: Contrary to popular opinion, when central banks pursue quantitative easing (QE) they don’t create real economy money, instead bank reserves are […]
Economic and portfolio update – Mar 6th
finding balance can be tough (385 words – 3 min read) Big news this week as two new positions are added to the Alpha portfolio. Key economic stats It all comes back to jobs, if you got one all is good. On the other hand J. Powell is looking for rising unemployment to declare victory […]
Economic and Portfolio Update – Feb 27th
(690 words – 6 minute read) This is my weekly update on the state of the economy and the ETF portfolio asset allocation models. Key economic stats Statistically speaking, there’s no clear signal here as the data is either good or bad. For example, surging mortgage rates lead to a monster +8.1% rise in existing […]
Dr. Copper what’s up?
(445 words, ~4 min read) Short one today as everything has quieted down since Powell spoke on Tuesday. It’s never a bad idea to see how copper is trading. The metal is used to make just about everything. So, its behavior can help us assess risk in the market. Dr. Copper sees a higher probability […]
Chair Powell step up to the microphone
(482 words – 4 minute read) Will Chair J. Powell step up to the microphone and tell speculators that risky assets have no business trading at these elevated levels? I dunno, but it’s all that matters today. Powell speaks at noon today, so be prepared for heighted volatility. I wonder if Powell changes his dovish […]
Statistical error
(580 words, ~4 minute read) Statistical error? The NFP (non-farm payroll data) data release blew away economist estimates making the entire series a joke today. Seriously, economists consensus expectations was for +188k jobs created in January, but the data came in at +517k. On Wednesday the FOMC talked about the effect of recent rate hikes […]
Paid to wait
(600 words, ~4 minute read) It was tough to squeeze all the important moments, but I think it turned out okay. Paid to wait. That’s the approach to start this year. A defensive approach due to tight monetary conditions and questionable future growth. It’s been a long time since investors could hide out in cash […]
Trifecta Week
(544 words, ~3 minute read) The first week of February is shaping up to be a beauty with the Fed, ECB, and NFP on tap. Not very often do we get a week this jam packed and it reminds me the first week of the NHL payoffs. Action all round. Below is a summary of […]
How to play the Fed into year end
How to play the Fed into year end? An interesting question that’s on everyone’s mind after yesterday’s FOMC meeting. The FOMC hiked the terminal rate by 75bps. Not a surprise, the hike was baked into the market, but Powell’s comments afterwards during the press conference were not. Thereby illuminating year end investment decisions. Here’s how […]
