Investment Insights
A Fresh Perspective on Wealth Management
Whether you are just getting started on your wealth management journey or looking for a new direction, The ETF Store provides a diverse set of resources to help you make informed decisions. We pride ourselves on offering investment insights to both new and seasoned investors.
Peculiar Markets, Inflation, & the Fed
The first half of 2022 will go down as one of the more challenging market environments many investors have ever experienced. The S&P 500 fell 20%, its worst performance at the midway point of a year since 1970, 52 years ago. Broad U.S. bonds delivered their worst start to a year in history, down 11%. Investors would be forgiven if they thought bonds might offer some salvation during a stock bear market. Coming into the year, bonds had posted positive returns in 42 out of the past 46 years, with an average intra-year drop of only 3.1%. However, stocks and
ETF Prime – Upcoming Guest Lineup
One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds.” – Bloomberg BusinessWeek In addition to the following guests, be sure to catch our weekly segment with the experts at VettaFi! Subscribe to receive the latest ETF Prime podcast directly to your inbox. July 5th – Jim Smigiel, Chief Investment Officer at SEI, discusses the $1.3 trillion asset manager’s recent foray into ETFs. Nancy Davis, Founder & Chief Investment Officer at Quadratic Capital Management, talks key considerations for bond investors and spotlights their Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF (IVOL). July 12th – Bob
3 Keys in Changing Markets
The Russia-Ukraine war, accelerating inflation, and rising interest rates dominated headlines during the first quarter of 2022, which witnessed stocks and bonds uncharacteristically declining at the same time. It’s no surprise to see stocks occasionally post losses given the average intra-year decline in the S&P 500 since 1980 is about 14%. However, broad investment grade bonds – typically viewed as a ballast in a diversified portfolio – experienced their worst quarterly performance since 1980. Bond prices tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates, which spiked during the quarter. For most investors, this atypical environment created a situation
ETF Prime – Upcoming Guest Lineup
One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds.” – Bloomberg BusinessWeek In addition to the following guests, be sure to catch our weekly segment with the experts at ETF Trends and ETF Database! Subscribe to receive the latest ETF Prime podcast directly to your inbox. April 5th – Matt Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research at SSGA, talks ETF flows, actively managed ETFs, and current financial markets. Mamadou-Abou Sarr, Co-Founder & President of V-Square Quantitative Management, spotlights the V-Shares US Leadership Diversity ETF (VDNI). April 13th – Live from Exchange: An ETF Experience,
Market Sideshows, Diversification, and the Fed
Successful investors have an uncanny ability to ignore financial market sideshows, embrace diversification, focus on longer-term goals, and exercise patience when things aren’t working well. This hasn’t exactly been easy over the past two years, which featured a harrowing 34% drop in the S&P 500 during 2020 and subsequent historic recovery, high-flying meme stocks and crypto assets distracting investor attention, the continued underperformance of international stocks, and a constant deluge of alarming headlines. 2021 might best be characterized as the year financial markets “jumped the shark”. Consider some of the many market sideshows witnessed last year. Stocks such as GameStop
ETF Prime – Upcoming Guest Lineup
One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds.” – Bloomberg BusinessWeek In addition to the following guests, be sure to catch our weekly segment with the experts at ETF Trends and ETF Database! Subscribe to receive the latest ETF Prime podcast directly to your inbox. January 4th – Meb Faber, Co-Founder & CIO of Cambria Investment Management, discusses global stock valuations and potential 2022 market drivers. James Seyffart, ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, previews the year in ETFs. January 11th – Jeremy Schwartz, Global Chief Investment Officer at WisdomTree, explains the RWM WisdomTree
Threading the Needle
The S&P 500 barely managed a gain during the third quarter, which featured an uptick in volatility driven by growing inflation concerns, the U.S. debt ceiling debate, and negative headlines out of China. Notably, the S&P 500 ended a streak of 227 days since its last 5% decline, the 7th longest such streak on record. Most other asset classes – from small cap U.S. stocks to international stocks to investment grade bonds – all closed negative. While the debt ceiling debate and Chinese turmoil are causing some anxiety, the prospect for sustained inflation is the largest driver of investor unease
ETF Prime – Upcoming Guest Lineup
One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds.” – Bloomberg BusinessWeek In addition to the following guests, be sure to catch our weekly segment with the experts at ETF Trends and ETF Database! Subscribe to receive the latest ETF Prime podcast directly to your inbox. October 5th – Katie Koch, Co-Head of Fundamental Equity for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, discusses their approach to thematic ETFs. Harley Bassman, Managing Partner of Simplify ETFs, offers perspective on the Fed, yield curve, and what lies ahead for the financial markets. October 12th – Maurits Pot, Founder
The Pause That Refreshes
The second quarter of 2021 might best be characterized as “the pause that refreshes”. After a chaotic first quarter – and certainly 2020 – the past three months felt mostly “normal”, if we can use that word these days. There were no elections or political riots. The pandemic is waning, at least in the U.S. Day-to-day life is taking on more of an ordinary feel. On the investing front, global equities are sitting near record highs and bond yields near historic lows. If nothing else, the quarter offered an opportunity for investors to catch their breath and take stock of
ETF Prime – Upcoming Guest Lineup
One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds.” – Bloomberg BusinessWeek In addition to the following guests, be sure to catch our weekly segment with the experts at ETF Trends and ETF Database! Subscribe to receive the latest ETF Prime podcast directly to your inbox. July 6th – Eric Ervin, CEO of Blockforce Capital & Co-Founder of Onramp Invest, weighs-in on the recent crypto bear market and what’s next for the space. Darren Schuringa, CEO & Founder of ASYMmetric ETFs, spotlights the ASYMmetric 500 ETF (ASPY). July 13th – Burton Malkiel, CIO at
