The last 50-55 days have been a whirlwind. We’ve seen a lot of things that would normally upset the markets and yet the market continues higher. The Wall of worry continues to be scaled.  The markets got to  zones that our Chief Market Strategist Dan Russo called out on the down side and back on

Growth, Value, Blend…Large, Small and Mid. We are all familiar with the traditional style buckets for equity allocation. At the same time there is the option to invest in fixed income, commodities and alts to have diversification across asset classes. But what about innovation? Innovation is defined as 1) a new idea, method, or device

The following US Equity ETFs seem ripe for immediate action. INVESCO DYNAMIC MARKET ETF (PWC) SPDR S&P 400 MID CAP GRW ETF (MDYG) INVESCO S&P SMCP CONSR DISCR (PSCD) ISHARES PHLX SEMICONDCTR ETF (SOXX) VANGUARD REAL ESTATE ETF (VNQ) ISHARES SELECT DIVIDEND ETF (DVY) REALITY SHARES DIVS ETF (DIVY) FIRST TRUST NATURAL GAS (FCG)  

Last week, I complained that mathematical inertia induced by market-capitalization weighting is messing up the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) through  exorbitant exposure to FANMAG  I have nothing against FANMAG companies per se, but overemphasis is not what passive indexing is supposed to be about Smart Beta, which now means pretty much what anybody wants

As protests and riots make 2020 an even more gravely difficult year, I think many of us are astounded by the reaction the stock market has had.  If someone had put you in a time capsule on the first of November 2019 when the S&P 500 was at 3,060 and blasted you to June 1st,

What usually fits better: off the rack clothing or a tailored garment to your exact proportions?  Asset Allocation Models From Investment Companies Are the “Off-the-Rack” of Models As advisors, you wear so many hats in your firm, at times you may be so distracted that taking a pre-built model from a large investment company may

Ralph Acompora, the “Godfather” of Technical Analysis, has made many interesting comments about the market throughout his career. The title of this post is one of his and it is top of mind for many investors right now. Rotation plays out under the surface of the market. While many people are caught up in the

Holding ETFs is great because you don’t have to investigate every name of every industry to pick winners With the rise of FANMAG as the dominant names, a lot of ETFs, which are market cap weighted, have become proxies for FANMAG The FANG/FANMAG phenomenon is more than just a cute acronym. It’s a serious factor

The Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer.  It definitely felt a little odd this year, as none of the parades and celebrations were occurring.  Usually people are out at barbeques in big gatherings, commonly playing field games- one of my childhood favorites was Tug O’ War.  The U.S. stock market is now

I skew bearish. It’s not my fault really, I was imprinted early in my career. As I have written in the past, I began my career on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in January 2000 with bright eyes toward the future. The dawn of a new millennium in the midst of a

When Willie Sutton, the iconic Depression era folk-hero, was asked by a reporter why he robbed banks, he famously replied, “because that’s where the money is”. For advisors who allocate client assets to stocks as well as ETFs, finding those stocks that add alpha to a portfolio is the holy grail. Using a simple, top

While most advisors or even affluent self-directed investors are familiar with the large number of Equity and Bond ETF options, many don’t realize just how expansive the ETF “jungle” of a universe really is. Whether it be theme-based, strategy-based, hedges or even annuities, you name it and there is likely an ETF for that! Let