Blog Posts

Each year, J.P. Morgan comes out with its long-term capital market assumptions (LTCMAs), which cover a 10-15 year horizon. These cover a range of projections to help think through what kind of returns are expected and what they mean for strategic allocation decisions.   Key Takeaways – J.P. Morgan Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions These are […]

Day trading is a bit of a different job. It can be fast, unpredictable, unforgiving. Every click, every hesitation, every impulse is tied to something deeper: motivation. Unlike other fields, where long-term rewards or passive effort might suffice, day trading demands moment-to-moment commitment. This makes motivation not just a starting point but an ongoing necessity. […]

CTA ETFs, or systematic ETFs, offer retail and institutional investors access to managed futures strategies – typically the domain of hedge funds and institutional separate accounts – via a liquid, exchange-traded format.  These ETFs aim to replicate the core features of Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) strategies: trend-following exposure across asset classes, long/short flexibility, and low […]

In previous articles, we discussed that asset prices are a function of who’s buying and selling, the relative sizes of these buyers, and their motivations. Pension plan types affect pricing in markets, which in turn may have implications in your own trading and allocation decisions. This topic was covered in the following paper – Asset […]

Lots of people participate in markets – an estimated 62% of US adults (individual stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts, etc.). But many people participate, but don’t participate in them in the way that fits their natural preferences. A recent paper – What Drives Investors’ Portfolio Choices? Separating Risk Preferences from Frictions – looked at this […]

What are Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)? How do you get ahold of them? Can you trade them? We cover all of this in this article.   Key Takeaways – Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) PGMs are six ultra-rare, chemically related metals, which are primarily used as industrial catalysts, not monetary metals or stores of value. Demand […]

Portfolio margin is a method of determining margin requirements that brokers use to evaluate the overall risk of a client’s portfolio. Unlike traditional margin accounts, which typically calculate requirements based solely on individual securities (e.g., Reg-T), portfolio margin accounts use a risk-based model. This approach looks at the entire portfolio’s potential for loss in varying […]

Closed-End Funds (CEFs) are a type of investment fund that pools money from investors to buy a diversified portfolio of assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or other securities.  Unlike mutual funds or ETFs (exchange-traded funds), CEFs have a fixed number of shares issued at their initial public offering (IPO) and are traded on […]

Multi-asset leveraged ETFs are a way to diversify asset exposures while also taking on more risk – for ideally higher return. These are for traders looking for higher returns who don’t want to manage the exposures and trades themselves, while also having higher risk tolerance. They typically include equity futures, along with assets like bonds […]

Diversification is one of the most valuable things you can have as a trader or investor. It increases your ability to keep things chugging along without suffering unacceptable losses and underwater periods. Even if you buy a bunch of stocks, they mostly move up and down together. You can go into other things like bonds […]