Blog Posts

Originally published on Feb 7, 2021 AQR recently published its report on its expectations for asset class returns over the medium-term – i.e., next 5-10 years. This covers the following asset classes: – US equities – Non-US developed market equities – Emerging market equities – US high-yield credit – US investment-grade (IG) credit – US […]

GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) made a notable run, ignited by a social media frenzy that took on a life its own. We discussed more of the backstory in other articles, such as here. There was a pop and that eventually faded. This was inevitable, as these companies – and other widely shorted small caps […]

In short, GameStop (GME) mania began when some smart retail traders started hyping up a stock on social media with some peculiar characteristics: 1. It had a low valuation. Its price reached a low of $2.57 per share. That valued the once-popular video game and consumer electronics retailer at only a couple hundred million dollars. […]

This article was published on January 26, 2021. There is a new paradigm in monetary and fiscal policy. This has implications for investing in a zero interest rate environment. For a brief refresher, there are three broad categories of monetary policy (which has been covered in other articles in more depth). i) Adjustment of short-term […]

This article was published on January 23, 2021. Envisioning the next major military war and its impact on financial markets (and, of course, the world) is difficult, as the range of unknowns is so high. But one thing we should acknowledge is that it’s likely to be much more brutal than most would imagine. World […]

Consumer staples are among the most stable types of stocks that return fairly consistently. The volatility of stocks is one of the main reasons why many traders and investors are hesitant to commit to them. What are consumer staples and what makes them attractive? Certain businesses involve selling products people need to physically live. This […]

This article was published on January 16, 2021. The geopolitical war occurring between the US and China is one of the many conflicts occurring between the two countries, including: i) trade and economic ii) capital (currency, debt, capital markets) iii) technology iv) geopolitical v) military As we’ve mentioned in other articles, understanding these various conflicts are important for traders and […]

The technology war is a particularly serious conflict within the scope of US-China relations. Both countries know that whoever is superior technologically will also be superior in most other ways. Whoever wins the technology war is also very likely to win the economic and military wars as well. For this reason, the technology war is […]

This article was published on January 11, 2021 US-China relations, and the capital war conflict within it, is and will be a big driver of markets going forward and is important to understand even for those with shorter-term trading orientations. The same things tend to happen over and over again for the same reasons historically. […]

Market participants are always looking to maximize their reward relative to their risk. One of the best ways to have the big upside without having the unacceptable downside is through the efficient use of options and derivatives. In this article, we’ll go through building a balanced portfolio with options. Options can provide leveraged returns with […]