By CHRIS KONSTANTINOS CFA® Managing Partner | Chief Investment Strategist Economy Too Strong, Inflation Too Low for Concern Just Yet SUMMARY Concerns around a 1970s-style ‘stagflation’ have been rising, in our view. We believe these concerns are currently overstated. Today, inflation and unemployment are much lower, and growth more stable than in the...

In the first quarter, S&P 500 member firms repurchased $236.8 billion worth of their own shares. This marks a nearly 10% increase on a YoY basis. That implies the 1% excise tax on net buybacks hasn’t been a major detriment to this form of shareholder reward. Likewise, it can also be argued that S&P-500-tracking ETFs derive [...] The post Buybacks...

By Kimberly Woody Summer complacency reigns. The momentum trade is in, and no amount of geopolitical unrest, political squabbling, or signs of consumer weakness seem capable of taking the wind out of the sails. Two politically weighty felony convictions did little more than trigger a yawn. A Russian nuclear powered submarine Kazan rolled past the [...]...

With large-cap stocks remaining the major driving factor for the market, investors should be wary about their levels of concentrated company exposure and consider active management. A recent research paper, Passive Investing and the Rise of Mega-Firms, explores the relationship between passive investing strategies and how they affect the valuations...

The momentum of tech stocks don’t appear to be waning as the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) continues to garner investor interest. Given that, Direxion Investments has three leveraged ETFs to capture the ongoing upside. The trading week ending June 7 saw more inflows into technology stocks as AI continues to take center stage heading [...]...

Cooling prices during the month of May are fueling bullish bets on bonds despite the latest Fed-speak to tamp down any notions of successive rate cuts at a rapid cadence. In the meantime, it could be an opportune time to take advantage of core bond exposure now before a potential rally. Bond traders are already [...] The post Bullish Bets on Bonds...