Blog Posts

The neutral rate is the level of interest rates – often referring to a short-term overnight rate – that neither stimulates nor restrains economic activity.  When policy rates are considered near neutral, the economy is expected to grow close to its long run potential with inflation remaining stable.  The neutral rate is fundamentally a reference […]

The concept of a risk premium is one of the basic foundations of finance and applies to nearly all market participants and private business owners in some form. A risk premium is the minimum return that a riskier asset must exceed a safer asset in order to incentivize investment into it. For example, a 10-year […]

Commodities are often overlooked in portfolios and tend to get more attention when other asset classes perform less well. But commodities have value in a portfolio as alternative returns streams, a source of hedging (e.g., some price pressures in an economy are due to commodity inputs), currency alternatives, and entities that are subject to their […]

In a previous article, we covered how a US dollar devaluation would impact various asset classes. Here, we’re going to discuss how a devaluation in the yuan (also known as the renminbi, CNY, or RMB) would influence asset prices. Since currency movements are always in relation to each other, we’ll discuss a yuan devaluation as […]

Where is each index starting the year? We’ll take a look below across stocks, bond yields, currencies, commodities, and crypto.   US Equity Indexes S&P 500 – 6,850NASDAQ Composite – 23,235Dow Jones Industrial Average – 48,382Russell 2000 – 2,208 International Equity Indexes FTSE 100 – 9,923DAX – 24,527CAC 40 – 8,145Euro Stoxx 50 – 5,850Nikkei […]

Correlation measures how two assets move in relation to each other. A negative correlation means that as one asset’s value increases, the other tends to decrease. This relationship is key for portfolio diversification. Investors seek negatively correlated assets or returns stream to balance their portfolios and manage risk. Not all negative correlations are equal; the […]

Market microstructure is a specialized area within finance that explains how assets are exchanged in markets. Though buying and selling in financial markets seems simple (there’s a buyer and a seller and they connect when bid/ask match), it’s actually a very deep topic. We’re not talking about more overarching strategies like value, macro, and so […]

Deciding whether to hire a financial advisor is an important decision that can significantly impact your financial future. With many factors to consider, from the benefits of hiring an expert to the potential costs and alternatives, this guide will help you make an informed choice. We’ll look into the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a […]

After over 60,000 hours in the markets, this is what I’ve learned. These reflections are just my own perspective. There are many viable ways of doing things. They’re not definitive answers, but observations you may find useful as you develop/refine your own approach. Take what resonates, question what doesn’t, and remember that the ultimate test […]

SOFR is a benchmark interest rate that’s pervasively used to set rates for various types of financial transactions. We look at SOFR, how its traded, how lending is based off this rate, and more about its use.   Key Takeaways – SOFR SOFR is a wholesale interest rate benchmark referencing overnight borrowing secured by US […]