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32 episodes with zacks investment research
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2 episodes with zacks investment research
2 episodes with zacks investment research
This $135M Money Manager Shares Timeless Lessons And Has Over 30 Years Of Experience On Wall StreetFull Name: Jon KnottsTitle: Chief Investment Officer, Expressive WealthAUM: $130MWebsite: https://expressivewealth.com/Bio: With over three decades of experience in investment, Jon's career is marked by roles as a stockbroker, financial product creator, and stock research developer. His expertise in quantitative, fundamental, and technical analysis was honed at esteemed firms like Benzinga, Zacks Investment Research, and Prophet.net (now part of Schwab).At Benzinga, Jon contributed to launching a successful stock analysis product, providing over 2600 recommendations to individual investors. During his 20 years at Zacks, he played a key role in establishing it as a leading figure in fundamental research and quantitative analysis. As Senior Vice President of Operations & Product Management, he led the creation of innovative financial websites and subscription-based products, collaborating with industry giants like Fidelity and TD Ameritrade.Outside the corporate world, Jon serves as a Professor of Finance at North Central College, emphasizing the importance of personal finance and investing. He founded Fiscal Investor, a platform offering personalized investment strategies, bridging the gap between individuals and complex financial markets.Jon holds a Master of Science in Financial Markets & Trading from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Ball State University. His academic background complements his pragmatic investment approach, blending theoretical knowledge with real-world application.Throughout his career, Jon has remained dedicated to helping investors reach their potential, aligning with the ethos of Expressive Wealth. His contributions to finance and education reflect his commitment to excellence and empowerment in investment.
About the guest: Kevin Cook is a Senior Equity Strategist at Zacks Investment Research. He shares his eclectic passions for aviation, quantum mechanics, investing, and innovative education. Kevin reveals his journey from struggling with algebra to mastering probability and statistics, and his mission to inspire the next generation through “story-driven math” and accessible STEM education. From groundbreaking ideas for integrating AI, AR, and VR in learning to the pivotal role of GPUs in revolutionizing science and industry, Kevin's insights will leave you inspired. Don't miss his unique take on how to empower today's youth with the tools to succeed in an ever-accelerating world. Books recommended by: * Some Assembly Required - https://www.amazon.com/Some-Assembly-Required-Decoding-Billion/dp/1101871334 Relevant Links: Twitter: https://x.com/KevinBCook LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-cook-caveman/ Blog: https://medium.com/@KevinBCook Company Name: https://www.zacks.com/ About Ray Hightower: Ray Hightower is a tech company founder and commercial real estate investor based in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He serves as CEO of Bridgetown Partners, the creator of ROIClear. https://ROIClear.com https://BridgetownPartners.com https://RayHightower.com #ROIClear #Entrepreneurship #Business #RealEstate Note: ROI Clear is written without spaces: ROIClear.
Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research, says that the cumulative effect of the Federal Reserve's rate cycle starts showing up, it will goose the economy and the stock market, and with the worst of the post-Covid struggles behind us, the "soft landing" most experts forecast is actually what we're experiencing now, and that better times — and continued strong corporate earnings — are ahead, without a big correction or downturn in the interim. Mian isn't the only one expressing bullish sentiment, as Charles Rotblut, editor of AAII Journal checks in with the details of the latest AAII investor sentiment survey, which has shown particularly high levels of bullish sentiment for about two months now, but who notes that the market typically delivers unimpressive gains when emotions are running high. David Trainer of New Constructs re-affirms the past selection of Affirm Holdings in The Danger Zone, noting that the stock's recent gains of about 70 percent have simply positioned it to take another big fall, as he believes investors have bought the hype and ignored the reality of the company's struggles to deliver real profits. Plus, Money Life introduces its latest sponsor, Monetary Metals; Saad Zein, chief portfolio officer for Monetary Metals, discusses how the company enables investors to earn interest on their gold and silver holdings — paid in precious metals — and how generatking that income changes what many people consider the biggest weakness and turn-off to putting money into silver and gold.
Apparently the saying is “First you buy Nvidia, then you buy Super Micro”But have you heard of Super Micro Computers?In today's episode, we delve into Super Micro Computer, a key player in the high-performance server and storage solutions market. We'll explore the company's history, current operations, financial performance, and future prospects. Joining us is John Blank, PhD, Chief Equity Strategist and Economist at Zacks Investment Research, to provide expert insights into Super Micro's investment potential and the broader tech landscape.In this episode we cover:The recent stock performanceThe company history and some of the controversial moments along the wayTheir range of products and market positionThe financial performanceGrowth driversBull and bear caseHow big this company could get in 10 years_______Thanks to Superhero for proudly supporting this series. Superhero Super has given us the control we want to manage our super. Superhero Super is primed for performance with a wide range of investment options including professionally managed portfolios, thematic, and direct investments accessible in an intuitive app.Download Superhero's easy-to-use app and start tailoring your super today.Remember, Superhero does not provide financial advice, so consider whether their product is right for you. Superhero Super is a sub-plan of OneSuper, which is issued by Diversa Trustees Limited as trustee.Read their PDS and TMD and download the Superhero app at superhero.com.au.—------Have an investing question?Ask via our website and we'll answer it on the podcast.Join the conversation in the Facebook Discussion GroupOr get put in touch with a professional financial advisor by filling out this formWant more Equity Mates?Sign up to our email to keep up with business news Watch Equity Mates on YouTube—------In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of Equity Mates Investing acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today. —------Equity Mates Investing is a product of Equity Mates Media. This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only, and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances, needs or objectives. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. And if you are unsure, please speak to a financial professional. Equity Mates Media operates under Australian Financial Services Licence 540697. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
John Blank, chief investment strategist and chief economist at Zacks Investment Research, says that there will not be a recession -- or anything resembling it -- this year, but he makes it clear the can't be said for 2025, once the election cycle and concerns about the impact of higher interest rates and inflation staying around longer play out. Blank says he does not expect the Federal Reserve to be pressured into making rate cuts, but notes that it could make a cut in the fall leading into the election if the data suggests one is appropriate, but he doesn't see the central bank moving off of its plan to get inflation back to the 2 percent level. When that plays out in that recession that's coming for next year, Blank says it could help to minimize the duration of the downturn. Also on the show, Adam Ruben, vice president of the Economic Security Project, discusses the group's survey of consumers using the IRS Direct File pilot program, noting that the new filing methods drew a lot of consumer interest but also a lot of praise by the 140,000-plus taxpayers who used the system across 12 states. He expects the IRS to dramatically expand the program in the near future, given the strength of the results this year. Plus, in the Market Call, Noland Langford, chief executive officer at Left Brain Wealth Management talks growth stocks.
In this episode, Brian Mulberry shares with our audience the insights that can be gleaned from earnings estimate revisions as well as the need to contextualize earnings revisions with other data to provide a more robust market outlook. Zacks recognizes the headwinds of higher interest rates and a deceleration in post-pandemic spending, so investors should be mindful of the quality of the companies, such as whether those companies can weather the storm of higher costs of capital while growing their earnings.
Tune in to the latest episode of Courtside Financial Podcast as host Obi dives into the anticipated Q4 2023 earnings report for NIO, the Chinese electric vehicle giant. Get insights from financial experts at Deutsche Bank and Zacks Investment Research as they analyze NIO's performance, revenue forecasts, and market trends. Plus, join the discussion on NIO's strategic maneuvers and potential impact on the stock market. Don't miss out on this electrifying episode! Join the conversation on Discord: https://discord.gg/GSbp4wR Copyright Disclaimer: We adhere to fair use principles under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowing for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/courtsidefinancial/support
Investors are getting another crack at inflation data today after January CPI rattled the markets. Bank of America's Aditya Bhave explains. Plus, there's a new red hot AI play seeing shares soar this year. Zacks Investment Research's John Blank gives the name to watch. And, what's ahead for the regional banking sector? OceanFirst Financial CEO Christopher Maher weighs in.
Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research -- which focuses on earnings results for much of its forecasting -- says that with about one quarter of companies having now reported earnings results for 2023, the numbers look like "more of the same, more of the good stuff." He doesn't expect growth to be impressive this year, but there's also not much negative guidance or gloomy outlooks from companies, and he expects that mixed but largely benign environment to last through the year. Meanwhile, Hamish Preston, director of U.S. equity indices for S&P Dow Jones Indices, talks about the market's recent record highs and what they portend for the year ahead, noting that In years when the S&P 500 hits a new peak in January, gains tend to be higher than normal for the year, an average gain of roughly 10.5 percent compared to years when the market fails to reach record levels until later. Plus, David Trainer of New Constructs puts a large-cap fund that gets a four-star rating from Morningstar into the Danger Zone for holding too many dangerous stocks, and Lynette Khalfani-Cox discusses her new book, "Bounce Back: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Resilience."
On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 15 at 6:30 a.m. CT: KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces are raiding Gaza's largest hospital, where hundreds of patients, including newborns, have been stranded with dwindling supplies and no electricity. Wednesday's raid at Shifa hospital came as the army extended its control across Gaza City and the north. Shifa has become a symbol of the widespread suffering of Palestinian civilians during the war between Israel and Hamas. The hospital is also at the heart of clashing narratives over who is to blame for the thousands of deaths and widespread destruction in the besieged territory. Israel accuses Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields, while Palestinians and rights groups say Israel has recklessly endangered civilians. WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted overwhelmingly to prevent a government shutdown. New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. Johnson's proposal to temporarily fund the government into the new year passed on a bipartisan 336-95 tally, with 93 Republicans voting against it. He showed a willingness to leave his right-flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats — the same political move that cost the last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, his job just weeks ago. Johnson's approach, which the Senate is expected to approve by week's end, effectively pushes a final showdown over government funding to the new year. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are heading into their meeting at a country estate in California hoping to stabilize U.S.-China relations after a period of tumult. But the White House says Biden is prepared to confront Xi on difficult issues such as trade, Beijing's burgeoning relationship with Iran and human rights concerns. The leaders last spoke a year ago. Since then, fraught ties between the economic superpowers have been strained by the U.S. downing of a Chinese spy balloon and over differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, China's hacking of a Biden official's emails and other incidents. The leaders are in San Francisco on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. LONDON (AP) — Britain's Supreme Court has ruled that the government's contentious plan to send some migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda is illegal. Five justices on the country's top court say asylum-seekers would be “at real risk of ill-treatment” because they could be sent back to their home countries once they were in Rwanda. The ruling on Wednesday is a major blow to a key government policy that has drawn international attention and criticism. Britain and Rwanda signed a deal in April 2022 to send some migrants who arrive in the U.K. across the English Channel to the East African country, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would stay. Sunak said the ruling “was not the outcome we wanted.” WASHINGTON (AP) — A fight seems to have nearly broken out a congressional hearing. The Tuesday hearing in the Senate devolved into an angry confrontation between Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien. Mullin challenged the Teamsters leader to “stand your butt up” and settle longstanding differences right there in the room. Committee chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont had to yell at Mullin to sit down after he challenged O'Brien to a fight. Mullin and O'Brien never came face to face in the room. But they hurled insults at each other for around six minutes. Georgia is No. 1 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, Manager of the Year awards are dealt in MLB, the Bills fire their offensive coordinator, the Pacers end the Sixers' win streak and Charlie Lindgren leads Washington past Las Vegas. SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler has died. He was 63. Seidler poured hundreds of millions of dollars into trying to bring a World Series championship to San Diego. He didn't succeed, despite paying for stars like Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts. He was a third-generation member of the O'Malley family that used to own the Dodgers. A cause of death wasn't disclosed. Seidler was a two-time cancer survivor. The team announced in mid-September that Seidler had an unspecified medical procedure in August and wouldn't be back at the ballpark the rest of the year. On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. CT: JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza's Shifa Hospital has become the focus of a dayslong stalemate in Israel's war against Hamas. Shifa is Gaza's largest hospital. Israel claims, without providing visual evidence, that Hamas uses the facility for military purposes and has built a vast underground command center below the hospital. Since Israel declared war against Hamas in response to a deadly cross-border attack by the Islamic group on Oct. 7, its forces have moved in on Shifa. But hundreds of doctors and patients remain inside. It remains unclear how and when the standoff will end. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — David DePape has testified in the federal trial against him over last year's attack against former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband. DePape told jurors Tuesday that he went to the Pelosis' home as part of a larger plan to end corruption in the United States. He has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties. Paul Pelosi testified Monday, recounting the attack publicly for the first time. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden says his goal for his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping is to get the U.S.-China relationship on a “normal course.” The president made the comments Tuesday just before departing the White House for San Francisco, where he will meet with Xi and attend a summit of Asia Pacific leaders. Biden's meeting with Xi on Wednesday is the main event of his four-day visit to San Francisco. At the summit itself, he's looking to demonstrate that his administration can focus on the Pacific. That's even as he tries to keep the Israel-Hamas war from exploding into a regional conflict and persuade weary Republican lawmakers to continue funding Ukraine's effort to repel Russia's invasion. WASHINGTON (AP) — Long past its painful peak, inflation in the United States may be heading steadily back toward its pre-pandemic levels, without the need for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Such a scenario became more likely, if hardly guaranteed, after Tuesday's surprisingly tame report on consumer prices for October. The data showed a broad-based easing of inflation across most goods and services. The price of gas? Down. Appliances? Down. Autos? Down. Same for airfares, hotel rooms and doctors' fees. Overall inflation didn't rise from September to October, the first time that consumers prices collectively haven't budged from one month to another in more than a year. LONDON (AP) — Police in England have arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of American ice hockey player Adam Johnson whose neck was cut by a skate during a game. Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers in an Oct. 28 game when he was struck by an opponent's skate blade. South Yorkshire Police did not name the suspect or provide his age. He was in police custody. The player whose skate cut Johnson's neck was Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield. Johnson was a Minnesota native who had a brief NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. LONDON (AP) — The BBC says two more people have come forward to complain about Russell Brand since the broadcaster launched a review into the actor and comedian's behavior. The BBC was giving an update to its investigation after British media outlets in September published claims by four women that they were sexually assaulted by Brand between 2006 and 2013, at the height of his fame. The 48-year-old denies the allegations. The comedian worked as a BBC radio presenter from 2006 to 2008. The broadcaster said it recorded a total of five complaints against Brand. The BBC news website reported that the latest allegations are “understood to relate to his workplace conduct, and are not of a serious sexual nature.” WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing for a vote to prevent a government shutdown. New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. Johnson was willing to leave his right flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats on Tuesday to keep the government open. It's the same political move that cost Kevin McCarthy, the former House speaker, his job. This time, new Speaker Johnson appears on track for a better outcome. The Senate would act next, ahead of Friday's shutdown deadline. But Johnson is facing the same political problem that led to McCarthy's ouster as hard-right conservatives revolt. That could spell trouble ahead when funding runs out again in January. Home Depot is continuing to see its sales decline amid inflation concerns, and the home improvement retailer narrowed its fiscal 2023 outlook. But its quarterly performance came in above Wall Street's expectations. Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue fell 3% to $37.71 billion. Still, it managed to beat the $37.52 billion that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted. U.S. health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children. At least 22 toddlers in 14 states have sickened by lead that's linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce. Cases were reported in children ages 1 to 3 years old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least one child showed a blood lead level eight times higher than the level that raises concern. The illnesses are linked to recalled WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. LAS VEGAS (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers says his goal is to return from a torn Achilles tendon by mid-December. That's according to NBC's Melissa Stark, who spoke to Rodgers and reported his comments during the telecast of the Jets' game at Las Vegas. Rodgers had hinted recently he hopes to return before the end of the season, but this is the most specific he has been. He suffered what was thought to be a season-ending injury in the opener against the Buffalo Bills. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Zacks Investment Management has been managing money for more than 30 years. It is a subsidiary of Zacks Investment Research, which is one of the largest independent research providers in the United States. In 2021, Mitch Zacks, its CEO, decided it was time to bring the research-driven approach to investing that the firm has become known for to the exchange-traded product market. The firm's first active ETF was launched in the summer of 2021. Since then, it has been focused on being committed to expanding its footprint in the ETF product space while bringing continued risk-adjusted returns to clients.-Here are a few links to resources:Zacks ETFs: https://zacksetfs.comAdditional resources about Zacks ETFs: https://zacksetfs.com/resources.phpA message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: To learn more on this and other topics, check out our full schedule of upcoming CE-approved virtual events. Cryptocurrency investments have been among the top performers in 2023 and over the last ten years. However, the landscape could be changing in early 2024 with the potential approval of the first spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. What do ETF-oriented advisors need to understand about cryptocurrencies? Register now for our Crypto Symposium to get your Crypto questions answered. For more info visit https://www.etftrends.com/webcasts/crypto-symposiumExchange taps thought leaders and industry names to share the latest in portfolio construction and product innovation. Ensure your clients reach their growth goals with the most current thinking from top experts. You'll leave with at least one new strategy, product idea, or a portfolio construction tip to apply to your portfolios. For more information on Exchange, visit https://www.exchangeetf.com/
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
On this episode of the CFA Society San Francisco Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Biggs, CFA, CFP, CAIA, Managing Director - Head of Alternative Investments at The Mather Group. Steve joined The Mather Group through the acquisition of HC Financial Advisors in August 2022, where he operated as the Chief Investment Officer and a Principal. Prior to HC Financial Advisors, he was a Senior Analyst of Zacks Investment Research, Senior Equity Analyst of Manning & Napier, and Principal of Wells Capital Management.He is is an active member of CFA Society San Francisco and serves as Co-Chair for the Member Programming Advisory Council (MPAC). Listen to the full interview, where Steve discusses alternative investing and private markets.CFA Society San Francisco is a not-for-profit professional association, supporting members of the Northern California investment community and beyond. Learn more by visiting our website or connecting on LinkedIn.This podcast is provided for general interest only. Content is not intended to be, nor should be interpreted as recommendations or fiduciary advice.
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
John Blank, chief equity strategist/chief economist at Zacks Investment Research, says the range-bound market is going to stick around unchanged until the Federal Reserve changes its policies. Once inflation comes down, Blank says 'the market is going to rally like you've never seen.' But even now, Blank says the economy is having its soft landing -- and has been in one for some time -- no matter how much most economists protest that there hasn't been any landing yet. Also on the show, Scott Fulford, author of 'The Pandemic Paradox: How the COVID Crisis Made Americans More Financially Secure,' survey researcher Jenn Tracy on a study showing about how Americans are -- or aren't -- pampering themselves during tough economic times, and, in the 'Find Me The Money' segment, forensic accountant Tracy Coenen talks about the documents and paper trail that you need and how to follow them to find the proof of financial infidelity.
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research, says we may be 'close to the finish line with respect to how much [earnings estimates] needed to come down,' noting that earnings estimates have already come down about as far as they are likely to. Still, that doesn't give Mian reason to expect a strong rebound; he says corporate performance will lag the earnings cycle, which will lead to a sideways market with the real rebound to come in 2024. In the Talking Technicals segment, Jason Brown of The Brown Report says that he believes the market has stopped falling but has moved into a sideways channel, which could last for a while but which will help to build a base for a new bull market rally. Also on the show, Vince Shorb of the National Financial Educators Council discusses a survey showing that Americans believe they are losing a big chunk of money every year to their own financial illiteracy. In The Market Call, Mark Salzinger, chief investment officer at Salzinger Sheaff Brock, talks about traditional funds and ETFs.
The Cybercrime Magazine Podcast brings you our weekly alert, which provides boardroom and C-suite executives, CIOs, CSOs, CISOs, IT executives and cybersecurity professionals with the latest breaking news stories we're following. If there's a cyberattack, hack, or data breach you should know about, then we're on it. Airs weekly on WCYB and our podcast. For more on the latest cyberattacks, hacks, and breaches, visit https://cybercrimewire.com
The Cybercrime Wire, hosted by Scott Schober, provides boardroom and C-suite executives, CIOs, CSOs, CISOs, IT executives and cybersecurity professionals with a breaking news story we're following. If there's a cyberattack, hack, or data breach you should know about, then we're on it. Listen to the podcast daily and hear it every hour on WCYB. The Cybercrime Wire is sponsored by Deloitte Cyber. To learn more about our sponsor, visit https://deloitte.com/cyber • For more breaking news, visit https://cybercrimewire.com
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Snap are sinking after the company reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the third quarter. Zacks Investment Research's John Blank dives into what this means for social media stocks. Plus, big transport operators are trying to lock a deal with unions to avoid a strike. BofA Securities' Ken Hoexter discusses Wall Street's worries about freight demand amid a possible recession. And, growing expectations for continued hawkish moves by the Federal Reserve roll on. UBS Global Wealth Management's Mark Haefele, BNP Paribas' Carl Riccadonna, and Oppenheimer Asset Management's John Stoltzfus break down the trading day ahead.
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
John Blank, chief economist and chief investment strategist for Zacks Investment Research, says that the limited options facing Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell leave the economy in a situation where inflation will be sticky and the market will be more stable but likely more sideways, at least until pricing pressure eases. "The soft landing isn't what's going to happen," Blank says. "The Fed's going to get comfortable with a higher level of prices and rice inflation and just stop because it can't do anything about this." Zach Jonson, chief investment officer at Stack Financial Management, says that the market's technicals are showing that recent gains are more likely a bear market rally rather than the start of a new bull market, largely because there hasn't been much breadth and support to the gains. Until the rally reflects greater participation -- with fewer companies making new lows -- Jonson says the current move up is likely a temporary one. And Tracie McMillion, head of global asset allocation and investment strategy for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute kicks things off talking about how the 60-40 portfolio is alive and well despite an awful start to the year that could hold up and make this one of the worst years ever for that classic balanced approach to investing.
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Dr. John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research, says that while the Federal Reserve may have stopped using the word 'transitory' to describe inflation, it's still the right word for most issues currently facing the market, noting that once current headline-driving situations like the supply-chain crisis and labor shortages and inflation can be sorted out, the earnings picture and growth outlook remains strong. He expects the market to struggle for another quarter or more, but to look much better in the second half of the year. David Trainer of New Constructs revisits five successful Danger Zone picks from 2021 -- UBER, AFRM, RIVN, DASH and WRBY -- that he thinks are falling knives, still dangerous despite being down more than 40 percent from their peaks, and nit he Market Call, Michael Robinson, chief technology strategist for Money Map Press, notes that there aren't many great charts to be looking at right now, and he discusses how he is picking and choosing through the increasing volatility and other changing conditions.
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
John Blank, chief equity strategist and chief economist for Zacks Investment Research, says that valuations are high, but that the Standard and Poor's 500 is buttressed against a downturn by its biggest members -- the famed FAANG stocks plus Microsoft and one or two others -- that have price/earnings ratios of higher than 25, higher than the index p/e of 20. 'We have never had seven companies make up a quarter of [the index],' Blank says, 'and we have never had those seven companies driving 25 or 30 percent annual earnings increases.' Also on the show, Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com talks about back-to-school spending this year, and how more than one-third of all parents are feeling pressured to overspend this year, David Trainer of research firm New Constructs takes a bite of Beyond Meat and chews on the hot stock in the Danger Zone, and Tony Minopoli, president/chief investment officer at Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors makes his debut in the Market Call, talking stocks and stock-picking.
With Dr. John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
Anirban Mahanti sat down with Mayur Thaker, a Senior Relationship Manager at Zacks Investment Research, to chat about hypergrowth investing. This conversation is all about investing in rapidly growing companies with huge addressable markets. As investors, we need a framework to study these options: how do we evaluate the investment opportunities in businesses at the bleeding edge of their respective domains? So, grab a coffee (or any other favorite drink!), and let's learn about hypergrowth investing. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mayur describes his investment journey. He started out when he was only 13-years old, investing a portion of his dad's portfolio. He won the lottery with the dot-com boom and then saw it all crumble. And as a young adult working at Zacks, he experienced how the GFC was unraveling the very industry he was working in. We hear how his experience made him the investor he is today. A significant portion of the conversation is devoted to Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), where Mayur addresses the following topics: What is the high-level investment case for Tesla? Why should investors care? There are many bear cases for Tesla, including the historically low-margin and capital-intensive nature of manufacturing, reliance on regulatory credits, and impending competition. Mayur explains why many of these issues are irrelevant to the Tesla investment case as things stand today. What metrics should investors focus on when evaluating Tesla and why? What is the future of Tesla's energy business? What is a reasonable estimate of Tesla's fair value? And for those who want to explore beyond Tesla, we have you covered. Mayur outlines his thesis for two potential multibaggers -- Square (NYSE:SQ) and Beyond Meat (Nasdaq: BYND). Finally, we close, by putting it all together. Specifically, Mayur lays out his hypergrowth investment framework. I (Anirban here) identify closely with his methodology. I think it works well for patient, long-term focussed investors. Don't miss this masterclass in hypergrowth investing. Trust me, this marathon conversation is well worth your time! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/7investing/message
Hello podcast listeners, Today is a very special episode with Christopher Huemmer, Senior Investment Strategist for FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds. Before this Chris worked at Zacks Investment Research where he was Director of Index Services. He earned his BS from Cornell University and is a CFA Charterholder. In today’s episode we discuss infrastructure investing and the opportunities in this space. Enjoy and thanks for the listen!
With John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research says that the U.S. economy is likely to see economic growth more in line with emerging markets over the next few quarters, but he warns that much of that action has already been priced into the stock market, meaning the economic boom may not add much to the stock market rally. Also on the show, Jeffrey Ptak of Morningstar talks about research showing that -- at least for now -- past performance is showing that it can be somewhat indicative of what happens next to a mutual fund, and Kyle Guske of New Constructs discusses a stock with ties to Bitcoin that he expects to be wildly overvalued as it goes IPO, and Kathy Boyle of Chapin Hill Advisors talks mutual funds and ETFs in the Market Call.
With Dr. John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
With Dr. John Blank, Chief Equity Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
PreMarket Prep is a live trading talk show that airs weekdays from 8-9 am ET on YouTube as well as http://premarket.benzinga.com/pre-market-show/ Check out our chat rooms to get your questions answered on the show! We pride ourselves on being the best source of premarket trading strategy, and we feature some of Wall Street’s best traders as guests. On today’s show, we discuss…. -Nikola gets a big insider buy -Tech ratings -Today's AAPL event -NEE announces a stock split Featured Guests: Tracey Ryniec, Zacks Investment Research - 35:20 ///////MORE STUFF TO CHECK OUT/////// Free stock market news: https://www.benzinga.com/ Live education at Benzinga Boot Camp: https://rb.gy/abuhzl Benzinga merch: https://rb.gy/3pyb0x For FASTER NEWS and IN-DEPTH market data, check out Benzinga Pro. Click the link to sign up for a free two-week trial https://pro.benzinga.com/?afmc=6c Meet the Hosts: Dennis Dick Bio: http://www.premarketprep.com/author/premarketinfo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TripleDTrader Joel Elconin Bio: http://www.premarketprep.com/author/joelelconin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Spus Tune in to the show live or via podcast! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/benzinga-tv Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bztv Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/benzinga-morning-show TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics/Benzinga-TV-p1006070/ Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id2myc5nfdgd4pry47sjss2n2my Like the show? Keep up with all Benzinga news! Visit https://www.benzinga.com/ to subscribe to our newsletter Visit https://twitter.com/Benzinga to follow us on Twitter Visit https://www.facebook.com/Benzinga/ to like us on Facebook Be sure to check out https://pro.benzinga.com/. Benzinga’s real-time news platform with all the information you need to invest better today.
With John Blank, Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks Investment Research
Sheraz Mian, director of research for Zacks Investment Research, says that investors can't make great comparisons using current numbers against a year ago or even before the coronavirus -- and says the comparison problems will continue for at least a year after the pandemic ends -- but in spite of that issue, he expects earnings to continue improving through the end of the year. Meanwhile, Paul Hoffmeister of Camelot Portfolios says that optimistic investors should see the recent market pullback is creating "anothr chance to put risk on," and suggested investors might want to look into underperforming sectors like health care, energy and gaming. Also on the show, David Trainer of New Constructs puts a mid-cap growth fund in the "Danger Zone' and Ted Rossman discusses a Bankrate.com study which shows the ways investors are damaging their credit score as they respond to the financial hardships created by the pandemic.
With John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
Competitive video-gaming is heralded to be a bigger category than TV viewing, three times the size of the global film business, and the leading form of entertainment for the Gen Z and millennials cohorts. The world's 2.6 billion video-gamers are represented by teams and leagues built around videogames, including Super League Gaming, whose CEO, Ann Hand, is our guest. The Super League Gaming platform was cited by Zacks Investment Research earlier this month as one the five recession-proof stocks. (04/2020)
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
John Blank, chief economist at Zacks Investment Research, says that the market's reaction to the coronavirus public health crisis was foreseeable but overblown, and that strong earnings projections on tap for companies once conditions normalize make a strong rebound look inevitable. He makes the case that the current event-driven recession is not look like the structural recession of 2008, which is why it will be a much shorter event. Also on the show, Thomas Winmill of the Midas Fund discusses how gold has held up, and gives his take on a recent Goldman Sachs' comment urging people to buy gold as the 'currency of last resort,' Buck Klintworth of Chase Investment Counsel talks technicals, Rob Shaker of Shaker Financial covers big discounts in closed-end funds in The NAVigator, and Chuck explains why a fun thing he started with his daughter has the show picking today's theme music from 'The Love Boat.'
With Dr. John Blank, Chief Economist & Chief Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains dives into Lululemon (LULU) and Nike (NKE) to see if investors should consider buying either stock with the sportswear retailers set to report their quarterly results soon.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains takes a look at three large-cap technology stocks that investors might want to consider buying for December.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains dives into some of the latest U.S.-China trade war updates, including President Trump’s optimism. We then look at three large-cap technology stocks to consider buying during the third-quarter earnings season.
John Blank, chief equity strategist and chief economist at Zacks Investment Research, gives a compelling look at what he believes are key numbers to draw the conclusion that investors won't have to worry about a recession in the United States for at least a year and more likely into 2021 and beyond. With little to no growth around the world right now, Blank suggests that investors -- especially those with shorter time horizons -- focus more on domestic stocks because despite a slowing economy the best growth opportunities remain here. Also ont he show, Patrick Shaddow of S-Network Global Indexes talks about ETFs made up entirely of closed-end funds, Toni Turner of Trendstar Trading Group discusses the market's potential to reach a triple top, which is a technical indicator of trouble ahead, and Manny Weintraub of Integre Asset Management covers growth-at-a-reasonable price stocks in the Market Call.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains dives into Apple’s (AAPL) new iPhone 11s, as well as Apple’s streaming TV service and video game push. The episode also breaks down what’s next for Apple stock and why the tech firm looks so strong heading into the holiday shopping season.
With John Blank, Chief Equity Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
PreMarket Prep is a live trading talk show that airs weekdays from 8-9 am ET on YouTube as well as http://premarket.benzinga.com/pre-market-show/ Check out our chat rooms to get your questions answered on the show! We pride ourselves on being the best source of premarket trading strategy, and we feature some of Wall Street’s best traders as guests. On today’s show, we discuss…. - The latest developments in the trade war - BMY divesting a business unit to AMGN - An upgrade to LYFT Featured Guest: Tracey Ryniec, Stock Strategist at Zacks Investment Research (34:35) Meet the Hosts: Dennis Dick Bio: http://www.premarketprep.com/author/premarketinfo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TripleDTrader Joel Elconin Bio: http://www.premarketprep.com/author/joelelconin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Spus Tune in to the show live or via podcast! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/benzinga-tv Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bztv Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/benzinga-morning-show TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics/Benzinga-TV-p1006070/ Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id2myc5nfdgd4pry47sjss2n2my Like the show? Keep up with all Benzinga news! Visit https://www.benzinga.com/ to subscribe to our newsletter Visit https://twitter.com/Benzinga to follow us on Twitter Visit https://www.facebook.com/Benzinga/ to like us on Facebook Be sure to check out https://pro.benzinga.com/. Benzinga’s real-time news platform with all the information you need to invest better today.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains breaks down Walmart’s (WMT) recent quarterly financial results that helped to once again prove the retail powerhouse is ready to compete directly against Amazon (AMZN) in the e-commerce age. The episode then shifts to what to expect from Target’s (TGT) quarterly earnings, which are due out Wednesday.
With Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research
Veteran technical analyst Martin Pring of Pring Research said he expects the stock market to avoid a recession and keep going much higher, noting that the indicators he follows are almost all 'pointing north' as the market ignores any weakness it sees in the economy. He noted that if bad news can't knock the market down, there's not much out there right now that can. Also on the show, Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research discussed the upcoming earnings season, which he suggested is likely to beat analyst expectations, plu we rebroadcast a recent chat covering market technicals with Buck Klintworth of Chase Investment Counsel and Keith Gangl of Gradient Investments makes his debut in the Market Call.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains dives into what investors should expect from Nike’s (NKE) Q4 fiscal 2019 financial results that are due out Thursday, June 27. This includes a breakdown of Nike’s key North American and Greater China segments and much more. (0:40) - Overview of Nike's Valuation (4:30) - Nike's Concerns With Currency Headwinds, Tariffs and Competition (10:10) - What To Expect From Nike's Upcoming Earnings Report (18:45) - Episode Roundup: Podcast@Zacks.com
John Vandermosten is currently a senior biotechnology research analyst for Zacks Investment Research where he covers a portfolio of small cap biotechnology names. His background includes 15 years of experience in a variety of investment management and research roles across all market cap ranges and throughout the capital structure.Formerly, John was a research analyst for Singular Research covering the health care space and a consultant with Coker Group, a national healthcare services firm providing financial advisory, investment banking, healthcare IT and other services to hospitals and other health care organizations. At Coker Group he consulted with clients in a variety of strategic and financial areas, including asset valuations, due diligence and transactions. Prior to his role as sell-side analyst and consultant, John was a portfolio manager at Westwood Holdings Group and covered health care and other spaces as research analyst. John also worked at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas as investment analyst on the agency’s large cap call overwriting fund.John has an MBA from Texas A&M University, an MA from Tulane University and a BA from San Diego State University. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Dallas.For more information: https://scr.zacks.com
John Blank, chief equity strategist and chief economist at Zacks Investment Research said investors should expect surprise rallies and retracements, but the market isn't going to make a strong bull move until August or later. Also on the show, Jill Gonzalez of WalletHub.com discussed their recent survey on how many Americans expect to miss a credit-card payment this year, David Trainer of New Constructs talked about the Lyft initial public offering and why the company -- with virtually no prospect for earnings -- is a trap. Also, Greg Woodard, portfolio strategist for Manning and Napier talks stocks in the Market Call.
With Dr. John Blank, Chief Equity Strategist at Zacks Investment Research
The Evolution of Risk-Taking Trading is one of the hardest day jobs in the world – what drives those who succeed at it? Welcome back to Mind Over Money, I’m Kevin Cook, your field guide and story teller for the fascinating arena of behavioral economics. Today my guest is a PhD candidate from the University of Greenwich in London who is studying the risk-taking behavior of traders from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Belinda Vigors wants to know if successful traders are doing anything different when making decisions under uncertainty and stress than us mere mortals who wrestle with our cognitive biases and unknown depths of neurochemistry and neuro-circuitry that drive our emotional habits. Before we meet Belinda, I want to give you some background for our discussion that is actually causing a rift in the field of behavioral economics, at least for those of us who apply it to markets and trading. I have been a long-time fan of Daniel Kahneman -- who is the only psychologist ever to win a Nobel Prize -- for his work on decision making under uncertainty and risk. He practically invented the discipline of behavioral finance. And the cognitive biases that he has discovered and named over 4 decades have given us a rich vocabulary with which to talk about people (and traders) acting stupid and irrational with money and risk. Since I am also an eager student of neuroscience, I simply look at the two fields as different but complementary ways of describing and understanding decision making. As I like to say, the behavioral gang studies us from the OUTSIDE-IN, while the brain gang studies us from the INSIDE-OUT. An Affinity for Randomness and Ambiguity But Kahneman’s 2011 book Thinking Fast and Slow has caused some extra controversy in the twilight of his long career because he may be not only oversimplifying how our decision making works, but also limiting any believer’s choice of solutions or therapies. In other words, his System #1 and System #2 for thinking -- the fast and emotional vs. the slow and rational, respectively -- don't appear to integrate with the findings of brain science very well, which would argue for much more complexity especially as emotion and neurochemistry are concerned. Kahneman also no longer likes describing humans as “irrational.” But then how do we explain all sorts of self-sabotage regarding money, risk and long-term goals? Or, how about truly self-destructive behavior like crime and violence? And Kahneman’s theories are not based on any clinical work in helping people or traders change their thinking and decision-making. Since I did not read Thinking Fast and Slow, in today’s podcast I share a quick review by a thoughtful investor who explains quite well why the theories may be very limiting. Ravee Mehta, a portfolio manager and author of The Emotionally Intelligent Investor: How Self-Awareness, Empathy and Intuition Drive Performance, says that Kahneman’s systems miss much of the significant skill, discipline, and what I call an “affinity for randomness” that traders can develop when they become more aware of their emotions and intuition. Here’s an excerpt from Mehta’s 2012 blog, “Daniel Kahneman is Wrong (at least when it comes to investing)”... I humbly disagree with Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, and some other prominent psychologists when it comes to “fast-thinking” and investing. They argue that the stock market is too complex and random for intuition to be developed. They believe that the randomness causes people to build incorrect association biases. This argument is flawed. While the overall market may seem complex and random, there are many patterns within it that recur frequently. The best money managers recognize patterns developing ahead of most. They also can develop useful intuition because they are honest with themselves about the role luck had in their success. The intuitive decision-making that is involved with investing is much more complicated than other types of decision-making. However, that does not mean that we should abandon trying to better develop and use gut instincts when we invest. The Evolutionary Path of Trader Brains Cognitive biases, emotional habits, and intuition are definitely interesting. But what really gets me excited is talking about how our brains work. And that invariably leads to discussions about our evolution. So I was really excited to bring in a young student of this complex collision between behavioral science and of one of the hardest jobs on the planet, trading. Belinda Vigors explains how traders may be dealing with risk in terms of “need thresholds” and survival goals. She bases part of her theories about emotion on the work of psychologist Jennifer Lerner of Harvard whose research examines the distinct effects of fear, anger, and happiness on risk perception and risk preference. Be sure to listen to the podcast to hear my full conversation with Belinda. Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist at Zacks Investment Research where he runs the TAZR trading service.
How one of the smartest minds on Wall Street was blinded by belief and abandoned due diligence VRX, CP, MTN, HLF, CMG Welcome to Mind Over Money. I’m Kevin Cook, your field guide and story teller for the fascinating arena of Behavioral Economics. I’m back after a 3-week bout with bronchitis. I’ve got a funny story about what I learned at the doctor that ties into a great neuroscience topic: how we acquire new skills. But first, let me preview our main topic for the show today... As 2016 winds down, I want to re-cap one of the biggest stock market implosions of the past 18 months and the big name investor who last week began some tax loss selling after a 95% drop in the shares. The stock is that of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX). And the big investor is Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management. His funds have lost billions of dollars because the Valeant implosion. And the story I am going to tell you will definitely interest you if you are at all curious about how smart people make really disastrous decisions. Okay, so what happened at the doctor? As part of my exam, they gave me a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia. The good news is that I didn’t have pneumonia. The more interesting news the doctor shared on her way out… “Oh, by the way,” she said. “You have two cracked ribs.” Be sure to listen to today's podcast to hear where those cracked ribs came from and what it has to do with "carving" new neural pathways. I'll give you a clue: I had to retire from snowboarding at the ripe young age of 37. The Valeant Implosion Valeant Pharmaceuticals stock was trading around $260 per share at its peak in the summer of 2015. Today, it’s trading $15. The story of the collapse has to do with an ambitious CEO named Mike Pearson and his company’s strategy to quickly become one of the top 10 pharmaceutical corporations in the world. Buying Bausch & Lomb for over $8 billion dollars was solid proof that they were very serious. Pearson’s stated goal was actually to get Valeant in the top 5, among the likes of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Merck. I know a little about this story because I was an investor in VRX in 2013 and 2014, catching several pieces of its rise from $65 to $145. The fundamental growth story, both in terms of sales and profits, was impressive. But I was also following on the coattails of some of the smartest money on Wall Street, including legendary investors like Ruane, Cunniff, and Goldfarb who ran the Sequoia fund. In many investments, I often trust the research skills and judgement of several big investors more than my own analysis. Based on Pearson’s goal, he would have to grow Valeant from a $20 billion company, in terms of its market capitalization, to a nearly $200 billion company. That would be a 10X feat. Everything I saw showed that he might have a shot. And the only reason I didn’t ride the stock higher in 2015 when it vaulted from $145 to $175 in a few weeks was because I was waiting for a pullback to get in. Enter Bill Ackman who, it was revealed through SEC filings in February of 2015, was acquiring a sizable nearly 10% stake in Valeant and partnering with the company to buy another pharmaceutical firm, Allergan. Shares of VRX shot up to $200 in late February and never looked back until they peaked in August of 2015 just over $260. So what happened? Why did Valeant, as an investment and as a company, begin to fall apart? The details of the collapse are complicated and part of a much longer story that involved accounting irregularities, egregious drug pricing practices, and questionable pharmacy partners cooperating in questionable sales reporting practices. In the Mind Over Money podcast I share a timeline of the events of August through October by Stephen Gandel writing for Fortune magazine on October 31, 2015. And the most interesting questions I'm trying to answer are about how Bill Ackman ignored the clues about Valeant's messy business practices and rode the stock -- with a position in the tens of millions of shares -- to stunning losses. Not only that, even when the wolves were out, from Congress to research firm Citron, and shares were quickly collapsing to $100, all Bill could think of was massively increasing his position by buying tens of millions of dollars’ worth of options. You can learn more about those options strategies in this video... Synthetic Stock: How Ackman Double-Down on VRX This whole Valeant-Ackman saga will be studied for years for its lessons in behavioral finance and decision-making. I hope I've helped you understand it better so you can see how we can all be blinded by our hope and greed. Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research.
While Renaissance Technologies makes most other hedge funds look foolish, even the independent trader can copy their discipline NFLX, PANW Long-time followers of mine in this bull market know that every quarter I go over the holdings of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies because they were one of the early quant houses that made algo trading so successful and popular. The founder, Jim Simons, was a mathematics professor in the 1970s who never thought about the markets much. He sort of stumbled into testing some theories on stocks, and the rest is history as he was pulled headlong into the markets and created a powerhouse with over $50 billion AUM (assets under management). And Simons made a point of not hiring MBAs, traders, or anyone with a background in finance. He only wanted physicists, engineers and other quantitative problem-solvers to come work for him and mine the data of markets to find unique correlations, patterns and new edges. What kind of data patterns and correlations are they after? Well, with 90 Ph.Ds. on staff, mostly math, science, and engineering types, we can only guess that they are sifting through mountains of fundamental, price, economic, weather, and consumer patterns, looking for those small anomalies between individual stocks and industries and other asset classes. Mining Data Others Ignore If it’s a popular, well-known correlation, they don't want anything to do with it. They hunt in the noise of tons of data for things that others can't see, or are not even looking for. This week, Matt Levine at Bloomberg View wrote briefly about Renaissance after colleague Katherine Burton published a full story on the company and its funds and practices for the December/January issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine. Here's how Levin opens his piece, quoting data from Burton's story... The big problem with Renaissance Technologies, the Long Island-based "pinnacle of quant investing" founded by Jim Simons, is that its Medallion fund makes too much money. Medallion was up 21 percent for the first six months of 2016. It was up 35.6 percent last year, 39.2 percent the year before, 46.9 percent the year before that. This keeps going. The last down year was 1989. The fund had a rough few days in August 2007, but ended the year up 85.9 percent. It has returned about 40 percent per year, on average, net of fees, since it started in 1988. Of course it can't keep compounding returns that way because of the size factor. What you can do well with a 5 billion dollars you can't necessarily as well, much less better, with 50 billion. And that's why they are forced to simply return profits to investors, who are primarily employees now since the fund was closed to new investors in 2005. Matt Levine's piece on Bloomberg View can be found here and the full Burton story is linked above. Can a Human Trader Copy Black Box Success? While the computer programs that work for Renaissance are still a big mystery -- like we don't know how many strategies just trade intra-day to make money -- it's safe to say that they create a lot of turnover in stocks, exploiting new patterns or "edges" in thousands of stocks. But doesn't that mean a lot of extra risk? What most people miss about the success of the algos and black box trading systems is that they run through markets with big size in thousands of stocks and instruments because the risk control is automated too. It’s not like you or I trading 100 stocks at once and going crazy trying to keep track of the risk and profits. They program the computer models to seek and destroy profit opportunities and to manage the risks in real-time too so that they are never destroyed. So speed and continuous, instant access make the difference too, especially if the model is wrong about an opportunity. In that way, they take human emotion completely out of the decision-making equation. With that I want to introduce you to our guest today, who is like David to the Goliath Renaissance. Jeremy Mullin is a colleague of mine at Zacks where he starts with a simple quant model built on earnings momentum – the Zacks Rank -- and then overlays his own suite of technical trading filters and what I will broadly call “behavioral analysis” because he pays attention to extreme moves in stocks that are often driven by algo trading that is exploiting investor fear and greed in the markets, which therefore sets up new opportunities for him. Jeremy has spent the last 13 years as an equity, futures and options trader. His main focus when trading stocks is high beta equities and earnings moves. He uses technical tools when entering and exiting trading setups, but also watches order flow to get a “feel” for market direction. Check out the Mind Over Money podcast, episode 4, to hear my interview with Jeremy. Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist with Zacks Investment Research where he runs the Tactical Trader service.
In today's Mind Over Money podcast, I took a closer look at decision-making. Specifically, I wanted to explore what often gets in the way of good decision-making, especially when the financial landscape is shifting like it is now. And that means we have to focus on the cognitive biases, those mental short-cuts, filters, and processes that help us make decisions faster. Because those same short-cuts just as often short-change us from the best outcomes in everything from stock-picking -- and its twin challenges of risk and profit management -- to car shopping and job hunting. Remember that this podcast wants to come at our “brains on risk” from 3 distinct angles: Angle #1 is behavioral finance. This is the field of cognitive biases and heuristics that Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky broke big ground for in the late 1960s and 1970s. I call this way of knowing about our decision-making the OUTSIDE-IN approach because the behavioral researchers and social scientists are conducting problem-based experiments and questionnaires with thousands of people. They examine behavior in different, repeatable “decision situations” and then draw conclusions from the data patterns about what we humans tend to do and why. Angle #2 is neuroscience. What science has discovered about our brains through advanced imaging techniques in the past two decades could fill lifetimes of research projects for the next few generations of curiosity seekers. I call this way of knowing about our decision-making the INSIDE-OUT approach because the neuroscience researchers are focused on the brain structures, functions, and biochemistry that cause our behavior. And this reminds me to remind you about episode #2 of Mind Over Money recorded on Nov 8 where I spoke with Denise Shull of The ReThink Group. Shull earned her Masters in the Neuroscience of Emotion at the University of Chicago and then went on to become a trader and a trader’s coach, working for many top banks and funds. We had a great discussion about understanding how emotion is involved in all our decisions. Shull’s consulting work really took off in 2003 when she combined her research with that of Antonio Damasio, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California. Damasio and his colleagues found that if emotional centers of the brain were damaged or in some way disabled, we wouldn’t be able to make decisions at all, or at least not with the ease and effectiveness we do hundreds of times during the day. So Denise Shull trains her clients to become more aware of their emotions during trading, not to shun them. And she also started doing this in 2016 for the US Olympic Snowboarding Snowcross team. Be sure to catch episode #2 of Mind Over Money with the title “Train Your Brain for Better Trading” to hear all about her work. How Smart Traders Re-Wire Their Brains The third angle that I approach the collision of psychology and markets through is the investors and traders themselves, from the so-called Market Wizards, the books by Jack Schwager that interview the highly successful, to the rogues and gamblers who lose it all. This 3rd angle of knowing about our “brains on risk” was actually where I started my intellectual journey here 20-some years ago, observing traders in the commodity and futures pits of Chicago. That’s because smart traders who’ve learned to survive in the pits or behind the screen share many common traits that the scientists would admire in terms of being aware of their biases and emotions so that they can make better decisions, more consistently, for long-run success. Short-term trading is arguably one of the most mentally-challenging occupations there is because, as I used to argue, our brains are hard-wired to make quick decisions that break the golden rule of trading. That rule is: cut your losses short, and let your winners run. Most new traders seem to instinctively do the opposite because they are loss averse and eager to capture gains. This is the mathematical recipe for failure in trading because it guarantees that even if you are right 60% of the time, you will lose everything as you let losses pile up bigger than winners. Ray Dalio on the Big Shift Speaking of Market Wizards, Ray Dalio, the head of the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater with nearly $200 billion AUM, put out a new investment letter today, November 15, to opine on how the global-macro investing landscape will change over the next few years after last week’s GOP election sweep. Obviously we are seeing many of these new trends already emerging in full force, like the bond bubble popping, and the US dollar rallying as inflation expectations rise, and the flood of money into domestic small-cap companies, especially Financial and Industrial/Manufacturing stocks, at the expense of big-cap Tech Dalio suggests that these big shifts could rival the reversals of prior decades. Here’s what he said... "...the main point we’re trying to convey is that there is a good chance that we are at one of those major reversals that last a decade (like the 1970-71 shift from the 1960s period of non-inflationary growth to the 1970s decade of stagflation, or the 1980s shift to disinflationary strong growth). To be clear, we are not saying that the future will be like any of these mentioned prior periods; we are just saying that there’s a good chance that the economy/market will shift from what we have gotten used to." Now, when we are trying to adjust to new market conditions, this is when we need to be aware of our biases and emotions even more. Heck, the last 7 years of this steady bull market and QE and a 2% GDP economy still fooled people into following their biases and emotions instead of following the market higher by “BUYING the DIPS” with a clear, long-term investment plan. So it’s never easy. But as I teach people both with short-term trading and long-term investing, having detailed plans of what you will do under different scenarios is the key to effectively managing any type of change or surprise. Market dips in a growing economy, for instance, become recognized as great opportunities, not sources of fear and loathing. Most investors don't review their portfolios and make new plans for re-allocation often enough. And there are many blindspots and biases that prevent us from opening up that hood and getting a much-needed tuneup. But now would be an especially good time to confront those obstacles and get ready for the next new trends. Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research where he runs the Tactical Trader portfolio.
Learning how to use the 90% of brain insights underneath conscious awareness When Denise Shull earned her Masters in Neuroscience from the University of Chicago in 1995, she didn’t imagine she would become a go-to consultant and coach for world-class traders ten years later, much less for Olympic athletes this year. But that’s what has transpired in her career as someone deeply interested in human emotion and decision-making. In this episode of Mind Over Money, I invited Denise to discuss her work and her recent joint venture with Bloomberg Tradebook to train trader brains. Based on her many years of research on how traders make decisions and deal with emotional responses – including several years as a professional trader herself – Shull and her team at The ReThink Group developed trader training software that she’s inviting anyone to try at https://traderbrainexercise.com/ Trader’s “Gut” in a World at “Max Algo” Shull’s insights about how we can tap into subconscious pattern recognition and cognitive-emotional “intuition” are powerful in a field that for decades has told traders to remove their emotions from trading. She has been a lone voice teaching traders that it’s not only impossible to separate emotion from decision-making, but that we actually make better decisions when we are conscious of our feelings. And her hedge fund clients now recognize that the death of the high-performing trader has been greatly exaggerated in a world she believes has reached “max algorithm.” Be sure to listen to my full interview with Denise to learn about her training and coaching work with top trading firms and with the US Snowboarding Team. She tells a great story about “emotional” snowboarders being some of the top performers of the bunch. Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist with Zacks Investment Research where he runs the Tactical Trader portfolio.
- Sheraz Mian, Director of Research at Zacks Investment Research discusses 1st quarter earnings. - Please call 1-800-388-9700 for a free review of your financial portfolio.
Frank Curzio takes a quick break from investing to discuss the Penn State scandal, and then he welcomes CNBC Fast Money personality Jared Levy, who also serves as Managing Partner at Belpointe Capital and Senior Equities Strategist at Zacks Investment Research. Levy teaches the basics of options trading and gives his outlook on Europe and the equity markets.
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