China’s Threat to the AI Investment Boom
Confluence Investment Management offers various asset allocation products which are managed based on “top down,” or macro, analysis. We publish asset allocation thoughts on a bi-weekly basis, updating…
ETFs & Funds
Exclusive-Senate Democrats question USDA about data errors, staff losses
By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) – S&P 500 companies are winding up a banner quarterly earnings season, fueled in large part by surging profits at AI-related companies. The S&P 500 …
Target vs. Lowe’s: A Tale of 2 Retail Q2s
Wednesday, August 19 turned out to be a very interesting day for those who keep a close eye on earnings for major retailers. This is because both Lowe’s and Target reported their Q2 2026 results, with…
Anthropic in ETFs: How Investors Can Gain Exposure
Anthropic’s preliminary second-quarter results reignited enthusiasm across the artificial intelligence sector, lifting semiconductor stocks 1% on Monday despite broader tech sector declines. Q2 revenu…
BMO & REX Debut 3X Leveraged Brazil, Japan & Taiwan ETNs
On August 19, 2026, Bank of Montreal and REX Shares announced the launch of a new suite of exchange-traded notes (ETNs). These ETNs, issued by BMO, go live for trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange on Thur…
Case for International Equities Strengthens as AI Spending Drives U.S. Market
The prolonged zero-interest-rate environment that provided massive tailwinds for U.S. markets is shifting as central banks adjust policy and global interest rates normalize. Global capital costs are r…
What Advisors Should Weigh Before Buying Active ETFs
For advisors, active ETFs raise a simple question: Pay up for a manager who’s beating the market, or stick with the index and pocket the savings? In the $15.7 trillion U.S. ETF market, the answer spli…
ETF Prime: Goldman’s ETF Acquisitions & the Gambling Debate
Goldman Sachs ETF acquisitions and the blurring line between investing and gambling headlined this week’s ETF Prime. Host Nate Geraci welcomed Mike Akins, founding partner at ETF Action, followed by P…
Fixed Income Demand Surges: Bond ETFs Gathered $13.2 Billion Last Week
Investor appetite for fixed income continues to expand, as evidenced by the latest weekly ETF inflows report from TD Securities. For the week ending August 14, 2026, U.S.-listed ETFs gathered $41.0 bi…
Don’t Overlook the Opportunity for International Value ETFs
It’s been a long time coming, but value strategies are finally having their moment in the sun. However, as domestic value ETFs gain in popularity, are investors and advisors showing enough enthusiasm …
Bitcoin Miners Already Owned What the AI Economy Is Short Of
Listed miners have announced more than $70B in AI and high-performance computing contracts. For advisors, that turns a one-dimensional bitcoin proxy into something closer to a digital power infrastruc…
SoFi Stock Took Its Lumps; Play a Rebound With This ETF
Entering this year, retail traders expected big things of SoFi Technologies (SOFI). The fintech stock was commanding plenty of adulation in social media investing circles. Things haven’t gone accordin…
Bond Market Duress Highlights Appeal of This Cash ETF
On Monday, August 17, 30-year Treasury yields hit 5.31%, the highest level in 19 years for long-dated U.S. government bonds. That move has plenty of traders and fixed income investors on edge, because…
RAFI Fundamental Indexing: An Interview With Rob Arnott
Meta: Learn how RAFI fundamental indexing offers an alternative to market-cap weighting in this interview with Rob Arnott and TMX VettaFi.
Tackle Interest Rate Uncertainty With Structured Credit
Should advisors and investors be taking a closer look at the opportunity set within structured credit right now? After all, the current fixed income environment may well work in favor of the structure…
Crude Stockpiles Unexpectedly Decline, Indicating Stronger Demand
Gold prices slipped by 0.52% to settle at 1,53,152, as easing geopolitical tensions reduced safe-haven demand. Optimism around a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal, along with comments from Donald Trump s…
Supply & Contracting Drive Uranium’s Long-Term Fundamentals
Uranium has been on quite a journey over the past few years. While the metal has always been valued for its role in nuclear energy, interest from governments, as well as the broader investment base, h…
Bitcoin: A Low-Volume Lull While the Macro Backdrop Is Quietly Turning
Bitcoin remains caught in a summer lull. Daily volumes are running at $4B per day on trusted exchanges, with similarly subdued activity across equities and other risk assets. In thin markets relativel…
Port of Los Angeles posts high July volume, helped by retail goods, AI project parts
Import cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is expected to steadily decline for the rest of the year amid rising tariffs.
How RANK Blends Analyst Consensus With Technical Signals
Finding promising stocks isn’t as simple as either following a stock’s price or looking at analyst ratings. It requires both. Investors need to understand why analysts like a company and whether the s…
Turn on the Lights to the Utilities Spending Boom With This ETF
Domestic for-profit utilities are spending big to meet the artificial intelligence (AI) demand moment. Regulatory Research Associates estimates that from 2026 through 2030, U.S. utilities will shell o…
Gold Mining ETFs: Poised to Outshine Gold
Gold’s outlook has brightened considerably following its first-half correction. Spot prices have rebounded to flirt with $4,400 per ounce, supported by renewed central-bank buying, softer economic dat…
Balance China’s Shifting Lithium Market With the BATT ETF
Recent price forecasts from BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, highlighted notable market trends in mainland China’s lithium market. BMI revised its forecasts for China lithium carbonate to $20,100 per t…
Quality & Rate Protection in a Single Bond ETF
Investing is often a reminder that there are no free lunches. For market participants to get something, they have to give up something, too. The fixed income universe embodies that sentiment. Want big…