What? Me Worry? Geopolitics in the Age of Fiscal Largesse
The summer of 2024 threatens to ignite transnational conflict with an unprecedented array of flashpoints never seen in the modern world.
AI’s Power Surge: Systematic Global Equities Q2 2024 Update
In this update, we begin by reviewing the state of the economy as we enter the second half of the year. We then pivot to discussing the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the Utilities sector and the performance of the Technology sector, driven by ongoing AI trends.
Navigating the Economic Landscape in Mid-2024: The Only Certainty is Uncertainty: Q2 2024 Fixed Income Update
As we reach the midpoint of 2024, the economy grapples with familiar question that has persisted over the past couple of years. When will the substantial increase in interest rates significantly impact economic conditions?
Intermediate Government/Credit
Yield Advantage Intermediate Government/Credit Q1 2025 | March 31, 2025 Read PDF Version Read Commentary Annualized Returns (%) QTD YTD 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 7 Years 10 Years Since Inception1 Gross of fees 2.31 2.31 5.92 2.73 2.11 2.79 2.4 3.52 Net of fees 2.28...
This Time Is Different in Japan: Part 2: Q1 2024 Multi-Manager Platform Update
There is reason to be bullish on Japanese equities, due to market reforms and interventions over the past decade. In this note, we will recap those reforms we see as most relevant for global stock pickers, followed by insights from a selection of our high conviction boutique managers.
Shifting Market Narratives Forecast Smooth Sailing Despite Gathering Storm Clouds: Q1 2024 Fixed Income Update
As we close the books on the first quarter of 2024, we are once again struck by the contradiction between careful data analysis and changing narratives regarding market direction.
Systematic Global Equities: Q1 2024 Update: Balancing on a Tightrope
As we enter the second quarter of the year, market participants appear to be performing a balancing act on a tightrope amidst the crosscurrents of the macroeconomic data flow.
Research Analyst
Job Posting About Xponance Xponance is a distinguished, woman-led, and employee-owned multi-strategy investment firm dedicated to revolutionizing access to alpha for clients and the wider investment community. Established in 1996 by Tina Byles Williams with AUM of...
This Time Really Is Different in Japan, But Maybe Not for the Reasons You Think
Japan had been hiding in the same place where it was last seen in 1989 off the coast of north east China; but apparently while no one was watching (or at least no one in the American financial press) the Japanese stock market’s bell weather index, the Nikkei 225, surpassed its historical high set in 1989.
Xponance Alts Solutions Announces Strategic Investment in The Copia Group
Press Release PHILADELPHIA, March 19, 2024 – Xponance Alts Solutions (“XAlts”), a subsidiary of Xponance Inc, announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with private investment firm The Copia Group (“Copia”). XAlts...
S&P 500 Value Rebalance: Everything Value Is Growth Again
This post builds on the analysis of the 2022 rebalance, examining the S&P 500 Value Index’s December 15, 2023 rebalance to assess trends and methodologies. High turnover and major sector and risk factor exposure shifts can impact both passive and active strategies, potentially increasing costs and requiring careful risk management.
Xponance Diverse & Emerging Manager CEO Roundtable
In December 2023 Tina Byles Williams, Founder, CEO and CIO of Xponance, hosted 24 CEOs from among the firm’s currently funded sub-advisors to participate in a roundtable discussion on the most pertinent challenges to emerging and diverse investment management companies.
Too Good to Be True: The Failure of Defensive Managers During Recent Inflationary Shocks
The failure of the returns-based approach, along with some interesting dynamics observed in factor contributions, opens an extremely interesting avenue for future analysis. What role did the macroeconomic regime (inflation, top line growth, and interest rates) play in the “defensiveness” of strategies, and what can be done to avoid misclassifying strategies during sharp regime changes?
U.S. Fixed Income: Q4 2023 Update
The 4th quarter Treasury and spread rally rescued the broad fixed income market from another year of negative or barely positive (depending on sector) returns. In traditional bond market fashion, however, we find much to worry about with stretched valuations in most of the spread sectors and an uncertain path forward for the economy and interest rates.
The View From the Top: What the Markets Look Like at a Potential Top of the Rate Cycle
Investors’ 2023 New Years’ resolution was apparently to forgive and forget their travails of 2022, as global markets spent 2023 shrugging off the prior years’ anxieties. Excluding emerging East Asia, major global markets have already fully recovered from their losses related to the inflation induced rate cycle kicked off in early 2022.
Systematic Global Equities: Q4 2023 Update
As 2023 drew to a close, the financial markets began to manifest the early signs of a soft-landing scenario, marked by a robust rally in equity markets in the fourth quarter, showcasing double-digit gains. This period was characterized by broadening of market strength, with notable outperformance by small-cap stocks, heavily shorted names, lower-quality companies, unprofitable tech, and a mix of long-duration, meme, cyclical, and value stocks.
Mastering Equity Markets: A Deep Dive Into Factor Vetting
This article offers an incisive look into the factor vetting process, crucial for developing effective stock selection models in finance. It highlights the importance of distinguishing robust factors from mere statistical noise, minimizing multicollinearity, and preventing overfitting to enhance model performance.
U.S. Fixed Income: Q3 2023 Update
In this quarter’s update, we begin by looking at interest rates at the very broadest levels, i.e. Treasury markets and Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) actions. We then take stock of the fixed income landscape, looking at current market metrics against a historical backdrop.
Multi-Manager Platform: Q3 2023 Update
In recent years, the investment landscape has been significantly influenced by unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimuli, leading investors to focus on changes in inflation. But the front lines for significant government and central banks’ war against inflation have significantly diverged.
Systematic Global Equities: Q3 2023 Update
The key question going into the final quarter of 2023 and glancing towards 2024, is whether U.S. consumers, that account for roughly two-thirds of its total activity, will continue to keep the economy afloat.
Time for a New China Strategy? The Case for Decoupling Asset Allocation in Chinese Risk Assets: Q3 2023 Market Outlook
Already responsible for an estimated $5 billion in stimulative consumer spending – the equivalent of the entire annual earnings of Starbucks, American Airlines, or FedEx – the Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ Tour is doing more than its part to save the global economy. However, the economic phenomenon being dubbed ‘Swiftonomics’ will forsake China, as the pop legend’s tour plays four dates in Japan and a record six dates in Singapore, but not in the world’s second largest economy.
Juan Best, CFA
Juan Best, CFA Manager Research Analyst, Active Global Equities Juan Best is a Research Analyst on the Manager Research Team at Xponance, having joined the firm in June of 2023. His primary responsibilities include the sourcing and ongoing due diligence of investment...
Orchestrating Alpha Melodies: Ensemble Approach for Stock Selection Models
The ensemble approach, in a broad sense, refers to combining multiple units (which could be models, methods, or components) to work together to achieve more accurate and reliable outcomes than any individual unit could achieve alone. This is akin to making a decision based on the collective wisdom of a diverse group, rather than relying on a single opinion.
Sneha Malakar
Sneha Malakar Junior Quantitative Analyst, U.S. Fixed Income Sneha serves as a Junior Quantitative Analyst in U.S. Fixed Income at Xponance. She is responsible for supporting the portfolio managers with ongoing market surveillance and monitoring weekly economic macro...
Shades of Value: Navigating the Nuances of Value Index Differences
In this update we review the results of the most recent Russell 1000 Large Cap Value annual Style Index rebalance that occurred on June 23rd. We also compare the exposures of the Russell 1000 Value index versus the S&P 500 Value index at 06/30/23 and consider the potential impact of factor and sector differences between the indexes on investors targeting large cap value exposure.
Multi-Manager Platform: Q2 2023 Update: Navigating the Lopsided Impact of Generative A.I. in Global Markets
In a paper entitled Generative AI – Hope, Hubris, or Harrowing, our CIO, Tina Byles Williams, explored the medium to long-term effects of Generative AI on the economy, financial markets, and broader society. The task for investment managers now lies in navigating this promising yet unpredictable future, particularly as the market has priced in substantial premiums for those perceived to be the primary beneficiaries of this emerging technology.
U.S. Fixed Income: Q2 2023 Update
As we embark on the second half of 2023, we find a market in conflict. Despite the continued (relative) hawkishness by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) and its members, most risk assets have continued to perform well.
Systematic Global Equities: Q2 2023 Update: Navigating Uncertainty
The second quarter of 2023 saw US equities climb higher powered by large cap growth companies leveraged to the AI (Artificial Intelligence) theme. A pickup in soft-landing expectations seemed to be among the more powerful tailwinds for equity markets.
Generative AI: Hope, Hubris, or Harrowing?
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT represent a transformative leap in the ability of machines to exhibit human-like behavior and to learn autonomously. AI can now surpass humans in a wide variety of cognitive tasks. Accordingly, a recent paper out of the University of Pennsylvania concluded that large language models could displace at least 10% of work tasks, affecting 80% of the US workforce.
A Weekend at Vladimir’s: Xponance Quick Take On The Recent Events in Russia
Unless you’ve been on an island without cell phone coverage for the past several days (in which case, good for you!) you are certain to have heard of the non-coup, coup attempt in Russia over the weekend.