(New York)

Another jobs report hit the tape today, and another good reading, with job growth outpacing expectations. Crucially, there were also no signs of heavy wage growth that could stoke the market’s inflation fears. According, Treasury yields fell across the board, with the short end of the curve falling the most. Analysts feel that the report did not bring the dreaded Fed Taper any closer, which led to the fall in yields. Fed minutes will be released next week and that is the next time the market will get a peek into what the central bank may do next.

FINSUM: Two divergent paths here—either the market is falling into complacency, or the Fed’s view that inflation is “transitory” is starting to come true. It might only take an errant sentence form the Fed to spark a big correction.

(New York)

Any advisor likely already knows it, but it is worth repeating: ESG funds are troubling space. They are significantly more costly than traditional funds, have middling returns, and perhaps worst of all, these days they seem quite undifferentiated from conventional funds. One of the big problems in the space is that there is no universal definition of ESG or standard convention for defining ESG risks or parameters, so anyone can call anything “ESG”. For example, take a look at the top ten holdings of two funds, one a basic S&P 500 tracker, the other labeled “Large Cap ESG”, and you will see they have virtually no differences except that the ESG fund costs 40 bp at best and the conventional fund costs 9 bp.

FINSUM: Some people call ESG a pure marketing scam. To some extent that is true as it is pretty easy for fund providers to take advantage of ESG pricing without really doing anything under the hood. But at the same time, there is also genuine interest on the consumer and provider sides to expand opportunities in the space.

(New York)

General Electric is a withered giant. Sure, it has ridden the comeback since the start of the pandemic, but it's so far off the $30 price tag of five years ago. However, Goldman Sachs sees a better future in the tea leaves for GE. In a memo to investors, Goldman set a $16 price target for GE and sees it as a ‘self-help’ success story. Goldman alludes to the repaired finances and leverage under the CEO Larry Gulp. Additionally, a global recovery, higher energy consumption, and better margins could push their stock higher, potentially a $20 price target. Earning projections remain strong for GE through the end of the year.

FINSUM: General electric is in a solid cheap position and Goldman might have been on to something as the stock lifted to $13 early in the week.

(New York)

Stock and commodity prices have been all over the place of late…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site

(Tokyo)

The Fed is once again shaking the financial world as tapering signals are trickling in…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site

(New York)

The chip shortage of 2021 has been an ongoing saga that has benefited many of the largest manufacturers…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site

(New York)

According to a poll of leading bond strategists surveyed by Reuters, there is likely to be a correction in bond markets in the next three months. The reason why is that central banks across the world are all looking for the exits from their stimulus programs. The head of strategy at Rabobank commented that “The message from Powell is: We will look through it (inflation). We're not going to jump to conclusions and that creates some calm. But you just need a couple of big surprises (in data) and things are again open to correction”. 59% of those strategists surveyed said they saw a “significant” sell-off in global bond markets coming in the next three months.

FINSUM: This all depends on timing and signaling. If the Fed makes an inadvertently hawkish statement, you could easily see a 2013-style Taper Tantrum. But if the Fed uses careful wording and guidance, the whole transition could be smooth.

(New York)

Advisors likely know Global X as a leader in thematic investing—heck they practically invented the space! Well the know-how and expertise you know and love from their ETFs is available as part of a suite of model portfolios at Orion. In partnership with Orion Portfolio Solutions, Global has launched both an Equity Thematic Disruptors ETF Model Portfolio and five Core Series Models tailored to specific risk appetites. In Global X’s own words, the Equity Thematic Disruptors ETF Model Portfolio “Targets structural and long-term trends that transcend traditional sector investing and provides investors with access to potential growth opportunities”.

FINSUM: Exciting to see Global X bringing its edge to the model world. The Disruptors model seems like a one-stop shop to access cross-sector innovation.

(New York)

ESG is a very notable area right now that has been gathering considerable assets. Client demand for such products is high in certain demographics. That said, some reports show that ESG stocks do not perform as well as their conventional peers. With that in mind, here are some of the best ESG stocks that looked primed to do well (and most of them won’t even be recognizable as ESG). The stocks are: Home Depot (HD), PayPal (PYPL), GlaxoSmithKiline (GSK), Equinor (EQNR), Churchill Capital Corp IV (CCIV), Microsoft (MSFT), Unilever (UL).

FINSUM: We love Home Depot here. The fundamentals look good –Millennials, which are the largest generation ever in the US, are entering prime home-buying years—and Home Depot is a leader in social responsibility, with diverse hiring practices.

(Washington)

Any advisor has likely read about Biden’s new tax proposals on the “wealthy”…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site