By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
In our last post, we covered the basics of blockchain technology. This time, we will dive into the electrifying topic of blockchain consensus mechanisms. First, we will define consensus mechanisms. Then, we will give an overview of the two main ones: Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake. Lastly, we will conclude with why t…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Fortunes have been made and lost trading these “mysterious” digital coins. But what is the technology behind them? What is a blockchain, and how do they work? We will explore these topics below in part one of…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
As 2020 drew to a close, investors collectively breathed a sigh of relief after one of the more volatile years in recent memory. Then, as if to say, “I took that personally,” 2021 began with one of the most bizarre events in stock market history. A group of investors, led by an online community known as “wallstreetbets…
By Loren Asmus, CFA, CAIA and Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
The 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds is a simple idea. Put 60% of your money in stocks, which provide growth. Invest the remaining 40% in bonds, which provide downside protection.
For many years, investors have been using this mix, or a variant of it, when building portfolios. It has performed admirably, producin…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
The United States elections will be taking place this November, capping off an event-filled year, to say the least. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and the office of President will be contested. Among several potential changes under a Biden/Democratic regime are modific…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
Not all indexes are weighted equally. Some are more “equal” than others. As we have discussed in Investing in the S&P 500 at All-Time Highs, the popular S&P 500 is a capitalization-weighted index. This means that it includes companies in proportion to their size. In times when the largest companies grow disproportionat…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
In the decade leading up to 2020, index fund investing felt like smooth sailing. Then, everything suddenly changed. In March of 2020, the S&P 500 Index suffered a drawdown of 34% from its recent peak as investors panicked over the coronavirus crisis. What happened next was just as jarring: even as the global economy la…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
In nature, fish tend to swim in schools to avoid getting eaten by predators. Yet in investing, "going with the flow" can eat into your portfolio's gains. It can be helpful to review fund flows data, especially in times of distress. Here are three lessons about investor behavior learned from recent fund flows data.
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
In the past few days, we have spoken with clients, economists, and money managers who are all attempting to guess — and “guess” is all anyone can do at this point — the impact on the economy and markets. Here is what we have learned as well as how we are currently approaching the situation from an investment perspectiv…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
If you had to select investment managers and the only data you had available was their past three years of performance, how would you make your selection? To most of us, when asked to select an investment manager according to only their past three years of performance, choosing the best-performing managers makes the mo…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
On November 4, 2019, the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high of 3,078.27. It has been over a decade since the market crash of 2008. Since then, the index has climbed higher and higher, overcoming a wall of worries along the way. Invariably, investors are wondering whether to continue riding the bull, or to step aside be…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
Last summer, we wrote about the FANGMAN (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and NVIDIA) stocks and their incredible run in the stock market: Beware of FANGMAN. We wondered whether these popular stocks had gotten too expensive. These sizzling stocks have since cooled off. Are they good investments toda…
By Matthew Lui, CFA, CAIA
In 2013, CNBC analyst Jim Cramer coined the term “FANG”, referring to Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. At the time, these stocks had positive business momentum, were dominant in their respective markets, and represented the future of consumer technology. Five record-shattering years later, it seems that not much …
