COVID-19 Accelerates Disruption: HTZ Edition
The COVID-19 crisis has compressed years of technological disruption into the space of just a few months. Taken as a whole, it is likely that businesses and consumers will reap long-term benefits from the Mach-speed innovation we have seen in videoconferencing, tele-medicine, ecommerce, biotechnology, and streaming media since January. Unfortunately, the march forward comes at […]
COVID-19, the Economy, and the Capital Markets
Timely Observations & Insights from JAG’s Portfolio Management Team
How Safe is the “Flight to Safety” Trade?
Coronavirus fears have driven an epic cascade of capital into risk-free assets like US Treasuries. 10-year Treasury yields have collapsed from 1.9% to less than .6% since the end of 2019. Meanwhile, investment-grade credit spreads have widened. The result? A truly extreme relationship between BAA-rated bond yields and Treasury yields. As of 3/9/2020, the […]
Coronavirus Correction Market Impact: A Historical Perspective
What has happened following big six-day drops in the S&P 500?
Revisiting the V bottom in Chip Equipment Makers
Semiconductor equipment companies produce the complex (and expensive) machines that are used to manufacture semiconductor chips. Although both industries are tied to the world’s insatiable demand for chips, their stock prices exhibit very dissimilar returns over various slices of time. This chart demonstrates the relative performance between the Semiconductor Equipment Index and the Semiconductor Index. […]
Are Rising Earnings Yields Pointing to Opportunity?
Investors have had a jittery August so far. The ongoing (never-ending?) US/China trade spat continues to lurch along with no resolution in sight, a potential “hard Brexit” looms in the UK, and EU powerhouse Germany is teetering on the edge of recession. These concerns helped drive a 6% pullback in the S&P 500 between the […]
Towering to New Speeds
If you live in an American city, your cell phone employs a fourth-generation wireless protocol called 4G. Data rates using the 4G network enable content-intensive applications such as streaming and mapping. 4G signals broadcast long distances and their radio waves are able to penetrate buildings. Although 4G has improved the mobile experience, the technology has […]
To Impossible & Beyond
A revolution is underway in food science. Plant-based meat substitutes that taste like meat are now on the market. The food craze has set-off a stock craze. Beyond Meats has appreciated by 40% since its initial public offering in April, and Impossible Foods is preparing to raise equity. The ingredients of these new foods provide […]
How Does a Momentum Manager Measure Risk?
Risk taken by asset managers can be assessed in a number of ways. Comparing a manager’s portfolio beta to that of their relevant index is a longstanding first step in considering how risky a collection of stocks may be. More sophisticated risk assessments include a review of component factors that explain systematic risks. Unfortunately, neither […]
Some Mergers are Shareholder Friendly This Year
This year is expected to be one of the top five M&A years in history according to the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances. The repatriation tax holiday, the high value of equity currency, and companies merging to achieve a competitive offset to the growing relative size of a few corporations are among the factors […]