The Earnings Backdrop Remains Strong for U.S. Equities: A Conversation with Brian Mulberry, Zacks Investment Research

In this episode, Brian Mulberry shares with our audience the insights that can be gleaned from earnings estimate revisions as well as the need to contextualize earnings revisions with other data to provide a more robust market outlook. Zacks recognizes the headwinds of higher interest rates and a deceleration in post-pandemic spending, so investors should be mindful of the quality of the companies, such as whether those companies can weather the storm of higher costs of capital while growing their earnings.

As we kick off the 2024 season, we are pleased to be joined by Eben Burr, President of Toews Asset Management. In this episode, we discuss Toews' approach to dynamically managing downside risk in both equities and fixed income allocations within a balanced portfolio. Eben also provides his outlook on the challenges facing capital markets, especially around fiscal and monetary uncertainties heading into this year's U.S. election.

In the final episode for 2023, we are pleased to be joined by first-time guest Taylor Lukof, Founder and CEO of ABR Dynamic Funds. We discuss the basics of what it means to invest in Volatility Strategies, how to consider such strategies within a traditional asset allocation framework, and whether any market insights can be gleaned from the behavior of volatility pricing.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of catching up with Wes Crill, Senior Investment Director at Dimensional Funds. We address some of the latest academic reviews of factor investment research, specifically research for what's driving the factor performance/variability. We also discuss the challenges 2023 is posing on the factor premiums such as value and size.

In this episode, we catch up with prior guest Jason Bloom, Head of Fixed Income and Alternative Asset ETF Strategy at Invesco. We discuss the current market landscape and economic backdrop for cross-asset class positioning. Hear why Jason was not surprised by this year's rise in interest rates and why investors are being paid to park in fixed income and commodities.

The real estate sector has come under increasing pressure due to a combination of higher interest rates, tightening credit conditions, and uncertain outlooks over certain sub-sectors, particularly commercial office properties. However, with uncertainty comes opportunity and more compelling valuations for a sector that could see brighter days ahead should nominal interest rates see a peak over the next year. Listen in as we discuss the real estate outlook with Brian Cordes from Cohen & Steers, a specialty investment firm with a long history in real estate investing.

In this episode, we discuss the economic and market environment with David Cervantes of Pinebrook Capital. David brings a broad market perspective having spent most of his career on Wall Street covering fixed income and cross-asset sales at Morgan Stanley, UBS, and JPMorgan. David now focuses on asset allocation and manages systematic trading strategies for his own private capital and is an active commentator on social media. He shares with us where and why the economic consensus got the U.S. recession call wrong and the implications for asset allocation positioning looking ahead.

In this episode, we focus on thematic investing with Scott Helfstein, Head of Thematic Solutions at Global X ETFs. Scott brings a unique multi-faceted perspective to the thematic landscape having previously served as an analyst at the Federal Reserve, worked in investment banking, and taught international politics and policy at West Point Academy. We discuss the current macro environment as well as investment themes that have captured investor attention such as generative artificial intelligence and robotics.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Ken Shinoda, Chairman of the Structured Products Committee at DoubleLine and co-manager on the firm's Total Return, Opportunistic Income, Income, Opportunistic MBS and Strategic MBS strategies. Ken will be sharing his thoughts on current Fed policy and its eventual effects on economic activity and inflation. He will also provide an update on the state of the securitized lending market covering autos, credit cards, and residential / commercial real estate.

In this episode, we discuss the market and economic landscape with Jeff Weniger, Head of Equity Strategy at WisdomTree. At the time of this recording, we find ourselves at an inflection point between peak inflation, peak economic activity, and peak central bank tightening - or are we? Jeff shares his views through a cross-sectional analysis of housing, labor, production, and valuations and where the risk/reward looks most favorable and unfavorable.