This is the video recording of the April 14th Weekly Town Hall w/ Willie Delwiche.

04/14/22 2:00 PM ET

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

It’s easy to fixate on percentages when discussing and labeling market moves, especially when those moves are to the downside. 

The S&P 500 can be 9.99% below its peak and you’ll hear nothing but crickets. Cross the 10% threshold and it’s a Correction. Cross the 20% threshold and banner headlines announce a Bear Market.

There are plenty of problems with this approach. A market environment where the S&P 500 is down 9.9% from its peak is likely not materially different from one where the index is down 10.1%. The same can be said on either side of the bear market threshold. Problems go beyond these arbitrary, specific thresholds. 

The questions it raises reflect its lack of utility for everyone except headline writers: Is a market that is on its way to, but has not yet achieved a 20% peak to trough decline, in a bear market? Or is it still a bull market? And what happens after it enters bear market territory but nudges higher so that the peak to trough decline is now less than the 20% threshold? Is this still a bear market?

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Lack of follow through evident beneath the surface
• Risk Off Environment persists
• Defensives gain strength while Value & Growth stumble

Last month’s equity market bounce was impressive at the moment. But it has failed to produce the sort of strength that argues in favor of a broadly-based “risk on” environment. Short-term upside surges have not been followed by breadth thrusts in our work. Despite a handful of days in which new highs outnumbered new lows, it has not been consistent. We are now at 20 consecutive weeks of more new lows than new highs and our 10-day net new high advance/decline line has been falling since November. Our weight of the evidence dashboard suggests a cautious approach remains warranted.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway:

• Global bond yields racing higher.
• Median CPI from Cleveland Fed is the key inflation report.
• April not living up to its ‘best month’ billing.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

The Fed was all over the news this week, going out of its way to telegraph to the market its intention to pursue an accelerated pace of rate hikes. Fed funds futures seem to be getting the message. A month ago, futures were priced for year-end fed funds rate of 1.50 - 1.75%. That is now up to between 2.50% - 3.00%. In past accelerated tightening cycles, both stocks and commodities were strong into the initial rate hike. Their paths, however, soon diverged. Commodities remained strong and on average didn’t peak until a year and a half after rate hikes began. Stocks have tended to struggle during these tightening cycles, working sideways to lower for an extended period of time. Every cycle has its own unique characteristics, but if history is any guide it makes sense to favor commodities over stocks when the Fed is rapidly tightening monetary policy.

This is the video recording of the April 7th Weekly Town Hall w/ Willie Delwiche.

04/07/22 2:00 PM ET

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

I got a message last night that Ned Davis is retiring from the eponymous firm he launched more than four decades ago. Turns out, he’s not quite retiring – but he is stepping back. Either way, it’s a good time to reflect on his impact on the industry. 

His data-driven, evidence-based approach to the market can seem obvious to those of us who are following the trail he blazed. But it would have been less obvious at a time when data access and computing power were more limited than they are now. It was revolutionary then, and is the gold-standard today.

More than ever, the industry is filled with those who want to tell stories about what should happen without making space for feedback about whether that is happening. Many want to sit still and find ways to have their priors confirmed, rather than having a disciplined and objective approach toward weighing the evidence. Being data-driven is more than just doing a little math and including a decimal place. Knowing what you want the answer to be before you even ask the question is not evidence-based, it’s narrative-driven.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

This All Star Charts +Plus Monthly Playbook breaks down the investment universe into a series of largely binary decisions and tactical calls. Paired with our Weight of the Evidence Dashboard, this piece is designed to help active asset allocators follow trends, pursue opportunities, and manage risk.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: Q1 returns reflect a bifurcated market. Weekly data shows breadth struggling for traction. Inflation-fighting proposals are political palliatives, not economic solutions.