Insights: Notes from the Field

Notes from India: All is Well in the World’s Fastest Growing Market

We had the opportunity to meet the management teams of a dozen Indian banks, insurers and asset managers in the financial capital of Mumbai, India last month. Nearly a year since our last meetings with senior bank executives and notwithstanding the recent slowing of economic growth, management teams were optimistic of India’s medium to long-term GDP growth outlook. The optimism was driven by a structural market…

Notes from Dallas: Big Things Happen Here

We recently returned from a visit to Dallas (our third in four years) where we met with eight banks operating in the Lone Star State. Five of the eight have footprints beyond Texas, and hence offered a fuller picture of the attractiveness of the Texas economy and business outlook (hint, there’s a reason they’re in Texas). Of the banks we met, three are holdings in our…

A Day in the Life of the U.S. Financials – Notes from New York

Three days in New York gave us the opportunity to meet with a broad-based group of financial services companies, largely based in the U.S., but several operating globally. Included in the mix were several holdings of the Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (ticker: HFY) and the Hamilton U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (ticker: HFMU.U), both of which invest in the broader financials services sector. The former…

Notes from Washington, DC – Investigating One of the Wealthiest MSAs in the Country

We recently had the opportunity to meet senior management of over a dozen U.S. mid-cap banks headquartered in the Washington, DC area. Anchored by the capital city, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria MSA (Washington MSA) is the sixth largest U.S. MSA ([1]) with real GDP of US$507 bln ([2]) and a population of 6.3 mln. Importantly, it is also the second wealthiest MSA ([3]) in the entire country, supported…

Global Exchanges, E-Brokers and Fin-Tech: Secular and Structural Growth Drivers Abound

We had the opportunity to meet the management of over a dozen global exchanges, e-brokers and fin-tech firms at a recent conference in New York. Global exchanges and e-brokers have benefitted from multiple secular, regulatory and cyclical tailwinds in recent years, which have resulted in strong growth trajectory and robust stock returns. The Hamilton Capital Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY) [1] has ~4% exposure to exchanges and e-brokers,…

Notes from Nashville: Titans of Growth

We recently travelled to Nashville to meet with a small group of Tennessee-based banks, all of which operate in the state capital, and half of which are holdings in the Hamilton Capital Global Bank ETF (ticker: HBG) and the Hamilton Capital U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (ticker: HFMU.U). We also had an opportunity to speak with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. It was a great…

U.S. Banks: The Sun’s still shining on Mid-Caps

New York City in May means a lot of traffic, but also beautiful weather and a chance to catch up with a collection of mid-cap banks from across the U.S. in one trip. In all, we sat down with 8 executive teams, primarily from banks operating in the U.S. Sunbelt (i.e., from California to Florida), including 7 owned by the Hamilton Capital U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF…

HFMU.U Posts Robust 13% EPS Growth Y/Y; 500 bps Ahead of U.S. Large-Cap Financials

In Q1 2019, the holdings in the Hamilton Capital U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (ticker: HFMU.U) recorded year-over-year portfolio-weighted EPS growth of a strong 13%[1], or ~500 bps ahead of the large-caps at 8%[2].  This strong performance was supported by excellent fundamentals including stable margins, steady volume growth and a benign credit environment. Note to Reader: This Insight includes references to certain Hamilton ETFs that were…

Notes from New York: Cards, Payments and Financial Technology Meetings

We met the management teams of over a dozen payments, cards, exchanges and other related companies in the rapidly growing financial technology sector[1] in New York. The financial technology sector (“Fin-Tech”) is expected to continue to benefit from multiple structural tailwinds including the growth of e-commerce and growing technology adoption. However, high competitive intensity, rapidly evolving consumer preferences and a wide variety of business models (including…

Notes from India: Financials Poised to Benefit from World’s Fastest Growing Economy

We met the management teams of over a dozen Indian banks, insurers and asset managers in the financial capital of Mumbai, India in December. With real GDP growth of over 7% over the past decade, India is one of the largest emerging markets and forecast to be the fastest growing major economy in 2019. Not surprisingly, the management teams we met were very upbeat. Exposure to…

Notes from Chicago: Opinions on the Canadian Banks (part 1)

We recently met with the top management of four Chicago-headquartered U.S. mid-cap banks (see related October 9, 2018 “Notes from Chicago – Three Takeaways from the Windy City (Part 2)”). Given their large presence in this giant MSA, it was not surprising that the Canadian banks and their speculated U.S. expansion plans were a frequent discussion topic. Chicago is the single most important market to Canadian…

Notes from Chicago: 3 Takeaways from the Windy City (part 2)

We recently met the top management of four U.S. mid-cap banks headquartered in Chicago (see related October 10, 2018 “Notes from Chicago – What the Banks Said About the Canadian Banks/M&A (Part 1)”). Chicago is the third largest U.S. MSAwith real GDP of US$583 billion and a population of 9.6 million. Although large, the Chicago MSA has one of the least favourable demographic profiles among the “large…

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