The U.S. mid-cap financials held up very well in 2022, in what was a very difficult year for the global financials. Risks that had not been seen for decades – like inflation – have returned, and the market’s fears that rising central bank rates could trigger a recession remain high. This has resulted in significant compression in price-to-earnings multiples as the market anticipates clouds ahead. Yet,…
Insights: United States
HUM – Top Performing U.S. Financials ETF – Again
Our Hamilton U.S. Small/Mid-Cap Financials ETF (HUM, HUM.U) was the top performing U.S. financials ETF in Canada – again[1]. HUM has now outperformed its competitor ETFs over the following periods: since inception[2], in the last two years, full year 2021, and full year 2022. In 2021, it was the top performing financials ETF in Canada – foreign or domestic[3]. In the last two years – which…
HFT – Top Performing Fintech ETF by Wide Margin
With its focus on blue-chip firms, the Hamilton Financials Innovation ETF (HFT) outperformed all fintech ETFs in the last two years, including those offered by “high profile” U.S. providers/managers. When it was launched, we explained that HFT would differentiate itself versus its competitors by focusing on “blue-chip” firms focused on financial innovation with higher growth, which were (i) profitable, (ii) had established business models, and importantly…
HFG – Top Performing Global Financials ETF in Canada
Our Hamilton Global Financials ETF (HFG) was the top performing ETF in its category in 2022 and outperformed its domestic competitors and the iShares Global Financials ETF (IXG) over the last two years. During that period, HFG generated a total return of 17.5%, beating every competitor ETF by at least 2.8%[1]. Importantly, not only did HFG outperform its competitor global financials ETFs and the index in…
Market Outlook with Ed Yardeni
On October 13, 2022, we hosted a Market Outlook with Ed Yardeni, moderated by Rob Wessel, in which the prominent Wall Street strategist provided his outlook on U.S. and global equity markets, preferred sectors, the current geopolitical environment, and the implications of changing fiscal/monetary policy. Please register below to access the replay (58 min). Disclaimer: Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with an investment…
Canadian Banks: TD Buys FHN – A Very Strong Fit
After much speculation in recent years about its appetite for additional U.S. bank M&A, TD offered ~US$13.4 bln in cash to buy First Horizon Corporation (FHN)[1], a Tennessee-based regional bank, in late February, almost 15 years since its last “large” U.S. bank acquisition – Commerce Bancorp. In our view, the acquisition offers many strategic benefits given FHN: (i) is an optimal size, adding material scale with…
Video: Market Outlook and Q&A with Ed Yardeni and Rob Wessel
Hamilton ETFs presents a Q&A with prominent Wall Street strategist, Ed Yardeni, moderated by Rob Wessel. Ed has been one of the most influential Wall Street strategists over the last 30 years and is regularly on CNBC. Rob asks Ed for his outlook on the U.S. and global equity markets, inflation, interest rates and, of course, the financials. Disclaimer: Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and…
Canadian Banks: BMO’s High Risk, High(er) Reward Acquisition of BoW
Bank of Montreal recently announced the acquisition of BNP Paribas’ U.S. retail banking subsidiary, Bank of the West (BoW) for ~C$20 bln – the largest acquisition in Canadian banking history. The transaction is very different from prior acquisitions made by the Canadian banks and is further complicated by the fact that BoW is not publicly traded (wholly owned by BNP), so most Canadian investors have limited…
U.S. Banks: M&A Features Prominently on Q1 Calls
[All values in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted] As we noted in last week’s Insight, U.S. Financials: Why They Remain Attractive (Especially the Mid-Caps), the Q4 2020 pick-up in U.S. bank M&A – a clear sign of management’s conviction that the economic recovery was well underway – has gained momentum in 2021, including several transactions involving Hamilton U.S. Mid/Small-Cap Financials ETF (tickers: HUM, HUM-U) and Hamilton…
U.S. Financials: Why They Remain Attractive (Especially the Mid-Caps)
[All values in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted] One year on from the market depths of the pandemic, it is worth a quick review of how far the U.S. financials have come. Notwithstanding the fact Ontario recently entered another province-wide lockdown, things south of the border look far brighter, especially for the holdings in the Hamilton U.S. Mid/Small-Cap Financials ETF (tickers: HUM, HUM-U) and much of…
Fintech/Cdn Banks: Can Standalone Digital Banks Disrupt the Incumbents?
In the coming weeks, we will publish a series of insights on financial innovation discussing several powerful secular trends relating to financial technology/innovation and its impact on the global financial services sector. We will also review how these trends influence the investment strategy of the Hamilton Financials Innovation ETF (HFT). Part I: Can Standalone Digital Banks Disrupt the Incumbents? Part II: Four Themes Driving Innovation in…
U.S. Banks: The Return of M&A – A Clear Sign of Bankers’ Conviction in the Recovery
All values in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. As the year draws to a close, the whipsaw nature of 2020 will not soon be forgotten. When the pandemic struck earlier this year and businesses shuttered under direct orders by various governments, how long and how deep the resulting global economic downturn would be was next to impossible to forecast with any sense of accuracy. As businesses…