The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended June 6th, 2025, stocks were higher everywhere. New trade tensions with China started the week on a sour note, although Monday's session ended a bit higher anyway. On Tuesday,  investors cheered a report showing more job openings in the US than expected. This is considered a sign the job market may be loosening, giving the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates, especially in the wake of soft inflation reports of late. On Wednesday, there was some weak enthusiasm for a report showing the US may have added less private sector jobs than expected, another potential sign of wiggle room for the Fed. Thursday proved to be volatile as indexes rose on hopes of talks between Presidents Trump and Xi, but enthusiasm quickly dissipated as a growing rift between Trump and Elon Musk over the tax bill took center stage. Finally, Friday saw a strong end to the week as it was reported the US added more jobs than forecasted in May, wage growth beat estimates, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged. Bonds took another ride this week, heading lower, then sharply higher, and finally lower again, sending the 10-year US treasury yield higher to about 4.51%, according to MarketWatch.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, Emerging Markets won the week and the US came in a distant second. Non-US Developed markets have clearly taken a pause in recent weeks after a strong start to the year. Within the US, big Tech was again in the spotlight as the Nasdaq bested the broader S&P 500 while the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged. From a factor perspective, Value and Quality outperformed the global All Country World Index (ACWI).

In The News

A great piece with details on the "big beautiful bill".

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/06/03/senate-begins-work-on-giant-tax-bill/?kw=Senate%20Begins%20Work%20on%20Giant%20Tax%20Bill&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=newsroomupdate&utm_content=20250603&utm_term=ta&oly_enc_id=6911H2583589A7Z&user_id=3d158419d93f4751d4b3b79dd78d9abf446b89b61e92e7567cb4126b86cb53c5

8 questions to ask before doing a Roth IRA conversion.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/05/30/8-questions-to-ask-before-making-a-roth-conversion/?kw=8%20Questions%20to%20Ask%20Before%20Making%20a%20Roth%20Conversion&utm_position=1&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=dailywire&utm_content=20250602&utm_term=tadv&oly_enc_id=6911H2583589A7Z&user_id=3d158419d93f4751d4b3b79dd78d9abf446b89b61e92e7567cb4126b86cb53c5

Why the White House is pressing the Federal Reserve for a big rate cut.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/whats-behind-trumps-call-for-a-full-point-interest-rate-cut-c5a16522?mod=home_lead

Disclosures

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated performance level(s). Moreover, you should not assume that any of the above content serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Metric Financial.

All data and performance information sourced from Morningstar and MarketWatch, unless otherwise indicated.

USA is the MSCI USA index, Non-US Developed is the MSCI EAFE index, Emerging Markets is the MSCI Emerging Markets index, and All Country World is the MSCI ACWI index. One cannot invest in an index. Because the factor indexes have varying inception dates, some of the returns provided are back-tested and do not represent actual performance. Inception dates are as follows:

Momentum = MSCI ACWI Momentum NR USD Index (Inception: 11/30/95)

Value = MSCI ACWI Enhanced Value NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/15)

Quality = MSCI ACWI Quality NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/92)

Low Volatility = MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility (USD) NR USD Index (Inception: 5/28/93)

Size = MSCI ACWI Risk Weighted NR USD Index (Inception: 4/6/11)

Metric Financial, LLC (“Metric”) is a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the State of Connecticut and in other jurisdictions where exempted. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Follow-up or individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by Metric in the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation shall not be made without our first complying with jurisdiction requirements or pursuant to an applicable state exemption.

All written content is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Metric, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.