The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended May 9th, 2025, stocks were mixed, but ultimately ended moderately lower. The week started out with some trepidation as it was "Fed week", the week the Federal Reserve would announce its interest rate policy. The central bank validated fears as they not only left rates unchanged, but signaled concerns that the US tariff policy has the potential to cause inflation and a slowing of economic growth. There was some reprieve on Thursday when the White House announced a new tariff deal with the UK and stocks rose, although they fizzled late in the day. And finally Friday ended with a dud as indexes were about unchanged. Investors await this weekend's negotiations with China after Trump indicated the US would be willing to back off their original levies against the Asian giant. Bonds again headed lower, sending the 10-year US treasury yield higher to about 4.39%, according to MarketWatch.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was again the week's biggest loser as Emerging Markets again had the best return and in fact the only positive one. Within the US, the Tech-heavy Nasdaq again beat the broader S&P 500, but the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average were able to top it as well. From a factor perspective, Momentum, Value, and Size outperformed the global All Country World Index (ACWI).

In The News

Warren Buffet is stepping down as Chairman of Berkshire, but left some estate planning tips.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2024/11/25/warren-buffetts-7-nuggets-of-estate-planning-wisdom-?kw=Warren%20Buffett%27s%207%20Nuggets%20of%20Estate%20Planning%20Wisdom&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=newsroomupdate&utm_content=20250505&utm_term=ta&oly_enc_id=6911H2583589A7Z&user_id=3d158419d93f4751d4b3b79dd78d9abf446b89b61e92e7567cb4126b86cb53c5

What tax-free Social Security would really mean.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/05/08/what-tax-free-social-security-benefits-would-really-mean/?kw=What%20Tax-Free%20Social%20Security%20Benefits%20Would%20Really%20Mean&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=earlywire&utm_content=20250509&utm_term=tadv&oly_enc_id=6911H2583589A7Z&user_id=3d158419d93f4751d4b3b79dd78d9abf446b89b61e92e7567cb4126b86cb53c5

Why Bill Miller thinks the worst is over for stocks.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/legendary-investor-bill-miller-on-why-the-worst-is-over-for-stocks-amazons-a-buy-and-tesla-isnt-6413161d?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)

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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.