The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended March 13th, 2026, stocks were again lower everywhere. Bonds were also lower for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) fell 0.91% with yields rising; the 10-year US treasury yield increased to 4.29%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• Data didn't matter much this week. It was again all about the war in the Middle East. Stocks tried to rally on Monday after Trump said the war will soon be over, but then Iran said "we'll see" and escalated their attacks in the region. It's a shame because much of the data was benign. The Consumer Price Index came in right on forecasts, as did the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. However, investors know those inflation numbers are backward-looking and don't yet incorporate the spike in oil prices this month. Oil finished the week at $98.71/barrel, according to Yahoo Finance. That will make it difficult for the Federal Reserve to even think about lowering their benchmark interest rate next week.
• Next week will be relatively quiet from a data perspective again, but we will get a key inflation reading again and the Fed meeting. The Producer Price Index is set to be released on Wednesday. Again, this is February data and may not matter much ahead of the Fed's rate decision and outlook later that day.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was again this week's winner as International stocks bore the brunt of the selling due to the war. Within the US, the Tech-heavy Nasdaq again held up best as the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial, with reliance on oil prices as an input, dropped the most. From a factor perspective, Momentum, Value, and Low Volatility outperformed the global All Country World Index (ACWI).

In The News

Why retirees tend to underspend in retirement.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2026/03/10/why-do-retirees-underspend/?kw=Why%20Do%20Retirees%20Underspend%3F&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=earlywire&utm_content=20260311&utm_term=tadv&oly_enc_id=3992A1328267B3X&user_id=3d158419d93f4751d4b3b79dd78d9abf446b89b61e92e7567cb4126b86cb53c5

A great skeptic's piece on why the panic about oil hitting $150/barrel may be misplaced.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-oil-probably-wont-go-to-150-a-barrel-0c5ecfa5?mod=home_lead

Why are 401(k) withdrawals on the rise?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-truth-behind-401-k-withdrawal-numbers-people-arent-being-reckless-theyre-desperate-85645e70?mod=home_persfin

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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