The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended September 11th, 2026, stocks were lower everywhere. Bonds were lower for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) fell 1% with yields rising; the 10-year US treasury yield increased to 4.98%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• US markets were closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day.
• Tuesday brought more of last week's angst - the war in Iran seems to have no end as does the march higher for the price of oil. Exacerbating matters was the escalation of the trade war with Canada.
• On Wednesday, rising oil and interest rates raised bets for a Federal Reserve rate hike at their meeting next week (rate decision to be announced on Wednesday), sending stocks lower again.
• It was more of the same on Thursday after the Producer Price Index came in right on estimates, but remains far too high for the Federal Reserve's comfort zone.
• Friday brought a relief rally despite consumer prices slightly above forecasts and consumer sentiment well below estimates.
• Next week will be a sparse one for economic data, so all eyes will be on Wednesday's rate decision and economic forecast from the Federal Reserve.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was by far the week's big winner, although that's a relative term since all geographies were in the red. Emerging Markets was the biggest drag on the global index. Within the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed while the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply. From a factor perspective, Momentum in the US beat the broader S&P 500 by a sizeable margin and was, in fact, positive for the week.

In The News

Even some Republicans are supporting removing the social security tax cap.

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/now-even-some-republicans-want-to-tax-high-earners-to-save-social-security-88410.html?section=301&utm_source=FA+Magazine&utm_campaign=d4de9cbb8d-FAN_FA+News_John+Hancock+9%2F23_090926&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-02ce404ce3-625981838

Inflation is driving up social security cost of living adjustments...is that a good thing?

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/11/social-security-cola-2027-estimate.html

Why a shrinking population doesn't have to be bad for financial markets.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/investors-are-all-wrong-about-demography-ebfb5f2f?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.