The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended September 18th, 2026, stocks were lower everywhere. Bonds were about flat for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) was unchanged with yields holding steady; the 10-year US treasury yield remained at 4.99%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• Indices started the week on a sour note on Monday after, over the weekend, Saudi Arabia closed another key oil pipeline, sending oil even higher. Investors were left to wonder what this might mean for the Federal Reserve's meeting on Wednesday.
• Tuesday brought more angst as oil continued its upward march with said Federal Reserve meeting looming on the horizon.
• Wednesday brought the Fed's decision and they raised their benchmark rate by 0.25% as expected. They expressed concerns about the level of inflation in the US. Investors originally didn't react much, but as Warsh's press conference went on, indices fell as investors wondered whether raising rates will do the trick - after all, raising rates doesn't open oil supply.
• Stocks rebounded on Thursday as investors took a different perspective and showed confidence in the Fed's commitment to tamping down inflation. Oil fell as Trump also hinted Iran wants a deal, but there wasn't any follow-up to that.
• Friday brought a mixed carryover as US and Emerging Markets stocks rose while Non-US Developed fell. A larger earlier rally faded after a Fed member indicated the central bank has work to do.
• Next week will be a quiet one from a data perspective. We will get a look at manufacturing health, new home sales, weekly jobless claims, and US consumer sentiment.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was the winner again this week followed by Emerging Markets. Non-US Developed was by far the week's biggest laggard. Within the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq again outperformed while the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged far behind. 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

Schwab is doing more to keep clients direct...and raising fees on them.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/schwab-just-changed-the-math-on-your-wealth-strategy/ar-AA2cd7Pg

Why did the bond market want a rate hike?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-rate-hikes-wont-bring-down-gas-prices-why-the-bond-market-is-pushing-for-them-anyway-98f2c7e3?mod=home_invest

Why Microsoft's AI chief is concerned about AI.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/18/microsoft-ai-ceo-openais-latest-ai-revelation-a-serious-situation.html

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.