The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended August 28th, 2026, stocks were higher everywhere. Bonds were higher for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) rose 0.14% with yields falling; the 10-year US treasury yield decreased to 4.72%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• Stocks meandered lower on Monday as investor's awaited Wednesday's key inflation report and Nvidia's earnings, which were due after Wednesday's close.
• Indices did a U-turn on Tuesday, rising in anticipation of those two reports, despite escalating trade tensions with Canada.
• Wednesday was a bit of a mixed bag after investors digested the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which rose a bit more than expected in July. Anticipation continued to build for Nvidia's earnings release.  
• The US and Emerging Markets turned in good rallies on Thursday after Nvidia blew through earnings estimates and gave strong revenue guidance. This matters to tech investors who were looking for validation of the "AI trade".
• Stocks ended the week with a whimper as indices dropped everywhere. They tried to stay in the green, but Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh gave a keynote speech in Jackson Hole, where he indicated inflation remains a big concern.
• Next week will be a busy one as we will get a look at the health of the manufacturing and service sectors, weekly employment data, more inflation data and, of course, the August jobs report on Friday.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US and Emerging Markets were tied for the best return of the week while Non-US Developed fell a bit. Within the US, there was good breadth as the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were pretty clustered around the broader S&P 500. From a factor perspective, Low Volatility in the US beat the broader S&P 500.

In The News

A great piece on whether to use the "free" advisors at one of the big firms.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-i-use-my-financial-institutions-free-advisers-or-hire-an-independent-78b7eff4?mod=home_lead

What Fed Chair Warsh had to say in Jackson Hole.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/28/kevin-warsh-jackson-hole-fed-inflation-rate-hike.html

Some interesting thoughts on Nvidia's huge revenue forecast.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidias-revenue-forecast-is-so-huge-that-wall-street-wonders-if-spacex-is-the-reason-1ee7a8a9?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.