Rachata Amnataree/iStock via Getty Images Performance Event Driven Equity ( BILPX ) returned +0.93% (net, institutional) during the quarter. By sub-strategy, hard catalyst, and credit positioning contributed to returns in Q4 2025. Within the hard catalyst portfolio, 15 mergers closed during the period. Merger spreads tightened moderately during the period and results were supported by a combinatio...
Rachata Amnataree/iStock via Getty Images Performance Event Driven Equity ( BILPX ) returned +0.93% (net, institutional) during the quarter. By sub-strategy, hard catalyst, and credit positioning contributed to returns in Q4 2025. Within the hard catalyst portfolio, 15 mergers closed during the period. Merger spreads tightened moderately during the period and results were supported by a combination of deal closures and constructive deal-specific developments, including Paramount Skydance / Netflix ( NFLX )/ Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ), Baker Hughes ( BKR )/ Chart Industries ( GTLS ), Kimberly-Clark ( KMB )/ Kenvue ( KVUE ), and Verizon ( VZ )/ Frontier Communications (FYBR). With public markets strong and regulatory confidence continuing to improve, M&A activity accelerated further, with sizable transactions across consumer health, biotechnology, diagnostics, media, and software. Positioning The Fund remains well-diversified with 82 investments across the spectrum of corporate events. The Fund's LMV deployed in hard catalyst investments increased materially during the quarter, reaching their highest exposure in the last few years. Soft catalyst and credit exposure decreased over the period. As of 31 December 2025, the Fund remains well-positioned to capitalize upon the forward opportunity set with 62% of LMV invested in hard catalyst, 24% in soft catalyst, and 14% in credit. Based on performance since 12/31/2015 through 12/31/2025. Highlighted periods deemed periods of "market stress," defined by a three-month period where the S&P 500 had a peak to trough drawdown of 5% or more. Performance shown is gross of fees and expenses. Institutional shares may not be available to all investors. Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal values may fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. All returns assume reinvestment of divid...
ronniechua/iStock via Getty Images The global economy has become significantly more resilient to oil ( USO ) ( BNO ) price disruptions relative to the stagflation era of the 1970s, according to a recent report from Bank of America Global Research. The analysis reveals that the world now uses only about one-third of the oil to produce the same amount of gross domestic product compared with the earl...
ronniechua/iStock via Getty Images The global economy has become significantly more resilient to oil ( USO ) ( BNO ) price disruptions relative to the stagflation era of the 1970s, according to a recent report from Bank of America Global Research. The analysis reveals that the world now uses only about one-third of the oil to produce the same amount of gross domestic product compared with the early 1970s. This reduced oil dependence has translated into notably smaller economic impacts when energy prices surge. Using a Vector Autoregression (VAR) approach, BofA economists found that a 10% oil price shock that would have caused a 90 basis point increase in U.S. inflation during the 1960-1983 period now produces only about a 25-bp impact. Similarly, the growth cost has shrunk dramatically—from over 70 bps in the earlier era to roughly 5 bps today. The U.S. shale boom since the 2010s, which transformed America from a major energy importer to a net exporter, is credited as a key driver of this improved resilience. Europe, however, remains more vulnerable. BofA’s analysis shows the Euro area is about twice as sensitive to oil shocks as the U.S., with a 10% price increase generating about a 40-bp inflation impact and over 10 bps of negative growth effect. The region’s larger share of energy in consumer spending and its status as an energy importer explain the disparity. The findings come amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East that have pushed oil prices roughly 40% higher, prompting BofA to revise its 2026 global growth forecast down by 40 bps to 3.1%. Bank of America Global Research More on the Oil Market Clock Is Ticking On Iran's Oil Leverage The Iran War - Crisis Averted, But Inflationary Pressures Remain Commodities: Oil Slumps Below $100 After U.S., Iran Agree To 2-Week Ceasefire What is in Iran’s 10-point ceasefire plan? Iran, Oman to charge fees for Hormuz transit during ceasefire - report
美股三大指数大幅高开，纳指涨3.65%，标普500指数涨2.08%，道指涨2.61%。芯片存储板块普涨，美光科技、闪迪涨超9%，西部数据、希捷科技涨超7%。英伟达股价上涨3.68%，谷歌-A股价上涨4.71%，苹果股价上涨1.73%，微软股价上涨3.02%，亚马逊股价上涨5.07%，Meta Platforms Inc Class A股价上涨4.46%，特斯拉股价上涨3.64%，奈飞股价上涨0.2...
美股三大指数大幅高开，纳指涨3.65%，标普500指数涨2.08%，道指涨2.61%。芯片存储板块普涨，美光科技、闪迪涨超9%，西部数据、希捷科技涨超7%。英伟达股价上涨3.68%，谷歌-A股价上涨4.71%，苹果股价上涨1.73%，微软股价上涨3.02%，亚马逊股价上涨5.07%，Meta Platforms Inc Class A股价上涨4.46%，特斯拉股价上涨3.64%，奈飞股价上涨0.26%。
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) stock received a notable vote of caution this week when Seaport Global Securities downgraded Broadcom to Neutral. The call arrives as the stock trades near $352, having surged 117% over the past year. That kind of run naturally invites the question: has the AI chip rally stretched Broadcom’s valuation beyond what the fundamentals ... Broadcom Cut to Neutral at Seaport: Has t...
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) stock received a notable vote of caution this week when Seaport Global Securities downgraded Broadcom to Neutral. The call arrives as the stock trades near $352, having surged 117% over the past year. That kind of run naturally invites the question: has the AI chip rally stretched Broadcom’s valuation beyond what the fundamentals ... Broadcom Cut to Neutral at Seaport: Has the AI Chip Party Finally Gone Too Far?
FinWise Bancorp ( FINW ) appointed Jim Noone as chief executive officer effective April 6, 2026. Kent Landvatter will transition from CEO to executive chairman of both the company and bank. The leadership change follows a multi-year succession plan executed by the board of directors. Noone previously served as president of the bank (2023), president of the company (2024), and CEO of the bank (2025...
FinWise Bancorp ( FINW ) appointed Jim Noone as chief executive officer effective April 6, 2026. Kent Landvatter will transition from CEO to executive chairman of both the company and bank. The leadership change follows a multi-year succession plan executed by the board of directors. Noone previously served as president of the bank (2023), president of the company (2024), and CEO of the bank (2025). He will continue to serve as president and CEO of FinWise Bank alongside his new role. More on FinWise Bancorp FinWise Bancorp (FINW) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript FinWise projects $1.4B quarterly originations baseline for 2026 while expanding credit enhanced balances Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on FinWise Bancorp Historical earnings data for FinWise Bancorp Financial information for FinWise Bancorp
HAKINMHAN/iStock via Getty Images Now is a great time to buy hard assets at bargain prices, especially when it comes to less popular names that are trading with significant margins of safety. Buying at below average valuation provides downside protection and can shave years off of one’s compounding journey. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, “I want to drive a 10,000 pound truck across a bridge built f...
HAKINMHAN/iStock via Getty Images Now is a great time to buy hard assets at bargain prices, especially when it comes to less popular names that are trading with significant margins of safety. Buying at below average valuation provides downside protection and can shave years off of one’s compounding journey. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, “I want to drive a 10,000 pound truck across a bridge built for 30,000 pound trucks.” This brings me to LXP Industrial Trust ( LXP ), which trades at a discount compared to larger peers Prologis ( PLD ) and Terreno Realty ( TRNO ). At the current price of $46.10, it trades at a forward P/E of 13.9 and carries 6.1% yield, as shown below. LXP Stock 1-Yr Trend I last covered LXP back in May 2025, highlighting its young, high-quality industrial portfolio, strong tenant demand, and reshoring tailwinds. Since then, LXP has gone on to produce a 17.4% total return, outperforming the 12.5% rise in the S&P 500 ( SPY ). Who says you have to buy ‘Mag 7’ stocks to get outperformance? In this article, I revisit LXP including recent business results , and discuss why it remains a bargain ‘Buy’ at preset for income and potentially strong total returns from here, so let’s get started! Why LXP? LXP Industrial Trust is a REIT focused on owning and operating Class A industrial properties in high-growth Sunbelt and Lower Midwest markets. It’s spent the past several years repositioning its portfolio toward modern logistics assets that cater to large-scale distribution and advanced manufacturing tenants. In recent years, LXP has successfully transitioned itself from a hybrid office/industrial landlord into a pure-play industrial REIT. At present, LXP has 108 properties covering 53 million square feet that are spread across 12 target markets. 47% of ABR (annual base rent) comes from investment grade rated tenants and 77% of ABR comes from growing Sunbelt markets, as shown below. Investor Presentation Notably, 93% of the portfolio is concentrated in new Clas...
Bets on a ceasefire between the US and Iran have sent more than $170 million coursing through Polymarket, making it one of the largest geopolitical wagers in the short history of prediction markets. Now, the aftermath is raising the same questions that have dogged the platforms for months: whether bettors are trading on inside information, and whether the platforms can cleanly settle the contracts...
Bets on a ceasefire between the US and Iran have sent more than $170 million coursing through Polymarket, making it one of the largest geopolitical wagers in the short history of prediction markets. Now, the aftermath is raising the same questions that have dogged the platforms for months: whether bettors are trading on inside information, and whether the platforms can cleanly settle the contracts they broker. A series of well-timed Iran wagers placed on Polymarket by freshly created anonymous accounts have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits so far, prompting analysts to scour the trades for tell-tale signs of insider activity. Some payouts on Middle East-related bets are now frozen in a dispute, with traders unable to collect as users debate what constitutes a ceasefire. Together, they expose the growing pains of an industry that is still building the infrastructure to match its ambitions. Almost all of the recent cases that raised insider trading concerns have been based on circumstantial evidence, with no smoking gun pointing to specific insiders at work. On Wednesday, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain highlighted three recently created accounts that secured more than $480,000 in profits by betting on a ceasefire by April 7 and selling the positions at high prices. The final result of the April 7 contract remains under dispute, a process that will force most traders to wait for more than two days for payouts. Total volume on the market has topped $60 million and remains open for trading while the dispute is resolved. The contracts highlight a persistent problem in prediction markets, where real-world events don’t always resolve according to black-and-white criteria. What’s more, the growing array of suspicious activity is adding urgency to efforts to address the new risks opened up by prediction markets at a moment when Wall Street is moving to legitimize them and everyday users are piling in. Prediction markets offer a way to make yes-or-n...
President Xi Jinping has signalled a renewed focus on China’s services sector, calling for a demand- and tech-led strategy to reshape growth and create jobs, as policymakers met to chart the path forward. “The focus must be on demand-driven development and reforms as well as empowerment by technologies,” Xi said in a message to a two-day conference on the sector that concluded on Wednesday, accord...
President Xi Jinping has signalled a renewed focus on China’s services sector, calling for a demand- and tech-led strategy to reshape growth and create jobs, as policymakers met to chart the path forward. “The focus must be on demand-driven development and reforms as well as empowerment by technologies,” Xi said in a message to a two-day conference on the sector that concluded on Wednesday, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. Highlighting the role of services in tackling some of China’s...
Getty Images Every quarter, Wall Street breaks down Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL / GOOG ) by segments, which is why the company draws so much attention. There’s always something to discuss and argue about. And now, with the first-quarter 2026 earnings potentially on Apr. 29, 2026 , the stock will be coming back into the limelight after a brutal selloff that doesn’t align with the foundation of the underl...
Getty Images Every quarter, Wall Street breaks down Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL / GOOG ) by segments, which is why the company draws so much attention. There’s always something to discuss and argue about. And now, with the first-quarter 2026 earnings potentially on Apr. 29, 2026 , the stock will be coming back into the limelight after a brutal selloff that doesn’t align with the foundation of the underlying business. As a shareholder, I have many reasons to be optimistic, which I’m excited to cover today. With that, and everything else outlined below, my Strong Buy rating for Alphabet stays in place. Where does Alphabet stock stand? Before anything else, let’s set the stage with where the stock sits today to help frame its trajectory. Seeking Alpha At the time of this publication, Alphabet last traded at around $305 per share , which puts it roughly 13% below its all-time high of about $350 per share set in early February this year, while the stock is modestly in the red zone on a year-to-date basis. That said, zooming out shows the share price has more than doubled over the past 12 months. It’s also worth noting that Alphabet was among the few companies that were less affected by the widespread growth stock selloff that’s been going on since late 2025, which potentially shows that the market woke up to the idea that Alphabet’s AI push isn’t a lab experiment, but something that can actually pay off over time. Going back, what’s behind the near-term weakness? Well, we had a perfect storm, with the center being the tension between the U.S. and Iran, which sent oil prices flying and triggered a broad selloff in growth stocks. That said, Alphabet was less affected. What did we learn in Alphabet’s Q4 ’25 earnings call? To see where a business is going, we first have to understand where it’s been. In Alphabet’s case, Q4’s numbers were as solid as ever. Revenue came in at $113.8 billion, rising 18% from the same quarter last year. Full year revenue crossed $400 billion, a new re...
According to the average brokerage recommendation (ABR), one should invest in JD.com (JD). It is debatable whether this highly sought-after metric is effective because Wall Street analysts' recommendations tend to be overly optimistic. Would it be worth investing in the stock?
According to the average brokerage recommendation (ABR), one should invest in JD.com (JD). It is debatable whether this highly sought-after metric is effective because Wall Street analysts' recommendations tend to be overly optimistic. Would it be worth investing in the stock?
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images A list of long term S&P 500 beaters There aren't many funds that beat the market ( SPY, VOO, IVV ) using the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) as a proxy for this measure. There are, however, more than zero . A personal habit and hobby of mine is that every time I come across one, I print out the long-term chart and put it in a 3-ring binder. In today's article, I will ...
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images A list of long term S&P 500 beaters There aren't many funds that beat the market ( SPY, VOO, IVV ) using the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) as a proxy for this measure. There are, however, more than zero . A personal habit and hobby of mine is that every time I come across one, I print out the long-term chart and put it in a 3-ring binder. In today's article, I will be reviewing some long-term S&P 500 beaters from the inception of either the fund or the proxy I'm using, State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust , which came to market just prior to 1994. This is a healthy 30 + year back test period. I also look at some promising prospects that aren't yet a decade old, but have beaten over the short term, 3-5 years. As we know, many funds have prolific managers who may leave a decade or two after the fund debuts. This often times results in holders from the initial offering having a long-term beating performance, but not those in the more near term 10,5 and 3-year periods. We will also be parsing those out. Why aren't there many? Anything that beats the S&P 500 with a similar standard deviation [volatility measure] is going to be an active strategy for the most part. It's very hard to create a passive index that topples the S&P 500 over long periods of time. Growth indexes have been the one caveat, but they also introduce a lot more volatility. That very volatility is something that many retirees seek to avoid if they are now in the distribution phase . You don't want to be chasing a moving target if you are selling shares to live on. Fees When it comes to active strategies, these usually introduce more fees as well. Fees hurt the total return being taken from the principal. This is why most investing gurus recommend simple, low-fee index funds. However, if a fund can get you enough excess return to more than make up for the fee, then that fee is well earned. There aren't many managers who can do it. But they do exist. A short list: BlackRock ...
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images News Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday described the recent conflict with Iran as a decisive success, speaking a day after Washington and Tehran agreed to a temporary halt in fighting. “Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield,” Hegseth said, referring to the Pentagon’s designation for the campaign. The comments followed ...
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images News Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday described the recent conflict with Iran as a decisive success, speaking a day after Washington and Tehran agreed to a temporary halt in fighting. “Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield,” Hegseth said, referring to the Pentagon’s designation for the campaign. The comments followed an announcement by Donald Trump that the United States and Iran had reached a two-week ceasefire agreement. The pause in hostilities is expected to lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that has been closed since late February when US and Israeli forces launched operations against Iran. The disruption to the waterway had driven energy prices sharply higher and increased pressure on the administration to find a diplomatic resolution. “Iran begged for this ceasefire — and we all know it,” Hegseth said. U.S. officials have offered varying justifications for the conflict over time, but Hegseth said the core objectives had been achieved. He pointed to the dismantling of Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, the destruction of naval assets that had threatened commercial shipping and strikes targeting the country’s defense production infrastructure. Despite the ceasefire, military leaders signaled that tensions remain unresolved. Dan Caine welcomed the pause in fighting but emphasized that U.S. forces are maintaining readiness, noting the agreement is temporary rather than a permanent settlement. Dear Readers: We recognize that politics often intersect with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF, etc. Ceasefire Crash: Oil Tumbles 15% As U.S.-Iran Deal Unwinds Global 'Fear Trade' Commodities: Oil Slumps Below $100 After U.S., Iran Agree To 2-Week Ceasefire 10 Hours To $150 Oil? The Looming D...