#position-sizing

#position-sizing

The VIX closed last week at almost 27, an 11% jump on the final trading day, and early signals this week show it climbing further. The fear gauge now sits at its 93rd percentile over the past year, meaning volatility has been this elevated or higher only 7% of trading days in the last 12 months.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) is the most widely held energy ETF in the U.S., with roughly $38 billion in net assets, spanning the full energy value chain.

The sharp rise in oil prices and renewed inflation concerns created significant pressure on both stocks and bonds, impacting investor sentiment and market dynamics.

HYBL attempts to solve the income problem by combining senior loans, high-yield corporate bonds, and debt tranches from U.S. collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). The result is a portfolio with lower duration and lower volatility compared to traditional high-yield funds, while still targeting high current income with monthly distributions.

When fear spikes, most investors flee to gold or Treasuries. But five quietly resilient stocks have been doing the work all along, and most investors aren't paying attention. The ranking below weighs dividend stability, earnings consistency, balance sheet strength, and cash flow predictability in a turbulent environment.

The fund blends high yield corporate bonds, senior loans, and debt tranches of U.S. collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) into a single actively managed portfolio, aiming to deliver income that beats the broad bond market while keeping volatility lower than any single segment on its own.

USHY seeks to track the investment results of the ICE BofA US High Yield Constrained Index, composed of U.S. dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds, providing broad exposure in a low-cost wrapper.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer stated that the proposed rule aims to fulfill President Trump's promise for a new golden age by fostering a retirement system that allows more Americans to retire with dignity.

Druckenmiller founded Duquesne Capital Management in 1981, which went on to deliver average annual returns of 30% without a single losing year. Every other major investor you know today has had at least some losses, but not Druckenmiller.

Over time, markets get ahead of themselves. Excitement over AI, green energy, or whatever the next big thing is tends to push stock valuations far beyond what fundamentals justify. Accordingly, more often than not, a correction can be the catalyst that brings valuation discipline back into the discussion. Think of it as the market taking a deep breath.

While over-diversification is not a term you hear often, the financial industry has spent decades telling investors that more is better. More funds, more sectors, more geographic exposure, and more asset classes, galore. The thing is, when a retiree holds 15 or 20 ETFs across overlapping strategies, the result isn't going to be safety, more like dilution.

A huge data set has confirmed a long-theorized relationship between the size of stock trades and the impact on prices. Buying large numbers of shares in a company would be expected to drive the price up for other investors, because such purchases imply a commodity in demand. Researchers have now gained their best handle so far on how much.

Step away from those individual stocks. Forget I bonds and laddered portfolios of individual Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. If you're a satisficer, they're not for you. Reduce your number of accounts and the holdings within them.A portfolio with fewer moving parts is easier to oversee and simpler to document in case your loved ones or a financial advisor needs to take the wheel.