CFA Society Chicago

Any volatility in the market these days?   We couldn't have gone through investment themes for 2025 without discussing volatility and the options markets   Very lucky to have Zed Francis CIO of Convexitas join our host Rich Excell, CFA on this last installment of the CFA Society Chicago Investment Exchange Forum - Investment Themes for 2025 series

In this episode, hosts Tony Zhang and Rich Excell are joined by fellow CFA Society Chicago member Blaine Reed to discuss the market reaction to the tariff news and how investors should try to think through the scenarios going forward

We continue to explore the themes that are driving markets in 2025. The impact of changing policies in the US and elsewhere is clearly causing investors to reconsider how they will forecast the economy and markets going forward. We are lucky to be joined by Brian Wesbury of First Trust, consistently one of the top forecasters on Wall Street, to discuss the important issues facing investors today

If anything has characterized 2025 it has been the influence of geopolitics on the markets. In this episode, Rich Excell, CFA, CMT is joined by Reva Goujon, a geopolitical strategist and the Director of Corporate Advisory at Rhodium Group. Reva has two decades of experience working with C-suites and government agencies on how to deconstruct risks, assess future scenarios, and make informed decisions.

In the CFASC Investment Exchange Forum podcast, we continue on with our unpacking of the investment themes for 2025. This week, we speak with Dave Sekera, the US market Strategist for Morningstar Research Services. Dave and Rich start with a discussion of economic and interest rate forecasts and lead into what impact these views have on the different sectors, styles and factors in the US equity market. 

Elizabeth Henderson, CFA, Head of Fixed Income at AAM, and Anthony Woodside, CFA, Head of Investment Strategy at LGIM America, delve into the evolving landscape of credit markets. They discuss how tighter credit spreads may reshape risk-return scenarios and the Federal Reserve's influence on investor behavior. Insights on government policy's impact on sectors like clean energy, the implications of tariffs on inflation, and labor market dynamics present a comprehensive view of the fixed income environment as we approach 2025.

But we do cover a range of other interesting topics! Tony Zhang, PhD and CFA joins me to discuss falling US Treasury yields, money rotating overseas (particularly China and Europe), money rotating within the US market, the overvalued Dollar and crypto. We will get to NVDA next time!

The first of a multiple part series, we are exploring the investment themes of 2025. With so much concern on inflation, we thought the best place to start is in commodities. We were lucky to be joined by Bloomberg Intelligence Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone, a fellow CFA charterholder and friend of the program. We covered the gamut from soybeans to Solana, gold to gas. 

Tony Zhang PhD, CFA and Rich Excell CFA, CMT are back for the first Macro Matters of 2025.  The story of the early part of the year is 10 year Treasury yields but that means we are talking yield curves, FOMC expectations, large cap vs. small cap and growth vs. value. We even got into the $7 trillion of Treasury issuance and Chinese 10 year yields at all-time lows!  A  full episode because we haven't spoken in a while.  Enjoy!

Michael Kantrowitz, the #1 Strategist at Piper Sandler, shares his expert insights on the US equity market backdrop. He discusses the implications of expensive valuations and tight credit spreads on investment strategies. Kantrowitz highlights the importance of macroeconomic factors and their influence on stock performance, revealing how small caps may finally outperform. The conversation also covers the HOPE framework, forecasting economic shifts as we approach 2025, and emphasizes analyzing sectors through macroeconomic indicators.