Factor investing and trends to watch – Bobby Barnes

Head of Quantitative Index Solutions, Bobby Barnes joins us on the show today to unpack the latest moves in the U.S. equity markets, lower than expected initial jobless claims and rising oil prices and how he’s navigating it all through factor investing. In terms of the current economic cycle, there are mixed signals, Bobby points out. He says some think we’re at the beginning of a bull market and economic activity is going to be accelerated but Bobby is in the camp of a late cycle playbook rather than something that looks and feels like an early cycle. Turning to factor investing, Bobby looks at various drivers of risk and return, including the value of a company, the performance of its stocks, and its profitability over time. He says the way to think about factors is that they are simply a characteristic of stocks. The way to use factors in your portfolio is through structural allocation, a cyclical approach and as a way to fine tune the risk return profile of a portfolio.

Recorded on September 8, 2023.

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