Wall Street Journal and Sierra CIO James St. Aubin Talk Tightening Financial Conditions
Access to this article may require a subscription. Many investors on Wednesday looked to the Federal Reserve for hints about whether this autumn’s unusual ascent in Treasury yields would help finish America’s inflation fight. The central bank’s message: maybe. In the tug of war between low-risk government debt and higher-risk equities, that was enough of […]
ThinkAdvisor Interviews Sierra CEO, Skip Schweiss
A fast-evolving set of risks and opportunities is challenging late-career workers, retirees and the financial advisors who serve them, and those who fail to respond to shifting conditions could see hard-earned nest eggs battered by unforgiving market forces. At the same time, financial services firms that manufacture investment funds and outsourced portfolio models are facing […]
St. Aubin in the Wall Street Journal Talks Risky Borrowers & Rising Loan Costs
Excluding a 2020 spike, the default rate for the past 12 months is the highest since 2014. The strains come at a time when leveraged-loan funds have put up outsize performances. Investors had feared that rising rates would hurt risky borrowers, particularly if they spark a recession. Instead, a strong economy has helped issuers withstand […]
Sierra CIO St. Aubin Talks Trend Following and More on Excess Returns Podcast
In this episode, Jack and Justin talk trend following and conservative investing with Sierra Mutual Funds CIO James St. Aubin. They talk about Sierra’s unique banded moving average approach to trend following and how they utilize it to manage risk in client portfolios. The trio also discuss the importance of educating investors, what makes a […]
Bloomberg and St. Aubin: Adversity for Apple Inc. if China Expands iPhone Bans
Access to this article may require a subscription. In a span of two days, Apple Inc. has seen roughly $200 billion (about the size of the whole of McDonald’s Corp.) of its market value wiped out. And it looks like the blame rests with China, which announced plans to expand a ban on the use […]
St. Aubin on Money Life Podcast: A Mild Recession on the Rise?
James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at the Sierra Mutual Funds, says that while conventional thinking has moved away from a recession being imminent, more difficult conditions for consumers in the fourth quarter will create an economic slowdown that is likely to become a mild recession early in 2024. St. Aubin says stocks might tolerate […]
St. Aubin to Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Stocks are really in a difficult position”
Access to this article may require a subscription. Jerome Powell’s much-anticipated speech Friday did little to resolve the conflict gripping markets late this summer: whether a rapid climb in interest rates spells doom for the surprising 2023 stock-market rally. The Federal Reserve chair said inflation remains too high and officials are open to raising rates […]
Worst Stretch of Losses for Tech Stocks Since December
Access to this article may require a subscription. The big question now is whether a further unraveling of Big Tech’s advance will take the broader market down with it, or whether other corners of the market will help to pick up the slack. Together, the biggest tech stocks are responsible for roughly 40% of the […]
Forbes & Sierra CIO St. Aubin on the Implications of Recent U.S. Bond Rating Downgrade
Access to this article may require a subscription. Fitch Ratings took away America’s triple-A credit rating this week, but it could not downgrade the almighty dollar. The No. 3 U.S. credit rater joined larger rival Standard & Poor’s — after more than a decade — in cutting Treasury bonds from AAA to AA+ on Wednesday, […]
Corporate Earnings Growth Predictions Could Cause Stock Prices to Continue Climbing
Access to this article may require a subscription. It’s become a common refrain among those who believe the 2023 stock-market rally seems too good to last: by almost any measure one chooses, equity valuations in the U.S. are looking stretched. While this point is generally conceded by equity analysts, it glosses over another debate of […]
