Weekend Reading – SPDR SCV ETFs Review & The 100% Equity Paper Is Back!
Weekend Reading is a collection of Investment Research and Lifestyle topics from all corners of the Web. We source the highest quality insights from Wall Street and Main Street that you may apply to your investment process. Unlike the rest of Bankeronwheels.com, this series is provided without additional guidance. As usual, everything is to be used at your own risk. Below is the type of content we shortlist:
Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.
Featured
For a Decade the Only Game in Town: A Review of SPDR MSCI Small Cap Value Weighted UCITS ETFs (Banker on Wheels)
In order to get exposure to Small Cap Value, SPDR was the only game in town for most European individual investors for over a decade. Today, with the launch of new products from competitors like Avantis, or Robeco and potential announcements from Dimensional it’s worth having a look what you can achieve by tracking an MSCI Index based on a transparent yet simple methodology. Let’s look whether you necessairly need a specialised quant research firm to gain decent multi-factor exposure at a very reasonable cost.
Portfolio Construction
Asset Allocation
Our conversations with Professor Scott Cederburg from Eller College of Management have led to the most heated debates among our listeners! Today, Prof. Cederburg returns to discuss the changes he’s made to his paper that was the foundation of previous conversations - ‘Beyond the Status Quo: A Critical Assessment of Lifecycle Investment Advice’.
Understand Financial Markets
How to Make 267%—or Lose 90%—on Treasury Bonds (Wall Street Journal)
If you’d bought the leading exchange-traded fund investing in long-term U.S. Treasury bonds at its peak in August 2020, you’d have lost 41.3% by now—even after reinvesting your interest income. Two ETFs that amplify the daily returns on long-term Treasurys make that wild performance look tame. Over the same period, the Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X Shares ETF, which seeks to triple the daily return of a long-term Treasury bond index, lost 90.2%, according to FactSet.
Legendary media mogul Nick Denton, the founder of Gawker, is done with the US. He’s leaving New York City for good, and moving with his family to the Buda Hills near Budapest. And when it comes to his stock portfolio, he’s done with the US as well. On this episode of the podcast, he tells us why he’s bullish on China, and says that the fall of Elon Musk may be the biggest business story in the entire world.
Active Investing
Factor Investing
Discretionary Investing
Alternative Asset Classes
Full Faith and Credit of Gold (CRESCAT CAPITAL)
The recent surge in gold prices reflects what we believe are the inevitable consequences of decades of ultra-loose monetary policies, excessive debt accumulation, and fiscal mismanagement. Those who have long dismissed gold’s role as a safe-haven asset are now witnessing a stark reminder of its historical significance. For centuries, gold has served as the cornerstone of monetary systems, offering a crucial reference point in periods of economic overleveraging. History provides invaluable insights into gold’s role in stabilizing monetary frameworks during times of financial strain.
- Beyond 60/40: Private Assets In an Era of High Public Valuations (Apollo)
- The death of the Yale Model? (FT)
- The Growing Index Effect in the Corporate Bond Market (SSRN)
- Net Alpha Retention Ratio: Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth from Your Hedge Fund? (CAIA Association)
- Unlocking the potential of European Leveraged Loans (Amundi)
- PWC Global Crypto Regulation Report (PWC)
Should Hedge Funds Hedge?: Why Some Alts Should Have a Beta of 1.0 (AQR)
[BoW note: Interesting paper, but related to AQR's commercial push - see ETF section] In 2001, I co-authored a paper entitled "Do Hedge Funds Hedge?" The short answer to the title question was "not nearly enough." I have been in high dudgeon about this for the last quarter century, repeating and repeating my analysis of reported. hedge fund returns and finding that after accounting for their significant market betas and super high market correlations, they collectively didn’t add value net of fees.
Wall Street
- Quality, Trust, and Patience: Alex Morris on Buffett and Munger Unscripted (Talking Billions)
- Conversations with Frank Fabozzi : opportunities of applying machine learning to finance (CFA Institute)
- ML Models Need Better Training Data: The GenAI Solution (CFA Institute)
- Book Review: Buffett’s Early Investments (CFA Institute)
- The Acquirer: Hiroshi Nojima, Nojima Corporation (Verdad)
- What does Palantir actually do? (Good Work)
ETFs
UCITS ETFs
Vanguard launches global government bond ETF (ETF Stream)
Vanguard has launched a global government bond strategy after the world’s second largest asset manager recently ended two-year ETF launch hiatus. The Vanguard Global Government Bond UCITS ETF (VGGU) is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse, Borsa Italiana, Euronext Amsterdam, and SIX Swiss Exchange with an ongoing chares figure (OCF) of 0.10%. VGGU tracks the Bloomberg Global Treasury Developed Countries Float Adjusted index which captures government bonds from developed markets and excludes those from emerging markets.
US ETFs
Jeff Ptak, CFA, is the managing director for Morningstar Research Services. Prior to that, he held positions as the chief ratings officer, head of global manager research, and president and chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Services. In this episode, we discuss major new trends affecting the mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) industries, with a special focus on the exponential growth of actively managed ETFs.
Wealth Management
Personal Finance
Platforms
(Early) Retirement
The Future of the 60/40 Allocation: Modelling the Performance of the 60/40 Portfolio in Retirement (CFA Institute)
The traditional 60/40 portfolio, favoured for its simplicity and balance, allocates 60% of portfolio assets to equities for higher returns and 40% to fixed-income securities, such as government bonds, for stability and risk mitigation. This strategy leverages the low correlation between stocks and bonds for diversification benefits, limiting downside risk and making the portfolio more resilient during stock market downturns. It is popular among investors for its straightforward approach to achieving a balanced allocation between growth and defensive assets.
- Behaving Your Way to a Better Retirement (humanvsretirement)
- Navigating the Path to FI: Bill Powell's Blue Collar Journey from Debt to Empowerment (ChooseFi)
- The UGLY Truth About Trying to Reach Financial Independence – Is This a Fool’s Errand? (Journey to Launch)
- France’s Frugality Paradox: Live Better on Less? (Fired up in France )
Financial Advice
Design Your Lifestyle
Personal Development
Craig Mod Returns! Craig is a writer, photographer, and walker living in Tokyo and Kamakura, Japan. He is the author of Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa. He also writes the newsletters Roden and Ridgeline and has contributed to The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, and more. A few highlights: The first steps of Craig’s huge walks: exploring Tokyo’s nightlife, Discovering pilgrimage trails with John McBride & What’s so appealing about pilgrimage trails?
Health & Wellness
Careers & Entrepreneurship
- The lack of funding for women-led start-ups is both well-known and obstinately low (FT)
- Lost in translation: AI’s impact on translators and foreign language skills (CEPR)
- How To Succeed at Work; How to Network Without Being Gross; And How Not To Succumb To Hustle Culture (10% Happier with Dan Harris )
- Italy: There are signs of digital awakening in a country often seen as deeply resistant to change (FT)
Travel
Tech & Economy
Economy
Why governments are 'addicted' to debt | FT Film (FT)
Developed economies around the world are loaded up with debt. That was less of a problem in the era of free money but inflationary pressures are back and structurally-higher interest rates mean debt is more expensive to issue and service. This film examines what some are calling the biggest issue in global finance today, the role of the 'bond vigilantes', and whether government borrowing could spiral out of control.
Tech & Science
- How Wearable Tech & AI Read Your Mind (and What to Do About It) (Good Life Project)
- IBM on The Future of Quantum Computing (Citygroup)
- The diverse economic impacts of artificial intelligence (Amundi)
- Why Did The Mars Helicopter Disappear? (Veritasium)
- Which AI Chatbots Collect the Most Data About You? (Visual Capitalist)
And Finally
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
(* Wheels & Dividends)
Trade Wars, Real Wars, but Equities Close To All-Time Highs: Is It A Good Time To Invest?
7 Reasons Why Japan May Be Your Next Cycling Adventure
Nomads in 2026: Genki vs SafetyWing – Which Travel Insurance Wins?
How You Can Cycle The World – A Practical Guide
Weekend Reading – Vanguard Cuts Fees across 15 ETFs & IBKR launches prediction markets
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