Tom Lydon

When it comes to China tech stocks, it’s a tale of two outlooks. Over the near term, the asset class could be challenged by multiple headwinds. Looking further out, the long-term outlook for this sector in the world’s second-largest economy remains compelling.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission finally gave the green light for spot bitcoin exchange traded funds to list in the U.S. The Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) is one of the 10 ETFs providing exposure to spot prices of the largest cryptocurrency.

Expectations are that the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates multiple times this year, including the possibility of a first-quarter cut. So some advisors and investors are feeling optimistic about what 2024 has in store for fixed income assets.

Market participants frequently allocate capital to shares of companies with strong brand recognition, but many do so without recognizing the importance of those brands to investment outcomes.

In testament to market participants’ enthusiasm for the 10 spot bitcoin ETFs that debuted last week, including the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), the group already ranks as the second-largest segment of the commodities ETF space, trailing only gold funds.

For decades, the bulk of business and consumer tech products purchased in the U.S. were manufactured in China. To a lesser extent, they were manufactured in a handful of other countries in the Asia-Pacific.

An avalanche of S&P 500 earnings reports will be arriving over the next two weeks. Market participants will be watching to see what companies are living up to and beating earnings per share (EPS) forecasts.

Registered investment advisors have long leaned on the 60% equities/40% fixed income portfolio structure. While it’s not perfect, it has served clients well, broadly speaking. But if an entire portfolio is allocated to just two asset classes, there’s no room for alternative assets. Alts can provide critical elements of diversification and upside potential. Those assets can include bitcoin ETFs.

Helped in large part by Nvidia (NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), semiconductor stocks and related ETFs notched impressive performances in 2023.

Production of natural gas liquids has grown over the past decade, and strong international demand has led to significant growth in exports.