Factor investing began as an academic framework, but its real value today may lie in how it is applied. This week’s Equity Leaders shows how comparing factors directly can reveal shifts in leadership that are not always obvious in traditional analysis. Using Canadian ETF pairings such as low volatility versus technology, the report highlights how relative strength is beginning to tilt and how advisors may use these signals to position more dynamically.
The U.S. dollar could be gaining strength as global importers scramble for dollars and U.S. energy revenues potentially flow back into domestic markets. Escalating tensions near the Strait of Hormuz could be tightening energy supply, potentially adding a geopolitical premium that feeds back into both oil prices and dollar demand. Support and resistance levels have been drawn on the USD/CAD and crude oil point and figure charts, offering a framework to watch how these dynamics may play out technically.
The Magnificent Seven have driven historic gains and pushed U.S. equity concentration to elevated levels, but relative strength data now indicates that leadership is narrowing as momentum becomes more selective. Nearly $2 trillion in market value has already come off their recent highs, underscoring how quickly concentration risk can surface when dominance begins to fade. Within that group, NVIDIA remains the apex performer, yet its technical positioning, clustered support at $179.37, and overhead resistance at $210.16 frame a critical inflection point that contrasts sharply with the broad diversification offered by ACWX, highlighting the growing tradeoff between single-stock momentum and global risk management.
After years of extreme concentration in U.S. mega-cap technology, relative strength is beginning to broaden across global markets. As participation expands into areas such as commodity-levered Peru and semiconductor-driven South Korea, performance dispersion is increasing and new sources of alpha are emerging outside the traditional U.S. growth complex. This report examines how targeted exposures to global growth and AI infrastructure may help advisors manage concentration risk while positioning for a more globally distributed leadership cycle.
Equity markets continue to present one of the most emotionally complex environments advisors and investors have faced in recent years, with stretched valuations and rising prices pulling conviction in opposite directions. In extended markets, blind spots rarely stem from a lack of expertise; they emerge from emotion narrowing focus and from the weight of managing multiple perspectives at once. When fear of being wrong and fear of being left behind quietly compete, maintaining clarity becomes as much a leadership challenge as an investment one.
Markets are quietly rotating beneath the surface and buy-and-hold strategies face hidden risks as leadership shifts across currencies, interest rates, and sectors. A stronger Japanese yen, a weaker US dollar, and rising long-term Treasury yields are driving valuation adjustments that can affect everything from bond proxies to global cyclicals. We invite advisors and portfolio managers to connect with SIA’s Point and Figure Experts to discuss these observations and see how our software can help identify leadership changes and guide disciplined, data-driven portfolio decisions.
Attached is today’s Equity Leaders weekly note, examining the recent outperformance of commodities relative to major equity benchmarks following last April’s selloff. The note places current market behavior in historical context and highlights key indicators relevant to assessing the persistence of this divergence.
Markets in 2025 delivered broad gains, with leadership shifting from mega-cap U.S. technology toward mid-cap Canadian stocks, commodities, and select international markets. U.S. equities remained solid but moderated from 2024’s highs, while international and commodity-linked sectors emerged as standout performers, reflecting a more diversified global rally. Across sectors and regions, performance was highly polarized, underscoring the importance of selective positioning in navigating a year of wide dispersion.
The US dollar remains the undisputed center of the global financial system, driving capital flows and shaping economic outcomes far beyond the United States. Its persistent strength has heightened pressure on global markets, raising debt burdens and fueling volatility across the world. As the dollar approaches key technical inflection points, the stage may be set for improved performance across global markets.
The current divergence between U.S. and Japanese interest-rate expectations is reshaping global capital flows in ways advisors should be monitoring closely. After years of ultra-low rates, Japan has begun gradually tightening policy to curb inflationary pressures; pressures amplified by a historically weak yen and the country’s reliance on imported commodities.
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