Index

AXS Investments Fund (LDVIX) Tracks the FTSE Venture Capital Index for Investors Seeking Exposure to VC Sector Returns

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AXS Investments, a leading provider of innovative ETFs and mutual funds for investing and trading, rebranded its AXS Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Return Tracker Fund (LDVIX) as the AXS FTSE Venture Capital Return Tracker Fund to align its name with the acquisition of its underlying index, TRVCI, by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

Key Points: 
  • LDVIX seeks to provide investments results corresponding to the TRVCI, an index designed to track a value-weighted portfolio of the U.S. venture capital universe.
  • The index, originally called the Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Index, effectively tracks the funding rounds of private U.S. companies and replicates the sector's overall returns via a portfolio of publicly traded stocks.
  • The TRVCI index was subsequently acquired by LSEG under its FTSE brand, while the methodology and venture capital data remained unchanged.
  • The Venture Capital (VC) space, as represented by TRVCI, generated a strong 1-year return of 58.06% through February 14, 2024, and the AXS FTSE Venture Capital Return Tracker Fund grew by 57.08% over that period.

Mill Creek Named 2023 Elite 5 Multifamily Company by Kingsley

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mill Creek Residential, a leading developer, owner-operator and investment manager specializing in premier rental housing across the U.S., today announced it has been named as one of the Elite 5 Multifamily Companies by the Kingsley Excellence Awards program for the second consecutive year. 

Key Points: 
  • Additionally, 10 Mill Creek communities were included in Kingsley's Top 100 Multifamily Properties for 2023.
  • "We are honored and extremely grateful to receive this esteemed recognition from Kingsley," said Bill MacDonald , chairman, CEO and president of Mill Creek Residential.
  • Kingsley Top 100 and Elite 5 winners must exceed Grace Hill's Kingsley Index for overall satisfaction in the prior year.
  • Following Modera Cherry Creek on the Top 100 Multifamily Properties list were four additional communities in the top 50: Modera Woodbridge (Woodbridge, N.J.) at No.

ATA Truck Tonnage Index Decreased 3.5% in January

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

WASHINGTON , Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 3.5% in January after increasing 1.2% in December. In January, the index equaled 111.0 (2015=100) compared with 115.0 in December.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON , Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 3.5% in January after increasing 1.2% in December.
  • ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision.
  • ATA's For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.
  • ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. Declined Further in January

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. fell by 0.4 percent in January 2024 to 102.7 (2016=100), following a 0.2 percent decline in December 2023.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. fell by 0.4 percent in January 2024 to 102.7 (2016=100), following a 0.2 percent decline in December 2023.
  • "The U.S. LEI fell further in January, as weekly hours worked in manufacturing continued to decline and the yield spread remained negative," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board.
  • The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.S. rose by 0.2 percent in January 2024 to 112.1 (2016=100), after a 0.2 percent increase in December 2023.
  • The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index® (LAG) for the U.S. rose by 0.4 percent in January 2024 to 118.6 (2016 = 100), reversing a decline of 0.4 percent in December 2023.

"The Quant Box" Hedge Fund Super Engine 2023 Theoretical Performance: +32.8% Across 9 Sectors

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Robert Kelly (founder of Jackass Banker) developed this disruptive technology over the last seven years. It is designed for investors and hedge funds who seek to improve performance using The Quant Box's advanced, quantitative algorithms---and easy-to-understand trading signals. 

Key Points: 
  • Coupled with The Quant Box is the launch of The Quant Box Model Portfolio , an aggressive virtual hedge fund which may trade futures, indexes, debt, currencies, and cryptocurrency, encompassing nine different sectors.
  • During 2023, The Quant Box across nine different sectors, rose +32.8% theoretically (no margin used) vs. the markets' 20.2% actual underlying performance, ranking it among the top funds.
  • I created The Quant Box for hedge fund ownership, but their techies blew me off in 2023.
  • Readers are urged to read the abundant risk disclosures found at The Quant Box Trading Signals page and/or The Quant Box Performance page at thequantbox.com .

Former Zillow Execs Launch Tomo Real Estate, A Next-Gen Home Search Portal Redefining Home Buyer Strategies

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomo, the mortgage startup founded by Zillow alumni that has raised $110 million, today launched a new real estate portal, Tomo Real Estate, designed to give homebuyers a strategic advantage. Tomo Real Estate's unique home search experience offers home buyers insider intel, transforming the way they approach negotiations and ultimately helping them land their dream homes.

Key Points: 
  • STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomo, the mortgage startup founded by Zillow alumni that has raised $110 million, today launched a new real estate portal, Tomo Real Estate, designed to give homebuyers a strategic advantage.
  • Tomo Real Estate's unique home search experience offers home buyers insider intel, transforming the way they approach negotiations and ultimately helping them land their dream homes.
  • Tomo is taking a major step forward in furthering its mission to support home buyers at every stage of their journey.
  • Now, we're channeling that motivation into the real estate search," said Tomo Co-founder and CEO, Greg Schwartz.

SEC Charges Van Eck Associates for Failing to Disclose Influencer's Role in Connection with ETF Launch

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

According to the SEC’s order, in March 2021, Van Eck Associates launched the VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (NYSE: BUZZ) to track an index based on “positive insights” from social media and other data.

Key Points: 
  • According to the SEC’s order, in March 2021, Van Eck Associates launched the VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (NYSE: BUZZ) to track an index based on “positive insights” from social media and other data.
  • The provider of that index informed Van Eck Associates that it planned to retain a well-known and controversial social media influencer to promote the index in connection with the launch of the ETF.
  • However, as the SEC’s order finds, Van Eck Associates failed to disclose the influencer’s planned involvement and the sliding scale fee structure to the ETF’s board in connection with its approval of the fund launch and of the management fee.
  • Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Van Eck Associates agreed to a cease-and-desist order and a censure in addition to the monetary penalty.

Atlas of Impunity's second edition tracks abuse of power worldwide and includes historical data set

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

MUNICH, Feb. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Eurasia Group and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released the second edition of the Atlas of Impunity today at the Munich Security Conference. The Atlas is the first-ever comprehensive index tracking the abuse of power across five key dimensions: unaccountable governance, abuse of human rights, conflict, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation.

Key Points: 
  • The Atlas is the first-ever comprehensive index tracking the abuse of power across five key dimensions: unaccountable governance, abuse of human rights, conflict, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation.
  • The Atlas defines impunity as the exercise of power without accountability, built on 66 statistical indicators drawn from 26 validated sources.
  • The data underpinning the Atlas is curated from universal, independent, and credible sources with annually updated statistics.
  • In this second edition, the Atlas adds a decade of historical data, allowing for comparisons within countries and regions across years that illuminate where the battle between impunity and accountability is being won or lost.

Konica Minolta Leads in Brand Loyalty for Seventeenth Consecutive Year

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

(Konica Minolta) today announced it has received first place in Brand Loyalty in the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index® (CLEI) for the seventeenth consecutive year.

Key Points: 
  • (Konica Minolta) today announced it has received first place in Brand Loyalty in the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index® (CLEI) for the seventeenth consecutive year.
  • The win confirms that Konica Minolta best meets, or exceeds, customer expectations among all brands competing in the category.
  • Brand Keys, a New York–based client loyalty and engagement consultancy, publishes the annual syndicated study, which recognized Konica Minolta for Brand Loyalty in the “MFP Office Copier” (multifunction printer) category.
  • The Brand Keys’ data paints a detailed picture of the category drivers that engage customers, engender loyalty and drive real profits.

Stock indexes are breaking records and crossing milestones – making many investors feel wealthier

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

The S&P 500 stock index topped 5,000 for the first time on Feb. 9, 2024, exciting some investors and garnering a flurry of media coverage. The Conversation asked Alexander Kurov, a financial markets scholar, to explain what stock indexes are and to say whether this kind of milestone is a big deal or not. What are stock indexes?When prices rise or fall overall for the shares of those companies, so do stock indexes.

Key Points: 


The S&P 500 stock index topped 5,000 for the first time on Feb. 9, 2024, exciting some investors and garnering a flurry of media coverage. The Conversation asked Alexander Kurov, a financial markets scholar, to explain what stock indexes are and to say whether this kind of milestone is a big deal or not.

What are stock indexes?

  • When prices rise or fall overall for the shares of those companies, so do stock indexes.
  • The number of stocks in those baskets varies, as does the system for how this mix of shares gets updated.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average, also known as the Dow, includes shares in the 30 U.S. companies with the largest market capitalization – meaning the total value of all the stock belonging to shareholders.
  • The Nasdaq composite tracks performance of more than 2,500 stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
  • The S&P 500 index was introduced in 1957 because many investors wanted an option that was more representative of the overall U.S. stock market.

Why are there so many?

  • Most of them, including the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500, are value-weighted.
  • That means stocks with larger market values account for a larger share of the index’s performance.

Do these milestones matter?

  • The DJIA first reached 1,000 in November 1972, and it crossed the 10,000 mark on March 29, 1999.
  • Investors and the media will treat the new record set when it gets to another round number – 40,000 – as a milestone.
  • Because there’s a lot of randomness in financial markets, the significance of round-number milestones is mostly psychological.
  • Index milestones matter to the extent they pique investors’ attention and boost market sentiment.
  • Many economists believe that the consumption boost that arises in response to a buoyant stock market can make the economy stronger.

Is there a best stock index to follow?

  • However, because it is value-weighted, it’s heavily influenced by only seven stocks with very large market values.
  • But if you check out several stock indexes rather than just one, you’ll get a good sense of how the market is doing.
  • But the market rebounded, with stock indexes hitting new milestones and notching new highs by the end of that year.
  • This is why I believe advice from the immensely successful investor and fan of stock index funds Warren Buffett is worth heeding.


Alexander Kurov does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.