Three days in New York gave us the opportunity to meet with a broad-based group of financial services companies, largely based in the U.S., but several operating globally. Included in the mix were several holdings of the Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (ticker: HFY) and the Hamilton U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (ticker: HFMU.U), both of which invest in the broader financials services sector. The former…
Commentary: HFG
What U.S. Investment Bankers and Banks are Saying about M&A
At Hamilton ETFs, the prospects for M&A is one the supporting factors for our investment thesis for the U.S. mid-cap banks, in which both the Hamilton Global Bank ETF (ticker: HBG) and Hamilton U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (ticker: HFMU.U) are heavily-weighted[1]. Note to Reader: This Insight includes references to certain Hamilton ETFs that were active at the time of writing. On June 29, 2020, the…
Notes from Washington, DC – Investigating One of the Wealthiest MSAs in the Country
We recently had the opportunity to meet senior management of over a dozen U.S. mid-cap banks headquartered in the Washington, DC area. Anchored by the capital city, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria MSA (Washington MSA) is the sixth largest U.S. MSA ([1]) with real GDP of US$507 bln ([2]) and a population of 6.3 mln. Importantly, it is also the second wealthiest MSA ([3]) in the entire country, supported…
HFY: Thriving in a Very Challenging Market (Supported by 4%+ Yield)
The Hamilton Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY) continues to thrive in a very challenging market, generating excellent returns, with much lower volatility. Year-to-date, HFY has risen ~13.0%, over 800 bps ahead of its benchmark of higher yielding financials[1]. It is also outperforming with lower downside volatility than the Canadian banks, global financials, U.S. banks (both large and mid-cap), European financials/banks, and major financials indices in Asia…
Scotia’s Pacific Alliance and Five Takeaways on Global Growth
Last week, Bank of Nova Scotia reported its Q3 results and its International Banking division generated solid double-digit earnings growth, supported by a strong economic backdrop and acquisitions. Within this segment is the Bank’s operations in the Pacific Alliance, the Latin American trade bloc that includes Peru, Chile, Columbia, and Mexico. This very large emerging markets platform has over $100 bln in loans, generates earnings of…
European Banks in Charts: Credit Normalization vs. Margins
The European banking sector includes some of the world’s largest banks, making its health and profitability very important to the global markets. Given the sustained weakness in the sector (the STOXX Europe 600 Banks has fallen ~30% since the beginning of 2018), we thought it would be helpful to review key balance sheet and income statement trends – in 14 charts – since the European sovereign…
12th Straight Quarter of 10%+ EPS Growth; Valuations at Five-Year Lows
In Q2 2019, the holdings in the Hamilton Global Bank ETF (ticker: HBG) reported portfolio-weighted EPS growth of 14% Y/Y[1], driven by robust U.S. banks fundamentals (~55% weight) and a diversified portfolio of global banks (~45% weight). This is the twelfth consecutive quarter of double-digit portfolio-weighted EPS growth for HBG. The strong growth was led by U.S. banks (especially mid-caps operating in southeast and southwest), India,…
Global Exchanges, E-Brokers and Fin-Tech: Secular and Structural Growth Drivers Abound
We had the opportunity to meet the management of over a dozen global exchanges, e-brokers and fin-tech firms at a recent conference in New York. Global exchanges and e-brokers have benefitted from multiple secular, regulatory and cyclical tailwinds in recent years, which have resulted in strong growth trajectory and robust stock returns. The Hamilton Capital Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY) [1] has ~4% exposure to exchanges and e-brokers,…
Notes from Nashville: Titans of Growth
We recently travelled to Nashville to meet with a small group of Tennessee-based banks, all of which operate in the state capital, and half of which are holdings in the Hamilton Capital Global Bank ETF (ticker: HBG) and the Hamilton Capital U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (ticker: HFMU.U). We also had an opportunity to speak with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. It was a great…
U.S. Banks: The Sun’s still shining on Mid-Caps
New York City in May means a lot of traffic, but also beautiful weather and a chance to catch up with a collection of mid-cap banks from across the U.S. in one trip. In all, we sat down with 8 executive teams, primarily from banks operating in the U.S. Sunbelt (i.e., from California to Florida), including 7 owned by the Hamilton Capital U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF…
U.S. Bank M&A: 8 Drivers as Described by Industry Giant, Rodgin Cohen
As financial industry specialists and readers of “Too Big to Fail” will know, Rodgin Cohen, a longtime corporate lawyer with Sullivan & Cromwell, is one of the preeminent authorities on banking and financial services M&A in the United States. So, a chance to hear his thoughts on the state of the current M&A environment, as it relates to U.S. banking, was not to be missed. The…
Global Banks Still Thriving; HBG Posts Robust 12% EPS Growth Y/Y
In Q1 2019, the holdings in the Hamilton Capital Global Bank ETF (ticker: HBG) recorded portfolio-weighted EPS growth of a robust 12% Y/Y[1], supported by excellent fundamentals of U.S. banks (~60% weight) and a diversified portfolio of global banks (~40% weight). Encouragingly, the growth was strong and broad-based across nearly all regions, including U.S., India, Singapore, Norway and Austria. With global growth forecast to remain over…