<!-- wp:media-text {"mediaPosition":"right","mediaId":8270,"mediaLink":"https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/rollercoaster-qac9q3pwhwg-unsplash/","mediaType":"image","mediaWidth":38} -->
<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:auto 38%"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/rollercoaster-qac9Q3pWHWg-unsplash-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8270 size-full"/></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"><!-- wp:heading -->
<h2>Tempted by high-flying ETFs in this aging bull market? </h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2>Just remember… Excitement is highest as the roller coaster goes over the top!</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading --></div></div>
<!-- /wp:media-text -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In today’s technologically advanced world, featuring self-driving cars, pilotless airplanes, and smart homes, a “hands-off” trend is also gaining popularity among the investing public. As indicated by the headlines below, passive index investing has become all the rage, and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are the tool of choice:</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>ETFs could see $1 trillion in inflows over the coming year</strong></p><cite>MarketWatch, 1/31/17</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Small investors’ move to ‘passive’ stock funds becomes a stampede</strong> </p><cite>LA Times, 4/9/17</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Global ETF assets reach $4tn</strong> <em>The global exchange traded fund industry smashed past $4tn in assets last month…</em> </p><cite>Financial Times, 5/10/17</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns {"verticalAlignment":"center"} -->
<div class="wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center"><!-- wp:column {"verticalAlignment":"center","width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center" style="flex-basis:33.33%"><!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Content…"} -->
<p>And our personal favorite...</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"verticalAlignment":"center","width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Wheee! A Quadruple-Leveraged S&amp;P 500 ETF is Here</strong></p><cite>Barron's, 5/3/17</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column -->
<div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3>Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) was launched in 1993, and although they were slow to start, ETFs have proliferated over the last decade, both in number (see graph at right) and the variety of index funds available. There’s now an ETF for nearly every strategy, no matter how esoteric, and that has helped fuel the passive investing craze.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column -->
<div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":4829,"sizeSlug":"full"} -->
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/number-of-etfs.png" alt="Graph showing the number of ETFs (registered in the U.S.), Source: Investment Company Institute" class="wp-image-4829"/><figcaption>Number of ETFs (registered in the U.S.), Source: Investment Company Institute</figcaption></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:image --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Over the past 24 years, one can see the shift in interest from actively managed mutual funds toward passive investing. As shown in the graph below, net cash flows into actively managed funds were still four times larger than passive funds from 1993 through 2000. From 2001 through 2008, a change becomes evident as net cash flows for active funds turned negative while passive funds continued to grow. The disparity between the active and passive net cash flows during the current bull market (2009-2016) is remarkable, and it shows why there’s been a parabolic increase in the number of ETFs!</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":4831,"width":713,"height":397} -->
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Active-vs-Passive-Stock-Funds-Inflows.png" alt="Graph showing net cash flows into actively managed funds between 1993 and 2016." class="wp-image-4831" width="713" height="397"/><figcaption>Active vs. Passive Domestic Stock Funds; Source: Investment Company Institute</figcaption></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3><strong>So, why has passive investing become all the rage in recent years?</strong></h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:quote {"align":"center","className":"is-style-default"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-style-default"><p>Excitement is Highest as the Roller Coaster Goes Over the Top.</p><cite>– Anonymous</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Many investors have been burned –not once, but twice– by the Tech Bubble of the 1990s and the Housing Bubble in 2007. Also, they are frustrated with the challenges of managing investments… a task that in this uncertain bull market has frequently seemed counterproductive.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The most popular index funds are touted as low-cost and broadly diversified, with a portfolio full of blue chip stocks. Moreover, ETFs offer “instant liquidity” with intraday trading compared to mutual funds that only settle at the end of each trading day. To the average investor, passive funds with minimal fees, implied safety, and lots of liquidity may appear to be the Holy Grail. As we’ll see, however, there is more to the story…</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:media-text {"mediaPosition":"right","mediaId":4839,"mediaType":"image","mediaWidth":43,"verticalAlignment":"center"} -->
<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-center" style="grid-template-columns:auto 43%"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Total-Assets-Domestic-Equity-Index-Funds.png" alt="Graph showing the total assets in Domestic Equity Index Funds, 1990's to 2016" class="wp-image-4839 size-full"/></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Just as the number of ETFs has grown, the past few years have witnessed an explosion in assets tied to passive investing that has extended to both mutual funds and ETFs (as shown in graph at right). A large part of the growth has been in ETFs, which are poised to overtake index mutual funds as the preferred indexing vehicle. Both types of products have doubled in assets just since 2012.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div></div>
<!-- /wp:media-text -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>It is important to recognize that passive investing is not a fresh new idea; in fact, the concept was introduced by John Bogle (the founder of Vanguard) in the 1970s. This strategy has shifted in and out of favor, becoming more popular as bull markets age and losing its luster only after the damage has been done by the next bear market. Just like riding a roller coaster, the peak in public enthusiasm often comes as the bull market is cresting the top.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2>A Trip Back in Time…</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The rise in the popularity of index funds has been seen before.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:quote {"align":"center"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-text-align-center"><p>It’s like deja vu all over again.</p><cite>- Yogi Berra</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->

<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3>The late 1990s: </h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>As the decade of the 1990s became the longest bull market in Wall Street history, the Tech Bubble wasn’t the only phenomenon catching investors’ attention. In 1998-99, headlines were touting the benefit of index investing as inflows reached record levels:</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column -->
<div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Saving for Retirement Index Fever</strong></p><cite> Fortune, 11/9/98</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column -->
<div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Who Needs a Money Manager?</strong></p><cite>Business Week 2/22/99</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns {"verticalAlignment":"center"} -->
<div class="wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center"><!-- wp:column {"verticalAlignment":"center","width":""} -->
<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center"><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In <strong>March 1999</strong>, InvesTech Research published the issue shown at right, <a href="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/subscriber-library/lemming-principle/">comparing the emotional influx of index investors to lemmings</a>. However, instead of falling off a cliff, index investors fell into the largest bear market since the 1930s (the S&amp;P 500 Index lost -49.1%).</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3>2006-07:</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><strong>Fast-forward to 2006-07:</strong> Index investing was even <em>more</em> popular at the peak of the last bull market (also one of the longer bull markets of the past 80 years):</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"verticalAlignment":"center","width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center" style="flex-basis:33.33%"><!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":4840,"width":195,"height":201,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium is-resized"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/V99I04-216x300.png" alt="InvesTech Research newsletter, &quot;The Lemming Principle,&quot; March 12, 1999" class="wp-image-4840" width="195" height="201"/><figcaption>InvesTech Research newsletter, "The Lemming Principle," March 12, 1999</figcaption></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:image --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Index Funds: So Hot Right Now</strong></p><cite>The Motley Fool, 12/11/06</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Index funds help you avoid risks of stock selection, market timing</strong></p><cite>Boston Globe, 2/27/07</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"width":"66.66%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66.66%"><!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-headline-highlight"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-headline-highlight"><p><strong>Owning the S&amp;P 500 is cheap, easy and smart</strong></p><cite>USA Today, 7/20/07</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column {"width":"33.33%"} -->
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33.33%"></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:block {"ref":5343} /-->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In these previous periods, much like today, most investors perceived index funds – particularly the S&amp;P 500 Index funds – to be more diversified, safer investments.  We’ll discuss why index funds may not be all they’re thought to be…</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2>The Dark Side of Passive Investing – Live by the Index, Die by the Index</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>As noted, history shows that index investing reaches the highest level of popularity in aging bull markets or near market peaks. The reason for this is that any type of “risk management” during a bull market tends to reduce or moderate a fund manager’s return. Consequently, it is not uncommon for a fully invested S&amp;P 500 Index fund to outperform most actively managed mutual funds and money managers when measured <em><strong>solely </strong></em>over the duration of a bull market.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>There are multiple reasons index or passive investing becomes more popular in an aging bull market. First, it is more comfortable. One doesn’t have the burden of making decisions about which stocks to invest in, or when to sell a stock if it rises or falls precipitously. Indexing also tends to remove the regret from bad decisions, because any loss can be attributed entirely to the market. Lastly, investing in an index fund is the cheapest and easiest way to take advantage of the market’s stellar gains which <em><strong>seem </strong></em>likely to continue. Yet before jumping into the indexing mania today, consider these inherent risks in passive investing…</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:list {"className":"is-style-default"} -->
<ul class="is-style-default"><li><strong>By definition, index funds also guarantee that you will suffer 100% of the next bear market’s decline.</strong> Regardless of which index you are matching, the index fund is required to stay fully invested regardless of market risk or volatility.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:list {"className":"is-style-default"} -->
<ul class="is-style-default"><li><strong>Assets flowing into the most popular index funds are funneling investments into the largest and most overvalued stocks in the market, driving them higher. </strong>The S&amp;P 500 is a capitalization weighted index, so money invested into these popular index funds is not evenly distributed in all 500 stocks. Rather, the largest companies by market cap receive a disproportionate amount of the investment. As a result, investors must take the good with the bad and favor the largest companies within the basket of 500 stocks, regardless of valuation and financial strength (or lack thereof).</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:list {"className":"is-style-default"} -->
<ul class="is-style-default"><li><strong>Market volatility increases when interest narrows to the index heavyweights. </strong>Only 50 stocks account for nearly 50% of S&amp;P 500 capitalization and one-half of an index fund’s portfolio. Additionally, the top 10 largest stocks comprise over 20% of the Index. As a result, downside risk in the next bear market could increase if selling pressure hits the largest stocks at the same time. The increased focus on index investing of late may very well increase both the size of, and speed at which the next bear market decline occurs.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":8324,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-large"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/iShares-Core-SP-500-ETF.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8324"/></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:list {"className":"is-style-default"} -->
<ul class="is-style-default"><li><strong>Intraday liquidity for ETFs can experience dramatic structural challenges in times of market distress. </strong>For example, during the market dislocation on August 24, 2015 the liquidity of most ETFs all but dried up just as the market opened. A confluence of problems –including circuit breakers, an obscure NYSE rule allowing market makers to delay posting prices, and a lack of futures data for large hedgers– all combined to take the bid out of the ETF space. Even large, well-established ETFs like the $116 billion iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF (IVV) saw unprecedented declines. As shown on the graph at right, IVV fell -26% on the open, far more than the -5.3% drop of the underlying S&amp;P 500. As a result of this liquidity hiccup, or “flash crash” as it was called at the time, investors with outstanding market orders and stop-loss orders sold their shares in IVV for far less than their worth.</li></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->

<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3>Bottom Line</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The broad diversification and implied liquidity offered by index ETFs gives many investors a false sense of security. When passively investing in an index, devoid of risk management, investors are still subject to varying degrees of valuation and liquidity risk, and they bear the full brunt of cyclical market risk.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2>Risk Management is Vital to any Strategy – <em>Ignore at your own peril!</em></h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Many actively managed mutual funds and money managers take some steps to mitigate portfolio risk – at times to the detriment of bull market performance. Although passive indexing may appear to be easier and is also perceived to reduce risk, it ends up having the opposite effect during major downturns as it guarantees an investor will experience all of the losses in the corresponding market index. Remember, long-term performance is dependent not only on how much you make in the bull markets, but also how much you give back in the bear markets. Investments that are weighted toward the largest, most overvalued stocks and sectors are exactly the opposite of what might be used in a strategy that manages risk.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Index investing proponents generally downplay stock market cycles, but bear market survivability is a very real issue for many investors, particularly those in or nearing retirement. The decision to hold the course on an investment strategy usually depends on the severity of bear market losses and how long one’s portfolio remains underwater… in other words, how much time it takes to recover those losses.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>To effectively demonstrate this concept, the <strong>Ulcer Index </strong>was developed in 1987 by Peter Martin to measure the depth and duration of drawdowns from earlier highs in one’s portfolio. It provides a graphic illustration of the level of stress and ulcers (hence the name) that can emerge from suffering deep, prolonged losses in one’s retirement savings.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Shown below are the comparative Ulcer Index graphs of the InvesTech Model Portfolio versus the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX), which is the largest and most popular fund on the market today.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":8329,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IT-Portfolio-vs-Vanguard-Ulcer-Index.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8329"/></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The starts of the last two bear markets are noted in March 2000 and October 2007, as well as their subsequent market bottoms in October 2002 and March 2009. The green dashed lines illustrate the number of months required after the market bottom for one’s portfolio to recover the losses. Above all, the red shaded areas designate how long, and how deep one’s portfolio was underwater. These are the so-called “ulcer” zones when an investor must wait and wonder how long it will be before his portfolio is whole again.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>As you’ll note, InvesTech’s “risk management” strategy dramatically reduced the stress of the last two generational bear markets by limiting the time spent in the “ulcer” zones. While the InvesTech Model Portfolio didn’t outperform the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund in the bull markets, our ability to manage and reduce risk provided a long-term return which more than doubled that of the Vanguard index fund. More importantly, InvesTech subscribers lost significantly less and recovered much more quickly during bear markets, avoiding the urge to panic out of the market at the wrong time.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>It is this combination of achieving safe returns and managing downside risk that matters most in the long-term performance of one’s portfolio… and in the survivability of bear markets.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:uagb/inline-notice {"block_id":"0e950a8c","noticeContent":"\u003cp\u003ePast performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended by InvesTech Research) will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  \u003ca href=\u0022https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/terms-of-use/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003eRead full Disclosures here\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022http://Past performance may not be indicative of future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk.  Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended by InvesTech Research) will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003e.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"} -->
<div class="wp-block-uagb-inline-notice uagb-inline_notice__outer-wrap uagb-inline_notice__align-left uagb-block-0e950a8c"><h4 class="uagb-notice-title">Important Disclosure Information</h4><div class="uagb-notice-text"><p>Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended by InvesTech Research) will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  <a href="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/terms-of-use/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full Disclosures here</a><a href="http://Past performance may not be indicative of future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk.  Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended by InvesTech Research) will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">.</a></p></div></div>
<!-- /wp:uagb/inline-notice -->

<!-- wp:spacer {"height":33} -->
<div style="height:33px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<!-- /wp:spacer -->

<!-- wp:spacer {"height":33} -->
<div style="height:33px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<!-- /wp:spacer -->

<!-- wp:separator -->
<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>
<!-- /wp:separator -->

<!-- wp:spacer {"height":33} -->
<div style="height:33px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<!-- /wp:spacer -->

<!-- wp:heading {"level":4} -->
<h4>Excerpt from <em>InvesTech Research</em> - June 16, 2017</h4>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This report is also available to <a href="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IndexingFever.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">read in PDF format. </a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->