Daybreak with Anton

Throughout my career, I've often heard people argue that the stock market is rigged, corrupt, or tilted in favor of wealthy, well-connected investors. Many believe the average individual has little chance of success. Like most generalizations these comments stray wide of reality. Having spent nearly 40 years investing in the stock market, I've learned not to get worked up too much by these views....

U.S. equities rallied strongly from 2022 to early 2026, led by large caps, before Iran conflict fears triggered declines and unusual drops in precious metals. Markets turned volatile, with leadership shifting to smaller caps. The focus remains on risk management, timely reentry, and monitoring oil, rates, inflation, and geopolitical developments. Listen in this UPdate our portfolio management...

Before the war with Iran, both investors and consumers were already facing significant uncertainty about the outlook for their finances and the broader U.S. economy. Investors were focused on several key issues, including the future path of Federal Reserve interest rates, the appointment of a new Federal Reserve Chair, rising inflation, and the potential effects of tariffs. Consumers, meanwhile,...

On June 12–13 of last year, Israel carried out large-scale airstrikes against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, military bases, and senior commanders and scientists. Dozens of sites were neutralized, and several top Iranian military leaders were killed. Despite the escalation, U.S. institutional investors showed little concern and continued deploying billions into equities, private equity, and...

As a lifelong investor and portfolio manager for the past 28 years, I can confidently say the stock market has bipolar disorder. In reality, it is the large cast of participants that include media commentators, analysts, institutional investors, and everyday individuals who drive the market's unpredictable day-to-day movements. Read in this UPdate our analysis of the stock market, the impact of...

Over the past three days, we've received reports on the state of consumer sentiment and small business confidence. The results show that both groups are slowly becoming more optimistic about the future, though improvement remains modest. Read in this UPdate, our review of several reports concerning consumer and small business sentiment and our views for the stock market.

Several years ago, Simon Maierhofer, editor, and founder of iSpy ETF Newsletter, introduced me to a combination of three barometers that have had interesting results in predicting the future S&P 500 performance of the new year. These three barometers are monitoring the performance of the S&P 500 during specific days of the prior year December Christmas and the new year. These three...

Last year, we began adding gold and silver mining companies Up Capital Model portfolios. Let me first give credit to client, Annie Alexander, who first introduced the idea of miner stocks early in 2025 as a developing favorable asset class. We ultimately decided to add gold and silver miners to Up Capital Model portfolios in the second quarter of 2025. Listen to this UPdate our analysis of the...

The year has now begun with a jolt of geopolitical disruption from Washington. Over the weekend, following months of negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump authorized a dramatic 2:00 a.m. local-time operation by elite U.S. Delta Force units. The mission captured President Maduro and his wife and transported them to the United States, where they now await trial....

The predictability of investor behavior can feel almost tedious to anyone who closely follows market activity. Major U.S. indices are wrapping up a third consecutive calendar year of double-digit annual gains, with the S&P 500 up 76.52% and the NASDAQ soaring 119.4% since January 1, 2022. Hopefully, relentless negative messaging from the major media outlets did not keep you on the sidelines...