The Lead-Lag Report

CFP® CE Webinar: Exploring the Cambria US Equal Weight ETF (USEW) Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 8 | 2:30 – 3:30 PM EST Join Meb Faber, Co-Founder and CIO of Cambria Investment Management, for an exclusive CFP® Board–approved CE webinar introducing the Cambria US Equal Weight ETF (USEW) — the fourth ETF in Cambria’s innovative 351 Exchange series.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has stayed relatively tranquil in the mid-teens over the past month, dipping below 14-15 in mid-September and just settling around 16 as October started.¹ This sort of quiet is staggeringly complacent. Yet less volatility leads investors to take on more leverage and risk. This is exact type of condition under which accidents occur. In the past, periods of reduced volatility have often taken place right before violent spikes.

Gold has long been seen as the ultimate risk-off asset — it climbs when markets tumble. But for the past two years, it has not acted that way. Gold has risen along with equities or lagged while under stress. Its recent rush toward $4,000 an ounce smacks of speculative excess even as it may still be blinking a systemic warning. For traders, it is a cycle like no other: the surge in gold comes as typical safe-haven assets have lagged behind amid widespread risk-on sentiment across global markets.

Hosted by:Michael A. Gayed, CFA – Portfolio Manager & Publisher of The Lead-Lag Report Guest Speaker:Jay Hatfield – CEO and Portfolio Manager, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC Date & Time:TODAY | 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EST Sponsor:Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC (InfraCap) CE Credit:1 CFP® Continuing Education Credit available Join Michael A.

Hosted by:Michael A. Gayed, CFA – Portfolio Manager & Publisher of The Lead-Lag Report Guest Speaker:Jay Hatfield – CEO and Portfolio Manager, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC Date & Time:October 6, 2025 | 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EST Sponsor:Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC (InfraCap) CE Credit:1 CFP® Continuing Education Credit available Join Michael A.

Hosted by:Michael A. Gayed, CFA – Portfolio Manager & Publisher of The Lead-Lag Report Guest Speaker:Jay Hatfield – CEO and Portfolio Manager, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC Date & Time:October 6, 2025 | 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EST Sponsor:Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC (InfraCap) CE Credit:1 CFP® Continuing Education Credit available Join Michael A.

The previous week was a very rare balancing act between optimism on continued Fed easing and uncertainty over the U.S. government shutdown. U.S. stocks finished the week higher, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each rising about 1.1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite gained around 1.3 percent.

For more than two years, the traditional financial media focused nonstop on what kind of “landing” the US economy would go through as higher interest rates worked their way through the system. What few people thought about, however, is that it may not land at all. The “no landing” situation — of growth that stays robust while inflation hovers above target — is beginning be to a serious topic of conversation among strategists.

For U.S. income investors, the Cullen Enhanced Equity Income ETF (DIVP) is a new player in the expanding global universe of “enhanced income” or “covered-call + dividend” ETFs. DIVP, which began trading March 6, 2024, is designed to provide current income and the potential for equity appreciation through exposure to dividend-paying stocks with an active covered call strategy overlay. DIVP is based on large-cap, dividend paying stocks with “value” characteristics.

The U.S. energy sector has been volatile over the past year. After a strong run in 2022, energy cooled in 2023 and has delivered more modest gains since. As of mid-2025, the S&P 500 Energy sector was up about 4% year-to-date, despite wide swings in oil and gas prices. Oil spiked above $80 in January, plunged below $60 in spring, then rebounded, while natural gas has seesawed amid an oversupplied market. This volatility masks a deeper story.