Market Commentary — September 6, 2021

Markets rallied to new highs this week heading into the Labor Day weekend. On Friday, the August jobs report showed a slowdown in employment gains, as nonfarm payrolls grew by 235k versus expectations for 750k. July’s gains were revised higher however and the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 5.2%. A jump in hourly earnings also reignited inflation fears.

The impact of the delta variant was clear, as hiring in leisure and hospitality grounded to a halt in August. And looking ahead to the fall, it appears many in-person events will get canceled or rescheduled.

Informa Connect postponed the Inside ETFs Wealthstack conference scheduled for the end of September in Hollywood, Florida until June 2022, citing the heightened risk associated with hosting a large-scale event amid spiking cases in Florida. I will miss seeing everyone at the Diplomat Lobby Bar.

So far, other industry conferences such as the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors’ fall national conference, the Morningstar Investment Conference, Insider’s Forum, and Riskalyze’s 2021 Fearless Investing Summit, are still set to occur as in-person events this fall.

ARK is launching a quasi-ESG ETF offering focused on transparency. Unlike most of Ark’s other products, the Ark Investment Management’s Transparency ETF is passive and will track a Transparency LLC index calculated by Solactive that excludes industries including alcohol, banking, gambling, and oil and gas.

A new Canadian bitcoin ETF aims to offset its negative climate impact by planting trees. The Accelerate Financial Technologies ETF (ABTC) will plant 3,450 trees for every C$1 million invested, equating to 10% of its 69 basis point management fee. The carbon offset effort will first be focused on planting mangrove trees in Madagascar.

If you don’t want to invest in the ETF, you can still donate to the Mangrove Action Project. From combating climate change to protecting fisheries and coastlines around the world, mangroves are one of the world’s most vital and interconnected environments. But sadly, over a third of mangrove forests have already been cleared, disappearing at a faster rate than tropical rainforests.

“Be a fountain, not a drain. Smile more than you cry, give more than you take, and love more than you hate.” – Rex Hudler and Drake

Jane Edmondson
CEO and Co-Founder

About

EQM Indexes LLC is a woman-owned firm dedicated to creating and supporting innovative indexes that track growth industries and emerging investment themes. Co-founded by Jane Edmondson, a former Institutional Portfolio Manager with more than 25 years in the investment industry.

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