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The Aptus Blog

Market notes, charts, investment concepts, and timely market updates, directly from our investment team.

2026-10-23 · Investment ConceptsDon’t Pay a Loyalty TaxMutual fund shareholders who stay are paying for the ones who left. You don’t have to. Distribution season came early and came in heavy. By mid-October, 284 funds were al2026-09-29 · Investment ConceptsDon’t Just Check the Buffer, Check the CapPicture the same car lease at two different dealers: same exact car, same monthly payment, same coverage if something breaks. The only difference is that one lets you dri2026-09-25 · Investment ConceptsA Wrapper Is Not a Risk Reduction StrategyPlenty of bottled fruit smoothies carry as much sugar as a can of Coke, and does anybody drink a Coke at 8 am and feel good about it? The smoothie has a strawberry on the2026-09-09 · Investment ConceptsA Steady Allocation Is Not Always an Unmanaged OneIn 1975, a Philadelphia inventor named Garrett Brown mailed around a reel of shots that seemed impossible at the time. One of them followed his girlfriend up the seventy-2026-08-18 · Investment ConceptsThe Wealthy’s Tax Playbook Finally Gets a Retail TickerBack in 1900, you didn’t take a great family picture so much as you had one painted. John Singer Sargent, a successful portrait painter at the time, charged ~$5,000 a por2026-07-21 · Investment ConceptsWhat Is “Safe” Depends on When You Need the MoneyI rarely share other people’s charts in these posts. This one is too good not to share. Chart source: Cullen Roche, Discipline Funds 07.15.2026 Ask most investors to rank2026-07-20 · Investment ConceptsReturn of Capital: The Good, the Bad, the MisunderstoodNot every dollar an investment pays out is income. And not every dollar is taxed the same (or, in some cases, taxed at all). Return of capital (RoC) does not change what 2026-07-13 · Investment ConceptsTrump Accounts: The Power of the Last DoublingOn July 4, a new kind of account opened for business. Trump Accounts, created by the 2025 reconciliation law, are tax-deferred investment accounts for children. Kids born2026-07-01 · Investment ConceptsGross vs. Take-Home: What a Bond Actually Pays After TaxYou don’t earn your gross salary. The number on the offer letter and the number in your bank account are two different figures, and everyone understands the gap. Withhold2026-06-23 · Investment ConceptsThe One Policy Investors SkipCommon practice is to insure your house, your car, your life, your health, and even your dog. Then you reach what may be the largest financial asset many families own, th2026-06-05 · Investment ConceptsAre Data Centers the New Canals?Three boom and bust stories from American capital history. None of them is a forecast for AI. Each is here for what it says about how a portfolio survives whichever outco2026-06-02 · Investment ConceptsThe Human EdgeThis post is different. Maybe too different. I’m not sure why I’m writing it here, but these things have been heavy on my mind, so here it goes. My grandaddy has a 1976 C2026-05-28 · Investment ConceptsThe Faucet and the Well: Cash Flow With a Lower Tax BillA farmer who needs 40,000 gallons of water a day has a few ways to get it. One is a faucet stuck in the on position. Water flows continuously into a trough whether the fa2026-05-21 · Investment ConceptsThe Hidden Risk That Hurts Retirement: Rethinking LongevityIn 1977, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs released its Dietary Goals for the United States. The recommendations were straightforward. Eat les2026-05-13 · Investment ConceptsPortfolio Design: Do You Want a Decorator or an Architect?Most portfolios are decorated. Fewer are built by an architect. The difference shows up in the storm. A decorator works the surface. They pick what looks good in the curr2026-04-27 · Investment ConceptsPrediction Markets : Expensive Guessing?A reporter from Investment News reached out recently to ask about prediction markets after seeing my previous post, Structure Over Bets: How You’re Built Matters More Tha2026-04-10 · Investment ConceptsStructure Over Bets: How You’re Built Matters More Than What You’re PredictingInvestors constantly ask us about the macro environment. Whether it is a spike in energy prices, a shift in interest rates, or a headline about geopolitical tension, the 2026-03-18 · Investment ConceptsThe Private Credit Liquidity Trap: When Fundamentals Don’t MatterFor years, private credit was the Golden Child of the alternative investment world. It offered higher yields, marketed lower volatility, and pitched a sense of security t2026-03-03 · Investment ConceptsThe Productivity Miracle You Need to CaptureTechnology is deflationary. While we have views you could argue with, this isn’t one of them. For example, the flat-screen TV you bought for $3,000 twenty years ago now c2026-02-27 · Investment ConceptsBuffered ETFs Replacing Cash?With trillions of dollars currently sitting in money market funds, many investors are asking: “Is there a better way to earn a return without the stomach-churning volatil2026-02-26 · Investment ConceptsBox Spreads: An Opportunity to Save Clients on Interest and TaxesMost financial planning conversations start on the asset side of the client’s balance sheet…how to invest, how to diversify, and how to manage risk. But their liabilities2026-02-10 · Investment ConceptsThe Silent Performance Killer: Why Portfolios Are Leaking AlphaAt Aptus, we are obsessed with the “math of investment”—from drawdown management to the nuances of the CAPE ratio. But for the select circle of advisors we partner with, 2026-01-26 · Investment ConceptsThe Case for Getting Bored: In Defense of Lower Volatility EquitiesEquity markets have recently been dominated by the “Magnificent” few and a relentless bid for high-beta tech. Suggesting that lower volatility stocks can retain their doc2025-12-18 · Investment ConceptsUnbundling Aggregate Bonds: How a 0.2% Allocation May Be Costing Your Clients ThousandsBack in February, we wrote about a common tax mistake investors make with their fixed income allocations: ignoring the state tax benefits of Treasuries. A simple breakout2025-12-02 · Investment ConceptsDoes a 50-Year Mortgage Help? Not Without Lower Rates.As affordability pressures rise, leaders are proposing the idea of ultra-long mortgages, including 50-year terms, to entice buyers. The pitch sounds intuitive: stretch th2025-11-21 · Investment ConceptsFive Reasons Retail Should Be Wary of Private Credit (Especially Retirement Plans)Private credit has become the industry’s favorite shiny object, recently surpassing the entire market for listed high-yield corporate bonds with $1.7 trillion in assets p2025-11-06 · Investment ConceptsThe Pain of End-of-Year Mutual Fund DistributionsWhy ETFs Deserve the Flow of New Money Mutual funds distribute gains that investors may not have realized themselves ETFs can defer or avoid those gains through in-kind r2025-10-31 · Investment ConceptsThe Risk of Owning High Yield at Current SpreadsAt today’s levels, we think high-yield credit offers little value to investors. The yield of the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Index sits at just 2.6% above Treasur2025-10-24 · Investment ConceptsThe Case for Incorporating TrendAs our resident “trend guy,” I sometimes get pulled into conversations with advisors about trend-following strategies. While we as a firm are strictly strategic at the al2025-10-04 · Investment ConceptsWhat’s Old is NewWe are witnessing a monetary regime change. I’m not sure investors fully appreciate what that means. I know we talk about a lot of stuff, but I’m focused on this single c2025-09-17 · Investment ConceptsTurning $1.85 in Taxes Into a Nickel (for the Same Distribution)Some investors still view dividends and coupons as more “real” than selling shares for cash. That made sense decades ago, when trading costs were high. Today, transaction2025-09-08 · Investment ConceptsETFs Changed the Game for Equities. Now It’s Time for Fixed Income.Over the past two decades, ETFs have become the vehicle of choice for investors. They are liquid, transparent, low-cost, and viewed (often correctly) as highly tax-effici2025-08-20 · Investment ConceptsHigher Yield, or Just Higher Taxes?If you’re on any form of social media, you’re probably seeing headlines about funds boasting “30 percent yields” and retail investors rushing in. There are even Reddit co2025-08-14 · Investment ConceptsIgnore the Margin Debt AlarmEvery so often, margin debt headlines resurface as a supposed warning sign for the stock market. The latest iteration: U.S. margin balances have crossed one trillion doll2025-08-01 · Investment ConceptsRates May Not Be the Only Housing Issue, But They Can Be a SolutionBloomberg’s latest piece on the housing market (“U.S. Real Estate Market: High Prices, Mortgage Rates Hamper Spring Home Selling”) captured the state of the housing marke2025-07-25 · Investment ConceptsOptions Case Study: Benefits of Actively Managed Shorter Term Covered CallsWith the recent increase in the use of option strategies around concentrated stock positions, we wanted to measure the benefits of using shorter-tenure options that are a2025-06-27 · Investment ConceptsReconsidering Core Bonds: Why Treasuries May Be the Smarter Choice TodayIn a prior post, Fixed Income: Coupon is King, we explored the long-term return profile of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (the “Agg”). One of the more surprising2025-06-20 · Investment ConceptsThe Lakers Sale Was More than a Slam DunkWhen the Buss family announced the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion, headlines and social media lit up. After all, they had purchased the team in 1979 for j2025-06-10 · Investment ConceptsThe Cost of a “Costless” CollarIn the world of options trading, the term “zero-cost collar” often suggests a strategy that offers downside protection without any costs to the investor. However, while t2025-05-19 · Investment ConceptsRethinking Fixed Income: Why Return Matters More Than YieldWhen investors evaluate fixed income strategies, the first question is usually about yield. What’s the income? What’s the payout? That focus is understandable. Yield is e2025-05-15 · Investment ConceptsFrom Oracle to Orange Pill: Is Buffett the New Bitcoin Convert?Warren Buffett has never been shy about his skepticism toward Bitcoin. He’s famously called it “rat poison squared” and dismissed it as a non-productive asset. But at the2025-05-05 · Investment ConceptsTIPS vs. Treasuries: Real Yield Is Back?For over a decade, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) offered little appeal—real yields were near zero, and inflation felt like a distant threat. Fast forward2025-04-28 · Investment ConceptsWhat Exactly Does the VIX Tell Us?Over the past month, the VIX Index has been making headlines, first spiking, then crashing in dramatic fashion at times just a day apart. While many investors recognize t2025-04-17 · Investment ConceptsHow Tax Efficiency Can Smooth Returns, Not Just Boost ThemMost discussions about tax efficiency focus on maximizing after tax returns, and for good reason. The math is compelling. Consider a 10% pretax return: at a 33% short ter2025-03-27 · Investment ConceptsDisappearing Return: Why a 4.4% Yield Might Barely DeliverFixed-income investors have faced a brutal reality since bond rates bottomed in August 2020. Long-dated Treasuries (20+ years) remain down 40% from their peaks, requiring2025-03-11 · Investment ConceptsCan Lower Rates Be Disinflationary?If you ask most people whether increasing the supply of goods over time helps reduce inflation, the overwhelming answer is “yes.” After all, more supply means less scarci2025-02-18 · Investment ConceptsAvoid This Tax Mistake: Treasury Income is State-ExemptWith Treasury yields at multi-year highs, many investors are turning to Treasury-focused ETFs, money market funds, and broad bond index funds to capture attractive return2025-02-10 · Investment ConceptsLeveraged ETFs: The Hidden Costs of Volatility DragDaily leveraged ETFs aim to magnify the returns of an underlying asset or index, often by 2x or -2x the daily return. While appealing for short-term trading, their mechan2025-01-30 · Investment ConceptsNever Go Full DegenSpeedman: In a weird way, I had to sort of just free myself up to believe that it was okay to be stupid or dumb. Lazarus: To be a moron. Speedman: Yeah. Lazarus: To be mo2025-01-22 · Investment ConceptsMeme Coins: Speculation vs. Real Wealth CreationCryptocurrency has transformed from a niche innovation into a cultural phenomenon, with Bitcoin emerging as the original and most widely recognized digital asset. In its 2025-01-15 · Investment ConceptsHow Do You Define Safe?Brian wrote a recent post that’s relevant to this month’s writeup. It’s worth a few minutes of your time as it provides perspective around how you should think about inve2025-01-07 · Investment ConceptsBetter Investing: Five Lessons from 2024 You Shouldn’t IgnoreAs we’ve closed the books on 2024, reflecting on the year’s investment landscape offers valuable insights for navigating what lies ahead. From identifying opportunities w2025-01-03 · Investment ConceptsYou’ve Always Been an Options TraderFor many, the world of options can be daunting for those who feel that they do not have the right experience. Certainly, the terminology used by options traders can be co2024-12-09 · Investment ConceptsBitcoin: Wealth Creation or Wealth Transfer?Bitcoin remains one of the most polarizing topics in finance. On one side, crypto enthusiasts celebrate its revolutionary potential; on the other, fundamental analysts ca2024-11-20 · Investment ConceptsHousing Market and Affordability: A Closer Look at Today’s DynamicsThe housing market today is caught in a strange juxtaposition. While home prices and down payments are elevated in dollar terms, they remain within historical norms when 2024-11-13 · Investment ConceptsUtilizing Volatility Expectations to Guide Risk TakingIn a recent post, Selling Puts as a Form of Risk Management, we explored using volatility indicators like the VIX to inform portfolio decisions. Building on that, this gu2024-11-11 · Investment ConceptsLearning Greek, with a Formula One TranslatorOptions can be a very challenging concept for investors to get their minds around, particularly given some of the complex math involved in trading and hedging positions. 2024-10-22 · Investment ConceptsETFs as Hedge Funds 2.0: A Better Way to Capture Beta and Alpha?Hedge funds have long been a polarizing topic in investing. Though they date back to the mid-20th century, they’ve come to represent sophisticated strategies often associ2024-10-14 · Investment ConceptsSitting Dead Red: Investing When The Count Is In Your Favor“This guy is throwing a two-hit shutout and he’s shaking me off. You believe that? Charlie here comes the deuce. And when you speak of me, speak well.” – Bull Durham (1982024-10-07 · Investment ConceptsAre You Really Diversified?In today’s market, it’s hard to ignore how much power the largest companies hold within the S&P 500. These massive companies have grown to represent the highest conce
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