The 'Broadening' IWM Trade is Running on One Engine

IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, is +10% YTD. Impressive headline. But decompose those returns through Qi's MFERM and the picture is far less comfortable.

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The entire YTD gain has been fuelled by idiosyncratic drivers. Macro is recovering from peak Iran escalation but hasn't clawed all the way back:

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- May oil futures trade at $91 vs. $65 pre the Iran Conflict. Oil is the biggest IWM factor drag YTD.

- Corporate HY credit spreads at 336bps vs. 288bps tights back in late Jan. The next biggest drag.

- Rate vol & equity vol are back to levels at the start of the Iran Conflict but not at YTD lows.

- 10yr real yields remain notably above YTD lows.

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Continue reading our analysis by downloading the PDF above

Author
Amit Khanna

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