Given the huge rally we’ve seen in some areas of the market, it’s hard to believe that the S&P 500 SPY ETF is only up 1.35% since the close on Election Day.  Below we take a look at the performance of various asset classes using key ETFs traded on US exchanges.

Notably, while the S&P 500 is up just 1.35%, the Dow 30 (DIA) is up 3.18%, while the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) is down 1.65%.  Year-to-date, the Nasdaq is now underperforming the S&P 500 and Dow.  The opposite was the case at last Tuesday’s close.

We’ve seen smallcaps surge since Election Day as well.  The Russell 2,000 (IWM) is up nearly 10% since Tuesday, leaving it up 15.5% YTD.

On a sector basis, the Financial sector has been the clear winner since Trump’s victory.  The sector ETF (XLF) is up 11.21% since Tuesday, leaving it up 14.34% YTD.  Up until last week, the Financials had been one of the worst performing sectors of the market in 2016, but now it’s one of the best.  On the flip side, we’ve seen Consumer Staples, Technology and Utilities all post declines since Trump’s election.

Outside of the US, most countries have actually posted declines since Trump’s win, with Brazil (EWZ) and Mexico (EWW) dropping more than 14%.  Natural gas has been the only commodity to post gains post-Trump, and of course, we’ve seen Treasury ETFs get crushed as interest rates have spiked.

Welcome to Bespoke Brunch Reads — a linkfest of the favorite things we read over the past week.  The links are mostly market related, but there are some other interesting subjects covered as well.  We hope you enjoy the food for thought as a supplement to the research we provide you during the week.

Election & Markets

The Day After The Night Before (Macro Man)

An excellent roundup of what the election could mean for markets, going beyond the simple “here’s what it means for price” to a much more comprehensive summary of the shift in the global landscape since Tuesday’s results. [Link]

One lost opportunity to hedge the US election by Alexandra Scaggs (FTAV)

An interesting look at how big the possible arbitrages can be in extremely illiquid betting markets tied to the US Presidential outcome. [Link; registration required]

News Outlets Brace for Postelection Audience Swoon by Mike Shields and Keach Hagey (WSJ)

It’s a lot easier to convince viewers to tune in when the outcome of the next four years is on the line! Now, news networks need to figure out what to do without the natural tailwind of the quadrennial Presidential vote. [Link; paywall]

Making Sense of Tuesday

Voters Want Transportation Investment: Record Number of State and Local Ballot Measures Approved (Transportation Investment Advocacy Center)

While federal fiscal stimulus is getting wide discussion this week, this is a good round up of fully funded ballot measures involving transportation infrastructure approved this week. [Link; 28 page PDF]

New Populism and Silicon Valley on a Collision Course by Christopher Mims (WSJ)

Silicon Valley champions technological progressivism and openness, but in an ironic twist, they played a big role in the results of this election. The result is looming struggle between tech and populism. [Link; paywall]

Donald Trump, in Exclusive Interview, Tells WSJ He Is Willing to Keep Parts of Obama Health Law by Monica Langley and Gerard Baker (WSJ)

During the campaign, candidate Trump advocated for keeping protection for those buying insurance with a pre-existing condition and allowing children to stay on their parents’ plan until the age of 26, but the confirmation that he plans to keep those to items of the ACA may seem surprising. [Link; paywall]

There Were No Purple* States On Tuesday by Harry Enten (538)

For the first time in history, no state split their vote between President and Senator for the first time in history. [Link]

Economics

U.S. postwar growth and the pop in epop by David Andolfatto (The Radical Middle)

St. Louis Fed Vice President Andolfatto does a fantastic job linking the long-term path of real per-capita GDP with the employment to population ratio. [Link]

Metro North America: Metros as Hubs of Advanced Industries and Integrated Goods Trade by Joseph Parilla and Alan Berube (Brookings Institution)

A fantastic piece of basic analysis and data presentation showing the trade links between Canadian, America, and Mexican cities facilitated by NAFTA. [Link]

Management

CEO beliefs and values by Fritz (Fritz Capital)

An insightful approach to single-stock investing: keep the management top of mind. This post provides a framework reading what CEOs say and provides some interesting examples. [Link]

Steve Ballmer’s Plan to Make America Great Involves Excel Spreadsheets by Dina Bass (Bloomberg)

If you answered “issue a 10-K” to the question “what could the government do to work better”, Steve Ballmer is your guy. Joking aside, he’s actually trying to do this. [Link]

Rising Costs

Tesla to end unlimited free use of supercharging stations by Tom Krisher (AP/Yahoo!)

Up until now, superchargers provided a quick fillup for Tesla users with no cap. But now, the company will only allow vehicles sold before 2017 unlimited access, with all new cars only getting 1000 free miles worth of juice before having to pay. [Link]

Higher Costs Take Bite Out of Toblerone, Shrinking U.K. Bars by Thomas Seal (Bloomberg)

With the pound near all-time lows, cocoa (which the UK doesn’t grow much of) has gotten a lot more expensive. Instead of hiking prices, Toblerone has instead opted to give consumers less per bar. This story is a rare combination of inflation and geometry! [Link]

Silicon Kingdom

You Too Can Invest In a Startup Likely to Go Bust by Adam Satariano (Bloomberg)

The key to venture capital’s returns is that even though almost every company invested ends up shuttering, the few winners are really big. This distribution could be problematic for smaller investors who aren’t able to make investments in large numbers of companies. [Link]

Strange But True

Voting from Space: How Astronauts Do It by Mike Wall (Space)

It’s a bit of an involved process but astronauts doing stints on the International Space Station do in fact vote from space. [Link; auto-playing video]