qfx

The elder scholar, Master Elmsworth, once posited that all financial instruments are, at their core, exercises in controlled illusion. He would have found these ETFs… intriguing. Both aim to capture the fleeting momentum of companies deemed “growth” oriented, a classification as arbitrary as naming constellations. VBK, with its wider net (579 holdings, as the compilers report), seeks a broader, if shallower, reflection of this momentum. SLYG, more selective (339 holdings), proposes a concentrated gaze, as if attempting to fix a phantom in a darkened room.

open up, like waiting for a date who’s perpetually fifteen minutes away. It hasn’t happened, obviously. And a lot of companies have, shall we say, streamlined. Or disappeared. Tilray’s gone for the diversification route. Which sounds… sensible. On paper.

Observe, if you will, a company once left for dead, cast adrift amidst the tempest of a global malady. The Carnival, it seemed, was destined to join the ghostly fleet of failed enterprises. Yet, like a phoenix rising from the ashes – or, perhaps, a particularly buoyant shipwreck – it has not merely survived, but thrived. In the last fiscal year, this vessel posted revenues of $26.6 billion – a sum so extravagant, it threatens to induce a fit of envy even in the most hardened of merchants. And, most remarkably, deposits now stand at $7.2 billion – a veritable mountain of coin, suggesting a future brimming with opportunity. The seas, it appears, are once again favorable.

The allure of yield is a siren song, but one must listen with a discerning ear. The payout ratio, at present, strains against the bounds of reason, exceeding 100%. A precarious balance, like a bird carrying a stone too large to lift. It suggests a future where dividends, those small harvests of capital, might be curtailed. Though cash flow, the lifeblood of any enterprise, offers a temporary reprieve, it cannot indefinitely defy the laws of arithmetic. The company speaks of maintaining the present level, a promise whispered against the wind, and a cautious investor would do well to heed the rustling leaves.

Three hundred thousand square feet of cleanroom. They’ll be upgrading it, expanding it. DRAM, mostly. High-bandwidth memory, the kind that feeds the artificial intelligence beast. A long play. Not a quick score.

Essentially, both ETFs are trying to capture that elusive segment of the market – small companies that appear undervalued. It’s a strategy that, historically, has done rather well, though it does require a certain amount of patience. Think of it as planting an oak tree – you don’t expect a forest overnight. But these two go about it in slightly different ways, which is where things get interesting.