Diversified Financial Services

We are compelled to downgrade banks and investment banks to neutral in advance of the release of the Fed’s stress tests this Thursday. This downgrade also pushes the financials sector overweighting to neutral. Our worry is centered on a possible dividend cut/suspension given the lack of confidence the Fed has with regard to the economic recovery owing to COVID-19. Even if the Fed strikes a more balanced note on the banks’ cash buffers and capitalization and does not force them the chop their dividend payouts (bottom panel), we would still want to be on the sidelines at least until the election uncertainty lifts in November. A blue sweep would, at the margin, be negative for the banking sector (second panel). Moreover, following a near month-long rebound from the early May trough, banks have not been responsive to the steepening yield curve and this is disconcerting (third panel). Moreover, following a near month-long rebound from the early May trough, banks have not been responsive to the steepening yield curve and this is disconcerting (middle panel). Bottom Line: Downgrade the S&P banks and S&P investment banks indexes to neutral, which also pushes the S&P financials sector to a benchmark allocation. Please look forward to reading our upcoming Monday June 29 Weekly Report for a more detailed analysis on these two financials subgroups.      

Overweight Capital markets stocks have come out of hibernation recently and are on the cusp of breaking out – in a bullish fashion – of their 18-month trading range. Total mutual fund assets are expanding at a brisk rate and hitting fresh all-time highs, signaling an uptick in risk appetite (third panel). Rising investor confidence will facilitate both new and secondary share issuance, an important source of fee generation for capital markets firms. Meanwhile, the three Fed rate cuts last year should work through the economy and at least stem further losses in the ISM manufacturing survey. The US/China trade détente will also lead to a stabilization in global growth. In fact, the V-shaped recovery in the global ZEW survey suggests that capital markets profits will likely outpace the broad market this year (second & bottom panels). Bottom Line: Stay overweight the S&P capital markets index. For more details please refer to this Monday’s Weekly Report. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG S5CAPM – GS, CME, SPGI, MS, BLK, SCHW, ICE, MCO, BK, TROW, STT, MSCI, NTRS, AMP, MKTX, CBOE, NDAQ, RJF, ETFC, BEN, IVZ.

Highlights Portfolio Strategy There are high odds that China’s real GDP deceleration will continue for the next decade, casting a shadow over the profit prospects of the S&P 1500 metals & mining index. A structural below benchmark allocation is warranted. Rising total mutual fund assets under management, improved trading revenue prospects, rising investor confidence along with a revival in IPO and M&A activity, all signal that it still pays to be overweight the S&P capital markets index. Recent Changes There are no changes in our portfolio this week. Table 1 Feature “When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.” - Charles Owen "Chuck" Prince III (ex-CEO of Citigroup) The SPX remains near all time highs and the invincible tech sector continues to lead the pack. Two weeks ago we showed that the market capitalization concentration of the top five stocks in the S&P 500 surpassed the late-1990s parallel (Chart 1), and Table 2 shows that late in the cycle a handful of stocks explain a sizable part of the broad market’s return.1 However, in terms of valuation overshoot the current forward P/E of these top five stocks is roughly half the late-1990s parabolic episode (Chart 2). Chart 1Vertigo Warning Chart 2Unlike The Late-1990s While the overall market does not fully resemble the excesses of the dot.com bubble era, at least not yet, there are elements that are eerily reminiscent of the late-1990s. Table 2Contribution To Late Cycle Rallies In The SPX Chart 3Correlation Breakdown Contrary to popular belief, during manias historical correlations break down and the forward multiple becomes positively correlated with the discount rate. So in the late 1990s, the fed funds rate and the 10-year yield jumped 200bps in a short time span and the SPX forward P/E soared 40% from roughly 18x to 25x (Chart 3) before collapsing to 14x soon thereafter. Simultaneously, the US dollar was roaring as real interest rates were 4%, but the NASDAQ 100 outperformed the emerging markets, another break in historical correlations. As Chuck Prince mused in 2007, there is a narrative in the equity market today that, “as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance”. While the overall market does not fully resemble the excesses of the dot.com bubble era, at least not yet, there are elements that are eerily reminiscent of the late-1990s. We filtered for large cap stocks that are at all-time highs and have increased in value at a minimum 10x since 2010. Among the stocks that met these criteria, five really stand out, Apple, Tesla, Lam Research, Amd & Salesforce, and comprise our “ATLAS” index; the mania in these stocks will likely end in tears (Chart 4). Even their forward P/E ratio has gone exponential, hitting a 60 handle last year similar to top five SPX stocks in the late-1990s. Chart 4ATLAS: Holding The World On His Shoulders Currently, SPX profits are barely growing and the sole reason equities are higher is the massive injection of liquidity via the drubbing in interest rates and the restart of QE. From peak-to-trough the 10-year yield fell 175bps in nine months, and the Fed commenced expanding its balance sheet by $60bn/month since last September; yet profits have barely budged. Ultimately, profits have to show up and the news on this front remains grim. The current non-inflationary trend-growth backdrop is a “goldilocks” scenario especially for tech stocks that thrive during disinflationary periods. While stocks can go higher defying weak EPS fundamentals as they have yet to reach a fully euphoric state according to our Complacency-Anxiety Indicator (Chart 5), a sell-off in the bond market will likely cause some consternation in equities in general and tech stocks in particular similar to early- and late-2018. Chart 5Not Max Complacent Yet Other catalysts that can suddenly cause “the music to stop” are either the recent coronavirus becoming an epidemic or a geopolitical event that would result in a risk off backdrop. Ultimately, profits have to show up and the news on this front remains grim. Our mid-January “Three EPS Scenarios” analysis still suggests that the SPX is 9% overvalued.2 This week we are updating our capital markets view and adding a sixth long-term theme and a related investment implication to our mid-December 2019, Special Report titled, “Top US Sector Investment Ideas For The Next Decade”.3 Sixth Big Theme For The Decade And Investment Implications China’s ascendancy on the world scene was a mega driver of equity markets in the 2000s following its inclusion in the WTO. The commodity super-cycle captured investors’ imaginations and China’s insatiable appetite for commodities caused a massive bubble in the commodity complex in general and commodity-related equities in particular. Nevertheless, the Great Recession posed a severe threat to China and the authorities injected an extraordinary amount of stimulus into the economy (15% of GDP over two years). This succeeded in doubling real GDP growth, but only temporarily. The unintended consequence was an enormous debt binge fueled by cheap money. Moreover, this debt burden along with falling labor force growth and productivity forced the government to re-think its policies as they caused a steady down drift in real output growth. The sixth big theme for the 2020s is a sustained deceleration of Chinese real GDP growth to a range of 4% to 2% (Chart 6). Not only is the debt overhang weighing on real output growth, but Chinese leaders are adamant about transitioning the economy to developed market status, which is synonymous with higher consumption expenditures at the expense of gross fixed capital formation. Chart 6From Boom… Chart 7…To Bust In other words, China remains committed to weaning its economy off of investment and reconfiguring it toward consumption (Chart 7). This is a strategic plan but it is possible that the Chinese economy can achieve this transition in due time. While this will not happen overnight, the implication is steadily lower real GDP growth as is common among large, mature, developed market economies. China will remain one of the top commodity consumers in the world, as urbanization is ongoing, but the intensity of commodity consumption will continue to decelerate (Chart 8). At the margin, this change in consumption behavior will have knock on effects on the broad basic resources sector in general and the S&P 1500 metals & mining index in particular. Were this Chinese backdrop to pan out in the coming decade as we expect, it would sustain the relative underperformance of metals & mining equities as Chart 6 & 7 depict. Chart 8Commodity Consumption Deceleration Will… Chart 9…Continue To Weigh On Metals & Mining Profits Importantly, these commodity producers will have to adjust their still bloated cost structures to lower run rates which is de facto negative both for relative sales and profit growth (Chart 9). Tack on the large negative footprint mining extraction has on the environment, and if ESG investing (our fifth big theme for the decade4) also takes off, investors should avoid the S&P 1500 metals & mining index on a secular basis. Bottom Line: There are high odds that China’s real GDP deceleration will continue for the next decade, casting a shadow over the profit prospects of the S&P 1500 metals & mining index. A structural below benchmark allocation is warranted. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG S15METL – NEM, FCX, NUE, RS, RGLD, STLD, CMC, ATI, CRS, CLF, CMP, X, KALU, WOR, MTRN, HCC, AKS, SXC, HAYN, CENX, TMST, ZEUS. Capital Markets Update Capital markets stocks have come out of hibernation recently and are on the cusp of breaking out – in a bullish fashion – of their 18-month trading range. A number of the indicators we track signal that an earnings-led outperformance period is in the cards for this financials sub-group and we reiterate our overweight stance. Sloshing liquidity has pushed investors out the risk spectrum and high yield bond option adjusted spreads are flirting with multi-year lows. Such a tame junk bond market backdrop coupled with easy financial conditions are conducive to rising M&A activity (Chart 10). Importantly, the Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Survey paints an improving profit backdrop for investment banks. Not only are bankers willing extenders of credit, but demand for credit for the majority of loan categories that the Fed tracks is squarely in positive territory (top panel, Chart 11). Chart 10Subsiding Risks Are A Boon To Capital Markets Chart 11Positive Profit Catalysts This is likely a consequence of last year’s drubbing in the price of credit. M&A activity usually goes hand in hand with loan growth, underscoring that business combinations are on track to accelerate (third panel, Chart 10). This will revive a lucrative business line for capital markets firms. Total mutual fund assets are expanding at a brisk rate and hitting fresh all-time highs, signaling an uptick in risk appetite (third panel, Chart 11). Rising investor confidence will facilitate both new and secondary share issuance, an important source of fee generation for capital markets firms. Moreover, equity trading volumes have sprang back to life in recent weeks underscoring that the recent impressive Q4 earnings results will likely continue into Q1/2020 (bottom panel, Chart 10). Meanwhile, the three Fed rate cuts last year should work through the economy and at least stem further losses in the ISM manufacturing survey. The US/China trade détente will also lead to a stabilization in global growth. In fact, the V-shaped recovery in the global ZEW survey suggests that capital markets profits will likely outpace the broad market this year (second & bottom panels, Chart 11). Finally, the recent surge in the stock-to-bond ratio reflects a massive psychological shift, from last year’s recessionary fears to growing investor confidence that tail risks are abating (Chart 12). Still depressed valuations neither reflect the firming capital markets profit outlook nor the rising industry ROE (bottom panel, Chart 12). Adding it all up, accelerating total mutual fund assets under management, improved trading revenue prospects, rising investor confidence and a revival in IPO and M&A activity, all signal that it still pays to be overweight the S&P capital markets index.  Bottom Line: Stay overweight the S&P capital markets index. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG S5CAPM – GS, CME, SPGI, MS, BLK, SCHW, ICE, MCO, BK, TROW, STT, MSCI, NTRS, AMP, MKTX, CBOE, NDAQ, RJF, ETFC, BEN, IVZ. Chart 12Valuation Re-Rating Looms     Anastasios Avgeriou US Equity Strategist anastasios@bcaresearch.com     1     Please see BCA US Equity Strategy Weekly Report, “Three EPS Scenarios” dated January 13, 2020, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 2     Ibid. 3     Please see BCA US Equity Strategy Special Report, “Top US Sector Investment Ideas For the Next Decade” dated December 16, 2019, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 4     Ibid.   Current Recommendations Current Trades Size And Style Views Stay neutral cyclicals over defensives (downgrade alert) Favor value over growth Favor large over small caps (Stop 10%)

Overweight The recent global move away from risk assets has been a headwind for the high-beta S&P investment bank and brokers index that thrives when risk appetites are healthy. Still, the return of volatility should be a boon to sector earnings; trading volumes have recently spiked, perhaps heralding the end of the decade-long withdrawal of trading liquidity from domestic bourses (second panel). Tack on a recovery in new and secondary issues and the equity desks promise to be busy for the rest of the year (third panel). Advisory revenues too are in recovery as the late-cycle rise in mergers appears to be upon us (bottom panel). As we have previously written, we continue to await merger mania as an anecdotal indicator on our checklist for the end of the cycle; we are still not there yet. Overall, despite the vagaries of the market, earnings in the S&P investment bank and brokers index should overwhelm; stay overweight. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5INBK - ETFC, SCHW, GS, RJF, MS.

Overweight The S&P investment bank and brokers index has been an excellent performer through the early days of the Q2 reporting season as results have generally been besting estimates and the outlook remains solid. Our interpretation of the macro data certainly concurs. The M&A cycle has continued to grow apace, which is a typical late cycle dynamic, and should continue to underpin top line growth (second panel). At the same time, a recovery in volatility has taken hold, which should keep trading desks busy and continue to push trading revenues higher (third panel). Further, investors are taking on increasing amounts of margin debt, which is now more than 50% higher than the previous cyclical peak (bottom panel). All of this should translate into continued earnings outperformance; stay overweight. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5INBK - ETFC, SCHW, GS, RJF, MS.

Highlights Portfolio Strategy Expensive valuations leave no room to maneuver in the S&P real estate index that has to contend with a higher interest rate backdrop and deteriorating cash flow growth fundamentals. Trim to underweight. In contrast, capital markets stocks are firing on all cylinders and the return of animal spirits, the capex upcycle, booming M&A activity and a brighter operating backdrop auger well for this highly cyclical financials sub-index. Stay overweight. Recent Changes S&P Real Estate - Downgrade to underweight today. Table 1 Feature Equities rebounded in the past two weeks, as earnings took center stage and they delivered beyond expectations. Impressively, the blended Q1 EPS growth rate is running at 20% (versus 18.5% expected on April 1) with roughly 18% of the S&P 500 constituents reporting profit numbers. This earnings validation served as a catalyst for the SPX to briefly reclaim the key 50-day moving average and, most importantly, the Advance/Decline (A/D) line hit fresh all-time highs. Historically, the A/D line and the S&P 500 move hand-in-hand and there is a high chance that the SPX will follow suit in the coming quarters (top panel, Chart 1). Our upbeat cyclical 9-12 month equity market view remains intact, as the odds of a recession are close to nil. Despite fears of a generalized global trade war, global trade volumes have been resilient vaulting to multi-year highs on a short-term rate of change basis (middle panel, Chart 2). While a global growth soft patch cannot be ruled out, as long as manufacturing PMIs can stay above the 50 boom/bust line, synchronized global growth will remain the dominant macro theme. Chart 1New Highs Ahead? Chart 2What Slowdown? The IMF concurred in its April, 2018 World Economic Outlook: "The global economic upswing that began around mid-2016 has become broader and stronger. This new World Economic Outlook report projects that advanced economies as a group will continue to expand above their potential growth rates this year and next before decelerating, while growth in emerging market and developing economies will rise before leveling off." 1 The bond market is also not sending a distress signal as very sensitive junk bond spreads have nosedived of late (shown inverted, bottom panel, Chart 1). Under such a backdrop, EPS will continue to shine and underpin stocks (Chart 2). Nevertheless, steeply decelerating money supply growth is slightly disconcerting. This is not only a U.S. only phenomenon, but G7 money supply growth is also losing momentum. Chinese and overall emerging markets money growth numbers are also stuck in a rut (Chart 3). While this could be the precursor to a global growth slowdown, we would expect commodity prices to be the first to sniff it out (Chart 4). Clearly this is not the case as commodities spiked last week. Moreover, keep in mind that money growth tends to peak before recessions and what we are currently observing is likely a typical late cycle phenomenon. We will continue to closely monitor money growth around the globe, as this steep deceleration represents a risk to our sanguine equity market view. This week we are updating our corporate pricing power indicators. Chart 5 shows that our corporate sector pricing power proxy and our diffusion index are holding on to recent gains. On the labor front, the business sector's overall wage inflation and associated diffusion index from the latest BLS employment report ticked lower (fourth panel, Chart 5). Chart 3Money Growth Yellow Flag... Chart 4... But Commodities Are Resilient Chart 5No Margin Trouble Yet However, the spread between job switchers and stayers (courtesy of the Atlanta Fed Wage Growth Tracker) suggests that wage inflation should pick up steam in the coming months. While rising pay would eat into profit margins and thus dent profits ceteris paribus, this would be problematic only if businesses failed to lift selling prices in the coming months. We assign low odds to this outcome as domestic (and global) final demand is firm, suggesting that companies will manage to pass on rising input prices either down the supply channel, to the government and/or the consumer. Table 2Industry Group Pricing Power Table 2 summarizes the sectorial results. We calculate industry group pricing power from the relevant CPI, PPI, PCE and commodity growth rates for each of the 60 industry groups we track. Table 2 also highlights shorter term pricing power trends and each industry's spread to overall inflation. Chart 6Cyclicals Have The Upper Hand Over 83% of the industries we cover are lifting selling prices, and 45% are doing so at a faster clip than overall inflation. This is a slight improvement compared with our late-January report The number of outright deflating sectors dropped by three to 10 since our last update. Encouragingly, only 7 industries are experiencing a downtrend in selling price inflation, on par with our most recent report. Impressively, deep cyclicals/commodity-related industries continue to dominate the top ranks, occupying the top 7 slots (top panel, Chart 6). Improving global trade dynamics and sustained softness in the greenback are behind the commodity complex's ability to increase prices. In contrast, tech, telecom, autos and airlines populate the bottom ranks of Table 2. In sum, firming corporate sector pricing power will continue to boost sales growth for the rest of the year. Tack on operating leverage kicking into higher gear at this stage of the cycle, especially for the high fixed cost deep cyclical businesses, and still modest wage inflation, and profit margins and EPS growth will remain upbeat. This week we downgrade a niche interest rate-sensitive sector and update our view on a very cyclical financials sub-sector. DowngREITing There are good odds that laggard REITs will suffer the same fate as telecom services and utilities stocks and plumb relative all-time lows, breaching the early 2000s nadir (Chart 7). A higher interest rate backdrop, a key BCA theme for 2018, along with deteriorating profit fundamentals compel us to downgrade the niche S&P real estate sector to an underweight stance. Real estate stocks are behaving like fixed income proxied equities, given that, by construction, REITs are high dividend yielding. Thus, a tightening monetary backdrop serves as a noose around their necks (top panel, Chart 8). Not only is the Fed slated to raise interest rates two or three more times this year, but FOMC median projections also assume an additional two to three hikes in 2019. At the margin, competing higher yielding risk free assets will eat into demand for REITs. On the operating front, a number of indicators we track are sending an outright bearish signal for the commercial real estate (CRE) sector. The occupancy rate has crested just shy of 90% or 160bps below the previous cycle's peak. Rising vacancies are emblematic of decreasing rents and thus CRE related cash flows (middle panel, Chart 8). Chart 7New Lows Looming Chart 8Rental Deflation Alert Importantly, CRE prices continue to defy gravity and are steeply deviating from our petered out occupancy rate composite (bottom panel, Chart 8). This supply/demand imbalance typically resolves itself via deflating prices. Industry overbuilding explains this disequilibrium, as ZIRP and loose credit standards encouraged a construction boom. Overall non-residential construction is probing all-time highs and multi-family housing starts are expanding close to 400K/annum, a level that has coincided with previous peaks in the CRE market (third & fourth panels, Chart 9). This industry oversupply should weigh heavily on rents especially given the slackening demand backdrop, according to the message from our REITs Demand Indicator (RDI). The softening RDI reading also bodes ill for CRE price inflation (bottom panel, Chart 10). The latest Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey (FSLOS) corroborates that demand for CRE loans is in a steady decline and bankers are not willing extenders of CRE credit, exerting a downward pull on CRE prices (middle panel, Chart 10). Chart 9Rents Are Under Attack Chart 10CRE Prices Skating On Thin Ice Historically, demand for CRE loans as per the FSLOS has been an excellent leading indicator of actual CRE loan growth, and the current message is grim (second panel, Chart 11). It would be unprecedented for another upleg to take root in the CRE market with the absence of credit growth to fuel such an overshoot phase. Worrisomely, there is no valuation cushion to absorb the plethora of possible CRE mishaps. Cap rates have troughed for the cycle and a rising interest rate backdrop warns that a de-rating in expensive valuations is looming (third panel, Chart 11). While CRE credit quality shows no signs of deterioration, at this stage of the cycle and given weak industry profit fundamentals we would caution against extrapolating such good times far into the future (bottom panel, Chart 11). Adding it all up, our S&P real estate profit growth model does an excellent job encapsulating all of these forces, and it is currently sending an unambiguous sell signal (Chart 12). Chart 11Happy Days Are Over Chart 12Model Says Sell Bottom Line: Downgrade the niche S&P real estate index to a below benchmark allocation. Capital Markets: Stay The Bull Course We upgraded capital markets stocks to an above benchmark allocation mid-May last year. Our thesis, recovering overall market top and bottom line growth would prolong the overshoot phase in equities at a time when monetary conditions would stay sufficiently loose, has panned out and this hyper sensitive early-cyclical index has added alpha to our portfolio raising the question: is it time to book profits or are there more gains in store? The short answer is that it is too soon to crystalize gains. This financials sub-index thrives when animal spirits are rising, CEOs embrace an expansionary mindset, and investor risk appetites are healthy. The opposite is also true. We first started exploring the underappreciated global capex upcycle theme in mid-October2 and by late-November it became one of our two core themes for 2018 (rising interest rate backdrop is the other).3 The second panel of Chart 13 shows that capex intentions move in tandem with relative EPS and are pointing toward a profit reacceleration in the coming months. Bankers are also willing extenders of credit, a necessary fuel for the capex upcycle phase, and demand for loans is upbeat as per our commercial loans & leases model. Historically, such a macro backdrop has been a sweet spot for capital markets stocks (Chart 13). Not only business, but investor confidence is also sky high. Junk bond spreads have once again plumbed multi-year lows and even investment grade bond spreads are tight (high-yield spread shown inverted, Chart 1). Corporate bond issuance remains resilient. The Equity Risk Premium has also narrowed by 200bps since the end of the manufacturing recession (shown inverted, top panel, Chart 14), reducing the cost of equity capital. This is fertile ground both for IPOs and secondary stock offerings. Chart 13Solid Foundation Chart 14Enticing Operating Backdrop Meanwhile, the return of volatility has caused revenue generating equity trading desks to breathe a huge sigh of relief, as we had posited in early March,4 and this earnings season made abundantly clear. Trading volumes have soared and margin debt continues to climb both in absolute terms and relative to GDP (Chart 14). If volatility stays elevated as the year progresses, as we expect, then more gains are likely for investment bank trading desks. The upshot is that the capital markets' EPS upswing is in the early innings. Another key earnings driver, M&A activity, is booming around the globe. Still sloshing global liquidity with near generationally low interest rates is fueling an M&A spree. In the U.S. alone, M&A has hit a fresh cycle high and is running near $3.1Tn/annum. Even relative to output, M&A has returned to the previous cycle's peak (bottom panel, Chart 14), and is music to the ears of investment bankers. The implication is that a capital markets ROE expansion phase looms (bottom panel, Chart 15). On the operating front, capital markets employment is hyper-cyclical. Investment banks are quick to slash labor costs during a downturn and equally swift to expand headcount in anticipation of good times. Currently, industry payrolls are rising steadily and outpacing overall non-farm payroll growth, and represent a positive backdrop (Chart 16). Chart 15M&A Fever Is Positive... Chart 16...And So Is Rising Headcount Sell-side analysts have taken notice and EPS pessimism has violently swung into extreme optimism in the past 18 months. Granted, President Trump's election and tax reform euphoria are part of the slingshot recovery in EPS expectations. However, firming industry-specific EPS growth prospects are also driving analysts' upward revisions (bottom panel, Chart 16). Bottom Line: We recommend an above benchmark allocation in the still compellingly valued S&P investment banks & brokers index. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5INBK - ETFC, GS, MS, RJF, SCHW. Anastasios Avgeriou, Vice President U.S. Equity Strategy anastasios@bcaresearch.com 1 http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2018/03/20/world-economic-outlook-april-2018 2 Please see BCA U.S. Equity Strategy Special Report, "Top 5 Reasons To Favor Cyclicals Over Defensives," dated October 16, 2017, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 3 Please see BCA U.S. Equity Strategy Weekly Report, "High-Conviction Calls," dated November 27, 2017, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 4 Please see BCA U.S. Equity Strategy Special Report, "Top 10 Reasons We still Like Banks," dated March 5, 2018, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. Current Recommendations Current Trades Size And Style Views Favor value over growth Stay neutral small over large caps (downgrade alert)

Special Report

Dear Client, Today we are sending you a two-part Special Report prepared by my colleague Billy Zicheng Huang of our Emerging Markets Equity Sector Strategy team, entitled “A Sector Guide To A-shares”. Part I of the report was published in September, and emphasized the key takeaways from MSCI’s decision to include A-shares in the MSCI EM index beginning in June 2018. More importantly, it provided a comprehensive analysis of the financials, industrials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples sectors. Part II of the report was published at the end of October, and provided an analysis of the remaining sectors not included in Part I. The reports underscore that while the top-down impact of MSCI’s decision is limited, it is significant in terms of expanding potential alpha from security selection. I trust that you will find this report to be useful. Best regards, Jonathan LaBerge, CFA, Vice President Special Reports The EMES team will be publishing a series of Special Reports in the coming weeks, analyzing sector dynamics and company highlights of Chinese A shares that MSCI has decided to include in the MSCI EM index from next June. In the first part of our report, we emphasize the key takeaways from A-shares' inclusion, followed by a comprehensive analysis of the four sectors that investors will probably most focus on. The second part of our report to be released in the coming weeks will analyze the remaining sectors. MSCI's decision to include Chinese A shares will likely have only a limited near-term impact on the market from a passive investment perspective. A 5% inclusion factor will not cause significant changes to the current sector weightings of the MSCI EM index or the MSCI China index. The symbolic effect - that global investors are becoming more confident in the Chinese market's efficiency and transparency - is likely to have a larger impact. From an active investment perspective, however, an expansion of the investable universe will give investors with EM mandates more opportunities to allocate assets and generate alpha. Impact Is Limited On A Macro Perspective... On June 20, MSCI announced its decision to include Chinese A shares in the MSCI EM index and the MSCI ACWI index on a gradual basis starting from June 2018.1 The inclusion process will be finalized in two steps following the May semi-annual index review and August quarterly review in 2018, at a 5% inclusion factor. Full inclusion of the remaining A-share universe is expected to take place gradually over five to 10 years. After three previous proposals of an A-shares inclusion having been rejected by investors surveyed by MSCI, the successful start of the inclusion process signifies that the A-share market is gaining broad support from institutional investors. This follows the Chinese government's and regulators' focus on improving market accessibility via stock connect programs (Hong Kong-Shanghai connect, and Hong Kong-Shenzhen connect) as well as improving market liquidity via loosening requirements for index-linked financial instruments. Further steps regarding capital movement and better reporting standards are expected to be implemented in due course. influence of the inclusion is minimal from a broad market perspective. As is planned, 222 A-share companies will be added to the MSCI EM index, accounting for a pro-forma weight of only 0.73% of the MSCI EM index, or 2.5% of the MSCI China index (Charts 1A and 1B). A shares will boost China's weight in the MSCI EM by approximately only 1%, given the 5% inclusion factor. Sector-wise, it will not substantially move the current weights of each sector either. Company wise, all selected stocks are large caps, with 43 being "A" and "H" dual-listed companies already included in the current MSCI EM index, mostly concentrated in the financials, industrials and materials sectors (see Appendix I). This means the inclusions are unlikely to make any meaningful contribution to index performance in the upcoming year. Similarly, capital inflows from passive fund trackers are expected to be negligible, only marginally adding to the trading income of the Hong Kong Exchange through the northbound stock connect program. refore, we believe the impact from an investor perspective is more symbolic, confirming a positive outlook on market transparency and corporate governance. ...But Significant In Stock Selection Despite immaterial near-term market impact, the 222 A-share large-cap stocks will expand the investable universe, providing active investors with plenty of opportunities to extract alpha. In particular, compared to the current weights of the 11 sectors, industrials, financials, consumer staples, materials, healthcare, utilities, and real estate would see weight expansion, while IT, telecom, energy, and consumer discretionary would see weight contraction (Table 1). Newly added stocks mainly come from the financial and industrial sectors, with the name count by far outpacing other sectors. Given an overall larger market cap, these two sectors will experience the most substantial incremental weight boost under the full inclusion scenario. However, this does not mean sectors with fewer companies to be added are negligible. Instead, liquidity in these sectors is expected to improve significantly, with specific stocks drawing strong interest from investors. Since the launch of BCA's EMES service, we have made several calls on A-share stocks as out-of-benchmark plays, including Yutong Bus (600066 CH) and Tianqi Lithium (002466 CH) from our best-performing trade, overweight the lithium supply chain. In this vein, in this Special Report we will identify and analyze four sectors that we believe are most investment-relevant. A second Special Report examining the remaining sectors will follow in the coming weeks. Financials Some 50 companies from the financials sector will be included in the MSCI EM index, with a strong tilt toward brokerage firms (27). The rest will be split between banks (19) and insurers (4). Banks The equally weighted basket of 19 A-share banks has underperformed the MSCI EM index year to date by 13.4%, and underperformed by 11.6% over a one-year period (Table 2). In absolute return terms, however, performance has been resilient across various time horizons. It is worth mentioning that the "big five banks" are all listed in both mainland China and Hong Kong. Therefore, investors will focus more on joint-stock banks and regional banks in the A-share universe, which makes analysis on shadow banking activities within the earnings profile crucial. In terms of valuation, stripping out dual-listed banks that already exist in the MSCI EM index, Huaxia Bank and CITIC Bank are trading below their book values, displaying relatively cheap valuations. Looking at profitability, three regional banks top the earnings profile: Bank of Guiyang, Bank of Ningbo, and Bank of Nanjing, while the two "cheapest" banks, Huaxia and CITIC, display the lowest ROE (Charts 2A & 2B). From a profitability versus valuation perspective, companies such as Huaxia Bank, Industrial Bank, Bank of Beijing and Pudong Development Bank offer a superior risk-reward profile (Chart 3). Bank of Guiyang and Ping An Bank report the highest net interest margins, but pay a relatively low dividend yield. On the other hand, Industrial Bank and Bank of Beijing have the lowest net interest margins, but relatively high dividend yields (Charts 4A & 4B). In terms of asset quality, Bank of Nanjing and Bank of Ningbo report the lowest NPL ratios, both under 1%, while Pudong Development Bank and Ping An Bank are at the top of the table. Meanwhile, Bank of Nanjing and Bank of Guiyang show the most robust loan growth, while Bank of Shanghai and Huaxia Bank suffer from the most sluggish loan growth (Charts 5A & 5B). Therefore, on a two-dimensional measure, we prefer Bank of Nanjing, and Bank of Guiyang (Chart 6). Screening the earnings forecast, Bank of Guiyang and Bank of Ningbo are expected to see the fastest growth in two years, while CITIC Bank and Ping An Bank will see the slowest growth (Chart 7). Diversified Financials The equally-weighted basket of 27 diversified financial companies has underperformed the MSCI EM index year to date by 26.5%, and by 27.8% over a one-year period (Table 3). Currently there are only nine diversified financial companies in the MSCI EM, with seven securities companies and two state-owned asset management companies specializing in distressed asset management. As mentioned, the inclusion of A shares will not improve brokerage fees dramatically in the near term, but this milestone event could trigger a positive outlook on market sentiment, especially for the broad A-share market, where the dominant players are retail investors. This could explain the subsector's resilient performance over the past three months. Therefore, it is reasonable to be bullish on diversified financials, with the largest securities names expecting a revenue boost in the longer term. Some pure A-share names include Shenwan Hongyuan, Guosen, and Avic Capital. Similar to banks, after stripping out dual-listed names already included in MSCI EM (CITIC, Everbright, GF, Haitong, and Huatai), Northeast Securities and Guotai Junan Securities have the cheapest valuations, while Anxin Trust seems to be the overpriced compared to its peers. Accordingly, its ROE is remarkable (Charts 8A & 8B). Taking both dimensions into account, Guotai Junan Securities and Northeast Securities display attractive risk-reward profile (Chart 9). Looking at the top line, performances diverge across various securities companies. Pacific and Guoyuan generate the highest net interest margin, while Orient and Northeast suffer from serious top-line contraction (Chart 10A). Meanwhile, Guoyuan and Anxin score the highest dividend yield, exceeding 2%, while Sinolink pays less than a 0.5% dividend yield (Chart 10B). Looking at the earnings forecast, Western Securities, AVIC Capital and Sealand Securities are expected to see the strongest bottom-line growth in 2018, while local securities companies Shanxi and Huaan rank at the bottom of the spectrum (Chart 11). Insurance The following four insurers are already constituents of the MSCI EM index: China Life, China Pacific, New China Life and Ping An. The equally weighted basket has outperformed the MSCI EM index year to date by 12.4%, and outperformed by 21.2% over a one-year period (Table 4). We will not analyze the subsector in much detail, given none of them are pure A-share companies. As such, market impact from the inclusion will not be material. EMES has been overweight Ping An's H shares since August 9, 2016.2 Industrials There are 44 companies in the industrials sector, the second-largest name count after financials. This sector is also expected to make the greatest impact on sector weights, assuming full A-shares inclusion. Stocks in the sector are split between airlines, national defense, machinery, construction and transportation. The equally weighted basket has underperformed the MSCI EM index year to date by 20.5%, and by 22.8% over a one-year period (Table 5). We believe increasing construction activity boosted by the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative will drive sales growth of construction equipment, while disputes in the South China Sea, India, Tibet and Xinjiang autonomous districts will continue to boost the defense industry. Air China, Southern Airline, China Communications Construction, China Railway Construction, China Railway Group, China State Construction Engineering, CRRC, Weichai Power, and COSCO are excluded from our analysis, as their H-listed shares are already in the MSCI EM index. Looking at valuations, the trailing P/E varies significantly across companies. Defense stocks in general are more expensive compared to other industries. By contrast, Daqin Railway stands on the lowest end of the P/E ranking, while electrical equipment companies normally display lower valuations (Chart 12A). Looking at the profitability side, Yutong Bus, one of our overweight calls, leads the ROE ranking, while Zoomlion lies on the lowest end by registering a net loss (Chart 12B). In summary, Yutong Bus, Chint Electrics, Gold Mantis and Beijing Orient Landscape will likely outperform, based on a valuation versus profitability profile comparison (Chart 13). Furthermore, the EV/EBITDA forecast for 2017 coincides with our overweight call on national defense stocks. It is worth noting that Eastern Airline would likely see unsatisfactory growth in terms of firm value (Chart 14A). Shanghai International Airport, Tus-sound Environment and Beijing Landscape rank as the top three measured by operating margin, while XCMG Construction Machine displays a negative margin, despite excavator sales in China surging year over year (Chart 14B). In terms of dividend and free cash flow, Yutong Bus and Zoomlion score highest on dividend yield, and Sany Heavy Industry, Daqin Railway, and XCMG secure highest free cash flow yield. On the other hand, Sany and other (check) defense stocks generate the least in dividend yields, and more than half of the companies post negative free cash flow yield (Charts 14C & 14D). Investors should be cautious on airline companies with negative free cash flow, such as Eastern Airline and Hainan Airline. Looking at leverage, Shanghai International Airport and AECC Aero-engine Control have the lowest debt-to-equity ratio, while Power Construction and China Eastern Airline are highly leveraged (Chart 14E). Last but not least, looking at expected growth profile, XCMG is forecast to see the highest bottom-line growth, driven by growing demand for excavators, while China Eastern Airline and Zoomlion are expected to suffer from negative growth (Chart 15). Consumer Discretionary Some 26 names from the consumer discretionary sector will be added to the MSCI EM index. Stripping out Fuyao Glass, BYD, Guangzhou Auto, and Haier, which are already included in the index, there are still six automakers and auto components manufacturers to be included. This should provide investors with enough investable stocks for an auto industry play. Furthermore, six A-share media companies will be added to the index over a one-year period (Table 6). Sector performance has been overall disappointing, with some exceptions being CITIC Guoan Information, Chinese Universe Publishing, Wanxiang Qianchao and China International Travel. Regarding valuations, CITIC Guoan Information, Suning Commerce and Alpha Group are the most expensive, with trailing P/Es surging above 50, while two automakers (SAIC and Huayu) along with a travel agency (Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town) are relatively undervalued in the sector. From a profitability perspective, Robam Appliances and Midea Group generate solid ROE, while CITIC Guoan Information and Sunning Commerce dominate the other end of the spectrum (Charts 16A & 16B). Taking these two factors into consideration, we highlight Robam Appliances, Midea Group, and Xinhua Media as the most attractive (Chart 17) based on a risk/reward profile. Investors should be cautious on Suning Commerce, not only from a fundamental perspective but also because its acquisition of Inter Milan is unlikely to generate synergy amid the Chinese government's tightening of rules on overseas M&A in the entertainment and leisure industries. Looking at the income statement, Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town displays robust operating performance, matching its high valuation. Robam Appliances and China South Publishing follow suit. By contrast, Suning Commerce suffers from negative margins (Chart 18A). When comparing free cash flow, Midea Group and China South Publishing register the highest yield, while Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town, Gran Automotive Service, and CITIC Guoan Information have negative yields (Chart 18B). Meanwhile, autos and auto components manufacturers enjoy the highest dividend yields, such as SAIC Motor, Huayu Automotive System, Weifu High-Tech, and Grand Automotive Service (Chart 18C). With respect to leverage, the media industry normally displays the lowest D/E ratio, seen in firms such as China Film, Xinhua Media and China South Publishing. On the other hand, auto and auto component manufacturers as well as large retailers are highly leveraged (Chart 18D). Based on our criteria, Guoan Information and Robam Appliances are expected to see the fastest bottom-line growth, while Xinhua Media, Wanxiang Qiaochao, and Xinjiekou Dept.'s bottom lines would remain stagnant (Chart 19). Consumer Staples Currently only nine Chinese consumer staples constituents are included in the MSCI EM Index. After the inclusion, 14 more companies will be added, substantially expanding the investable universe. Two subsectors will most likely draw investors' attention: food producers such as Yili and Henan Shuanghui, as well as beverage producers, especially premium liquor producers such as Moutai, Wuliangye Yibin and Yanghe Brewery. The equally weighted basket has underperformed the MSCI EM index year to date by 19.6%, and by 11% over a one-year period (Table 7). The sector has not deviated much from the EM benchmark across the selected time horizon. In particular, premium liquor manufacturers have been the main contributor to overall sector performance. Their sales are expected to experience a seasonal peak in September and October during the Chinese mid-autumn festival and National Day. Both Wuliangye Yibin and Moutai announced robust top-line and bottom-line growth in their second-quarter financial results, largely beating market expectations. Stripping out the one dual-listed name already in the MSCI EM index (Tsingtao Brewery), Changyu Pioneer, New Hope Liuhe, and Shuanghui display attractive valuations, with trailing P/Es under 20. On the other end of the metrics, Yonghui Superstores, and Luzhou Laojiao are the most expensive (Chart 20A). Examining profitability measures, Shuanghui and Moutai top the ROE rank, while Bailian Group and Yonghui Superstores sit at the bottom of the rank (Chart 20B). Looking at risk/reward profile, it is noticeable that Shuanghui, Yili and Yanghe Brewery are well positioned (Chart 21). In terms of operations, premium liquor makers reported overall strong operating margins, led by Moutai and Yanghe Brewery, while Bailian Group and New Hope Liuhe stand at the other end of the spectrum (Chart 22A). Looking at the capex-to-sales ratio, Wuliangye and Shuanghui score the best measures, driven by strong sales with less capex. While Changyu Pioneer demonstrates a much higher ratio compared to all peers (Chart 22B), this can be partially explained by its high capex requirement, as it is the only wine maker in the sector. Nonetheless, we believe its top line is expected to be under downward pressure as the wine market in China becomes increasingly competitive, and as premium products from France, Australia, and the U.S. gain easier market access through not only traditional in-store sales but also authorized e-commerce platforms like JD.com. Similarly, free cash flow measure also indicates that Changyu Pioneer is the only liquor player that suffers from negative yield (Chart 22C). In terms of financial position, with the exception of COFCO Tunhe Sugar, all companies in the sector display reasonable levels of leverage (Chart 22D). Looking at top-line growth, sales forecasts in FY2017 are more in favor of Moutai, Dabeinong Technology, and Luzhou Laojiao, but less in favor of Bailian Group, Shuanghui, and Changyu Pioneer (Chart 23A). Moreover, when looking at bottom-line growth two years out, Luzhou Laojiao and Yonghui Superstores score the highest rankings, while Changyu Pioneer and Shuanghui are at the other end of the spectrum (Chart 23B). In summary, among food producers, we are inclined to overweight Shuanghui. Among beverage producers, we like Yanghe Brewery, and Wuliangye, but are avoiding Changyu Pioneer. What's Next? We will highlight the following sectors in part 2 of our Special Report: Materials, energy, IT, telecoms, healthcare, and real estate. Billy Zicheng Huang, Research Analyst billyh@bcaresearch.com Appendix - I Appendix - II Overweight Company Profile Underweight Company Profile 1 For the full MSCI press release, please visit: https://www.msci.com/eqb/pressreleases/archive/2017_Market_Classification_Announcement_Press_Release_FINAL.pdf 2 Please see EM Equity Sector Strategy - Investment case "China Healthcare, Getting Healthier", dated August 9, 2016, available at emes.bcaresearch.com

Overweight We have recently been highlighting the burgeoning capex upcycle as the key investment theme driving our sector rotation into cyclical stocks over defensives. The investment bank & brokers index in particular thrives when the business sector is moving to expansion mode. Capital formation moves in lockstep with business confidence as firms look to expand balance sheets to meet future capital needs; sentiment has been soaring since the November election and so too have secondary equity issues (second panel). This should mean that relative earnings gains for investment banks should follow sky-high capex expectations, if history repeats (third panel). Stay overweight the S&P investment banks & brokers index. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5INBK - ETFC, SCHW, GS, RJF, MS.

Highlights Portfolio Strategy The financials sector's fortunes are linked to the path of 10-year Treasury yields. BCA's view of a selloff in the bond market bodes well for this interest rate-sensitive sector. The S&P banks index is on the cusp of flexing its earnings power muscle. Higher profits will serve as a catalyst for a valuation rerating in this key financials sub-sector. The still unloved S&P asset management & custody banks index has significant catch-up potential. We reiterate our high-conviction overweight status. Recent Changes There are no changes to our portfolio this week. Table 1 Feature The S&P 500 ended last week on a high note, cheering significant progress on the tax bill front and digesting early earnings beats. Given the equity market's lofty valuation starting point, substantial positive profit surprises are now necessary to move the needle in stocks. Encouragingly, IBM's mention of the fall in the U.S. dollar boosting EPS1 may morph into a broad-based theme this earnings season given the currency's mysterious absence we have been flagging in Q2. Beneath the surface, easy fiscal policy prospects coupled with synchronized global growth will likely continue to underpin equities. Importantly, later stages of the business cycle are synonymous with impressive gains in the S&P 500. The unemployment gap, defined as the unemployment rate minus the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), is an excellent leading indicator of the yield curve. Granted, NAIRU is an estimate and we are using the CBO's long-term NAIRU quarterly forecast as an input to the unemployment gap indicator. When the unemployment gap disappears, inflation should start rearing its ugly head, eventually leading the Fed to tighten monetary policy to the point where the yield curve inverts and predicts the end of the business cycle. Empirical evidence suggests that first the unemployment gap closes then the yield curve inverts and the business cycle subsequently ends (Chart 1). However, this indicator has had one miss since the early-1970s, during the second leg of the early-1980s double dip recession. Chart 1Eliminated Unemployment Gap Is Bullish For Equities Table 2 shows the S&P 500 performance from when the unemployment gap clearly closes until the business cycle ends. In all five iterations that lasted, on average, 28 months, the broad market has risen, on average, by 29%. The unemployment gap has been eliminated since February 2017 and if history at least rhymes the next U.S. recession will arrive some time in 2019 as the SPX hits our peak cycle 3,000 target.2 Another later cycle phenomenon is the disappearance of volatility and the plunge in stock correlations as the Fed tightens monetary policy. While large institutional investors aggressively selling volatility this cycle is dampening vol across asset classes, there is another explanation of the non-existence of vol: synchronized global growth. Chart 2 shows that leading up to the prior three recessions, volatility was drifting lower and remained low, and the common denominator was simultaneous global growth in the late-1980s, late-1990s and mid-2000s. BCA's global (40 country) industrial production composite was expanding during the later stages of the business cycle. Similarly, our global (44 country) global EPS diffusion index and the global synchronicity indicator also depict concurrent global growth. Table 2S&P 500 Returns When##br## The Unemployment Gap Closes Chart 2Linking Low Vol To ##br##Synchronized Global Growth During the later stages of the cycle, equity sector correlations also collapse as earnings fundamentals are key performance drivers and sector differentiation generates alpha, as the broad market enters the last stage of the bull market. As we mentioned in our "SPX 3,000?" Weekly Report on July 10th, this does not mean the S&P 500's path is a linear straight line up until the next recession hits. There are high odds of a 5-10% garden variety pullback materializing which we deem a healthy development and our strategy would be to buy the dip, ceteris paribus. This week we update an early cyclical sector and two key sub-components. Financials: In The Shadows Of The Bond Market While financials stocks have cheered the prospects of a tax bill passage sometime in early 2018 (Chart 3), sell-side analysts have been brutally downgrading financials sector EPS estimates, dealing a blow to most sub-indexes net earnings revisions (Chart 4). True, hurricane-related losses may be the culprit, but such indiscriminate downgrades are unwarranted, and we would lean against such pessimism. Recent profit results corroborate our positive sector bias, but we are still early in the earnings season. Chart 3Dissecting Financials Performance Chart 4Extreme EPS Pessimism This early cyclical sector is a core overweight portfolio holding and there are high odds of significant relative gains in the coming quarters. Historically, financials stocks had been almost 100% positively correlated with the yield curve slope (Chart 5): a steepening yield curve gooses financials profits, while a flattening one eats into earnings via narrowing net interest margins. This rang true up until the Great Recession. Since then, unconventional monetary policies likely rendered this multi-decade correlation ineffective. In particular, the fed funds rate's zero lower bound caused a shift in the correlation from the yield curve to the 10-year Treasury yield (Chart 6). In fact, changes in the 10-year Treasury yield are now a carbon copy of relative share price momentum (Chart 6). Chart 5Shifting Correlations Chart 6Financials And UST Yield Are Joined At The Hip Thus, accurately forecasting long term interest rates should also dictate the direction of relative share prices, especially given the still historically low fed funds rate. On that front, the Treasury market is priced for the 10-year yield to hit 2.57% in October 2018 from roughly 2.38% currently. We expect the 10-year yield will rise more quickly than is discounted in the forward curve. Our U.S. bond strategists think core inflation will soon resume its modest cyclical uptrend. A parallel recovery in the cost of inflation protection will impart 50-60 basis points of upside to the 10-year Treasury yield by the time core inflation reaches the Fed's 2% target.3 Chart 7 plots the path of the 10-year Treasury yield discounted in the forward curve alongside a path consistent with BCA's view that inflation is poised to head higher. It also shows what this would mean for the 10-year breakeven inflation rate. If core inflation resumes its uptrend, as BCA expects, then financials will have a stellar return year in 2018, all else equal. Chart 7Lots Of Upside Meanwhile, market participants typically value financials on a price-to-book basis during calamitous times and are very slow in changing metrics once the tremors are behind the sector. We are likely on the cusp of a switch away from P/B and toward forward P/E as a key valuation metric for financials. The current 20% forward P/E discount to the broad market is highly punitive (bottom panel, Chart 5). If the key S&P banks sub-index successfully flexes its earnings power muscle, as we expect, then a valuation rerating phase looms for both banks and financials equities. Banks Hold The Key We remain constructive on the S&P banks index as all three key drivers of bank profits, namely loan growth, price of credit and credit quality, are simultaneously moving in the right direction. Tack on the increasing likelihood of a tax bill becoming law in early 2018, the continued push of the Trump administration to relax bank regulations and pent up demand for shareholder friendly activities including net share retirement and higher dividend payments/payouts, and bank stocks are well positioned to generate impressive returns in the coming quarters. Lower corporate tax rates will boost bank profits directly and indirectly. Fiscal stimulus typically translates into an economic fillip. If small and medium businesses (SME) benefit the most from lower taxes then higher SME profits will lead to a more expansionary mindset and small business owners will likely tap their bankers to finance capital spending plans. As tax certainty increases, so will animal spirits, aiding in kick-starting a virtuous economic cycle. Thus, loan growth is on an upward trajectory. Leading indicators of loan demand are also painting a bright picture for bank profits. C&I and consumer loans, two large credit categories, are both forecast to reaccelerate in the coming months. The ISM manufacturing survey has been on fire lately and consumer confidence has been following closely behind (third & fourth panels, Chart 8). Our credit growth model captures these positive forces and is sending an unambiguously positive message for loan reacceleration in the coming months (Chart 8). Moreover, residential real estate loan origination (the second largest credit category in U.S. dollar terms) should gain steam, underpinned by solid housing market's foundations: house prices are still expanding at a healthy clip (top panel, Chart 9), household formation is running higher than housing starts and mortgage rates are not prohibitive. Chart 8Bright Business And Consumer Credit Outlooks Chart 9Ongoing Valuation Rerating The V-shaped recovery in our U.S. credit impulse corroborates this fertile loan backdrop and is heralding an earnings outperformance phase (Chart 10). On the price of credit front, if BCA's bond view pans out in the next year and the 10-year Treasury yield veers closer to 2.8-3% range with rising inflation expectations in the driver's seat (Chart 11), then bank profits should continue to accelerate. Granted, the Fed will also raise rates next year and, at the margin, push up funding costs for the banking sector. However, our working assumption is that banks will remain linked to the 10-year UST yield's fortunes next year. At some point later in the Fed tightening cycle, the yield curve and bank correlation will likely get re-established. But, a flattening yield curve denting NIMs is a 2019 narrative. Finally, credit quality remains pristine despite some pockets of weakness in, subprime especially, auto loans. At this stage of the cycle, near or at full employment, NPLs will remain muted. Importantly, loan loss reserves have recently crossed above non-current loans in Q2 according to the FDIC, for the first time since 2007. Historically, a rising reserve coverage ratio has been synonymous with increasing valuations and the current message is that the banks rerating phase is in the early innings (Chart 12). Chart 10Heed The Positive Credit Impulse Signal Chart 11Price Of Credit Should Recover Chart 12Pristine Credit Quality Bottom Line: We reiterate our early-May overweight stance in the S&P financials sector and continue to overweight the heavyweight S&P banks sub-index. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5BANKX - WFC, JPM, BAC, C, USB, PNC, BBT, STI, MTB, FITB, CFG, RF, KEY, HBAN, CMA, ZION, PBCT. A Few Words On Asset Management & Custody Banks The S&P asset management & custody banks (AMCB) index sits atop of our high-conviction return table (see page 15), outperforming the broad market by 7.2% since inception. While it is tempting to monetize some of these profits, we choose to remain patient. Likely more gains are in store in the coming months as this financials sub sector maintains its leadership position. If BCA's bond view of a selloff in the 10-year Treasury market transpires in 2018, then the budding rotation out of bond and into equity products will further accelerate. The stock-to-bond ratio captures this shift and it is currently flashing green (Chart 13). Overall assets under management are also rising and are a boon for the AMCB group's profit prospects, on the back of higher equity prices and also higher flows into stocks in general (bottom panel, Chart 13). Vibrant global economic sentiment, as measured by the IFO's World Economic Survey (top panel, Chart 14), and domestic (and global) manufacturing resurgence should continue to underpin M&A activity and sustain the high levels of margin debt. Both of these factors suggest that AMCB profit drivers are accelerating and will likely serve as a catalyst to unlock excellent value in this still unloved financials sub-group (middle panel, Chart 14). Chart 13Increasing AUMs... Chart 14...And Rising Animal Spirits Are Bullish For AMCB Adding it up, the still undervalued AMCB index has sizable catch-up potential, especially if the equity risk premium (ERP) continues to narrow in the coming quarters, as we expect (ERP shown inverted, bottom panel, Chart 14). Bottom Line: The S&P AMCB index remains a high-conviction overweight. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5AMGT-BK, BLK, STT, AMP, NTRS, TROW, BEN, IVZ, AMG. Anastasios Avgeriou, Vice President U.S. Equity Strategy & Global Alpha Sector Strategy anastasios@bcaresearch.com 1 Please see BCA U.S. Equity Strategy Weekly Report,"Dollar The Great Reflator" dated September 18, 2017, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 2 Please see BCA U.S. Equity Strategy Weekly Report,"SPX 3,000?" dated July 10, 2017, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 3 Please see BCA U.S. Bond Strategy Weekly Report,"Living With The Carry Trade" dated October 17, 2017, available at usbs.bcaresearch.com. Current Recommendations Current Trades Size And Style Views Favor small over large caps and stay neutral growth over value.

Overweight - High-Conviction The S&P asset management and custody banks (AMCB) index has outperformed both the S&P 500 and the broad financials index since we lifted it to a high-conviction overweight in mid-February. The tight correlation between Treasury yields and relative share prices explain a large part of the outperformance (top panel). Given BCA's underweight duration bond view, we still think the outperformance phase is in early days. Historically, the index has also been positively correlated with both the stock-to-bond ratio and the equity risk premium, but has deviated significantly from both in the last four years (second and third panels). The index has also diverged negatively from its own earnings profile, creating a persistent state of undervaluation since 2015. Even modest mean reversion in any of these measures implies substantial outperformance as animal spirits remain upbeat. Bottom Line: The undervalued S&P AMCB index has significant catch-up potential with earnings momentum pointing in the right direction. Stay overweight. The ticker symbols for the stocks in the S&P asset manager & custody banks index are: BLBG: S5AMGT-BK, BLK, STT, AMP, NTRS, TROW, BEN, IVZ, AMG.