#geopolitical-risk-and-safe-haven-assets

#geopolitical-risk-and-safe-haven-assets

The ETF itself is a bond fund that tracks a market of investment-grade U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities, meaning pools of home loans packaged into bonds and issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.

Annaly's dividend coverage is tight but intact. The company paid $0.70 per share quarterly throughout 2025, and its non-GAAP earnings available for distribution covered that payout in every quarter, ranging from $0.72 to $0.73 per share.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF offers pure market beta at an expense ratio of 0.03%, with top holdings like NVIDIA and Apple making up over 36% of the fund.

The so-called general license means U.S. sanctions will not apply for 30 days on deliveries of Russian oil that has been loaded on tankers as of Friday.

Major indices, including the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, all recorded gains, with the Nasdaq delivering its strongest weekly performance since November.

The Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSEARCA:DBC) is up 42% over the past year, and nearly 29% year-to-date. These gains reflect a war that has scrambled global commodity supply chains from crude oil to wheat to fertilizer.

Gold miners have been making a killing after a lull, and they're well-positioned to keep doing so. Profits are rising sharply across the industry, and they're using this to explore for even more gold.

"This is a system shock," says Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group. "You have a material energy supply disruption and a structural shift toward fragmentation."

Dollar weakness matters enormously for emerging market equities because most of these companies earn revenues in local currencies. When the dollar softens, those earnings translate into more dollars for U.S.-based investors, giving the portfolio a currency tailwind on top of any underlying business performance.

We're on a rollercoaster of AI disruption with geopolitical risks adding to the uneasy ride. Sell-offs have rocked markets as artificial intelligence tools and services threaten to disrupt sectors. High geopolitical tensions have also been the theme so far this year, with the ongoing US military build‑up in the Middle East, while the assault on Venezuela and January's stand‑off over Greenland are still front of mind.

The stock market hates inflation. There are not many stocks that are little affected today, if any. However, safe-haven stocks may even rise due to demand. At the top of this list is Altria (NYSE: MO), the cigarette and tobacco king. People who smoke do not stop smoking, even during periods of conflict.