Week in Review: Jan 9 - Jan 17, 2026

Performance Snapshot

This week AlphaWizzard returned +2.3%, significantly outperforming both the S&P 500 (-0.3%) and Nasdaq (-0.9%) by maintaining our ACCELERATING stance in high-conviction positions. Year-to-date and since inception, we're up +6.8% and +15.6% respectively, compared to SPY's +1.4% and QQQ's -1.2%, while maintaining superior risk discipline with a maximum drawdown of just -2.6% versus -4.5% for SPY and -7.3% for QQQ.

The F1 Dashboard

We maintained our ACCELERATING mode this week with equity exposure steady at 83.5%, keeping the pedal firmly pressed as our quantitative signals continue to favor risk-on positioning. This elevated exposure level reflects our models' conviction in the current market environment, allowing us to capture the full upside potential while our sector rotation strategy drives alpha generation across Basic Materials and Technology holdings.

Market Radar

This week saw a clear divergence between cyclical value plays and growth stocks, with traditional defensive sectors like Real Estate (+4.2%) and Industrials (+3.1%) leading the charge while Technology (-0.4%) and Consumer Cyclical (-1.7%) sectors faced headwinds. The market appears to be pricing in a more resilient economic outlook, favoring companies with tangible assets and pricing power over high-multiple growth names.

Precious metals and mining stocks experienced a significant breakout, with gold miners rallying on renewed safe-haven demand and potential monetary policy shifts. Meanwhile, the technology sector faced pressure from rotation out of AI-heavy names, though our selective positioning in coherent optical components and semiconductor equipment providers helped us navigate the turbulence effectively.

Looking ahead, market participants are focusing on upcoming earnings releases and any signals about Federal Reserve policy direction. The current sector rotation suggests investors are positioning for a more balanced economic recovery, favoring companies with strong fundamentals over speculative growth plays.

Under the Hood

Top Contributors

Laggards

Sector Performance

Here's how the major sectors performed this week and how our stock picks in each sector compared to the sector ETFs:

*Our Return is the weighted average of portfolio holdings in each sector. Contribution shows impact on total portfolio return.

Our sector selection strategy delivered exceptional alpha this week, with Basic Materials leading the charge as our holdings returned +4.9% versus the XLB ETF's +0.9%, contributing a substantial +1.7% to total portfolio returns. Technology was our second-largest contributor at +0.7%, with our selective positioning in optical components and semiconductor equipment helping us achieve +2.8% returns while the broader XLK declined -0.4%. Industrials also showcased strong stock selection with +7.1% returns versus XLI's +3.1%, while we notably underperformed only in Real Estate, where our +1.6% return trailed XLRE's +4.2% sector-wide rally. The standout performance in Basic Materials, driven primarily by our gold mining positions, demonstrates the value of our quantitative approach to sector rotation and individual security selection.

Pit Stop

This week we spotlight two standout performers that exemplify our strategy's ability to identify momentum before it becomes consensus.

CDE - Coeur Mining Inc

Week: +10.7% | MTD: +26.6% | 6M: +135.9%

Coeur Mining emerged as our top contributor this week, delivering exceptional returns as precious metals experienced a renewed breakout. As a primary silver and gold producer with operations across North America, CDE has benefited from both rising precious metal prices and operational improvements at key mining facilities. The company's focus on high-grade, low-cost operations positions it well in the current commodity cycle, while recent exploration successes have expanded resource estimates. Our quantitative models identified the building momentum in precious metals miners well ahead of this week's surge, allowing us to maintain a meaningful position as institutional flows accelerated into the sector.

COHR - Coherent Corp

Week: +7.3% | MTD: +3.5% | 6M: +96.9%

Coherent continues its impressive run as a key supplier of laser technology and optical components across multiple high-growth end markets including data centers, automotive, and industrial applications. The company has successfully integrated its recent acquisitions while expanding margins through operational excellence initiatives. This week's strength was driven by renewed optimism around data center capex spending and the critical role of optical components in next-generation infrastructure. With its diversified technology portfolio and exposure to multiple secular growth themes, COHR represents the type of specialized technology play that can outperform even during broader tech sector weakness, as evidenced by our +96.9% six-month return.