Blaine Rollins, CFA
Blaine is Managing Director, responsible for market insight and strategy. He is the author of the hugely popular Weekly Research Briefing, which has a weekly circulation of over 80,000.
Prior to joining Hamilton Lane, Blaine was Chief Market Strategist of 361 Capital where his responsibilities included investment research, portfolio construction and management, and hedging and trading strategies. Blaine was also a member of 361 Capital’s Board of Managers. Previously, Blaine served as Executive Vice President at Janus Capital Group (now Janus Henderson) and Portfolio Manager of the Janus Fund, Janus Balanced Fund, Janus Equity Income Fund and the Janus Triton Fund. He began his career as a financial analyst at AMG in 1989 and has three decades of financial services industry experience.
Blaine earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado and has earned the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Featured Content
Weekly Research Briefing: Markets Reflected In Nature
The above vineyard that I visited this weekend looked a lot like my 2025 market watch page. Mostly green with only a speck of red. The only YTD crimson on my screen right now is crude oil, the US dollar, tariff impacted consumer/industrial companies and HHS affected healthcare stocks. Multiple shades of green everywhere else.
Weekly Research Briefing: No Time For Games
Today's capital markets are not sitting on the porch. Electronic Arts will be the largest buyout deal ever at $55 billion. The largest buyout in 2021, Medline, is looking to file its IPO in October for $50 billion which would make it the largest IPO of 2025. And alarm and security vendor, Verisure Plc is looking to go public next week making it one of Europe's largest IPO's in years at €13-14 billion.
Weekly Research Briefing: The Stairmaster
The S&P 500 continues to get a good workout as a new all-time high mark was set again last week. The fuel for the upward move continues to be a mix of stellar credit markets, falling US Treasury yields, and AI capex spending optimism. The weakening labor picture has nearly guaranteed the beginning of a new Fed Fund rate cut cycle. The market is expecting that goods inflation will take a backseat while the Fed sets all of its attention on trying to rally employment growth.
Weekly Research Briefing: Well That Settles It
Friday's jobs data left no uncertainty about what the Fed's next move will be. Get out the scissors. Only 22,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were created in August and the downward June revision creating the first negative job growth month since COVID. While goods producing jobs continued to shrink, it was the pillars of job growth, healthcare and social services, which slowed the most.
Weekly Research Briefing: And The Door Opens
In his last Jackson Hole symposium as chairman, Jerome Powell discussed all of the current influences on the Fed's dual mandate. But in his summary, he did open the door toward a potential lowering of rates if the risks to employment continue to grow. And so, the September jobs numbers will be very closely watched by all. If they arrive weaker, there will be a September cut. The bond market has already made this call and is betting on three rate cuts through January.
Weekly Research Briefing: My Sweet Wyoming Home
It's that time of year again when the Kansas City Fed invites the world's central bankers to a week of fly fishing, whiskey drinking and economic modeling. This year's event will have added interest given the continued pressures of the White House on the US Central Bank. The Fed's dual mandate of low inflation and employment stability is at a crossroads right now as the trade war has slowed US production while also lifting costs to businesses and the consumer.
Weekly Research Briefing: Meteor Showers
The US stock market continues to put on its own light show with another strong bounce last week to move its year to date gain to +8%. The slowing jobs environment has continued to arm the doves with ammo for a future Fed easing in September. And in the other corner are the hawks who are watching the new tariffs agitate prices higher.
Weekly Research Briefing: So Many Pickles
The biggest news from last week was that Friday's job numbers showed that US job growth is clearly slowing. The last three months of data now shows that if not for the healthcare and social assistant categories, the US economy would have lost jobs for each month. In other words, the US goods producing industries are failing to create net new jobs no matter the new tax breaks or perceived threats of tariff actions.
Weekly Research Briefing: Niagara Falls
If the news flow was a drop of water then this week we would be looking at a raging waterfall. Even more appropriate then that we came across this shot of the largest volume waterfall in the Americas which sits on the American/Canadian border. For most of us who live in the states, the tariff decision between the two countries needs to be reached this week as it will affect our future cost of cars/trucks, electricity and maple syrup.
Weekly Research Briefing: Remote Work
Don't worry, you won't be the only one taking those calls from outside the office this week. With summer in full swing and a light economic calendar on deck, many market participants will be listening to those earnings calls from anywhere else but an office building.
Weekly Research Briefing: Groundhog Day
Rise and shine investors because you have seen this day before. Most of you are planning on starting the morning off with a big breakfast TACO. A few of you are readying yourself for a bowl of mush and a glass of Postum. Either way, the White House is back to demanding extremely high tariffs once again on all foreign imported goods. With the stock market trading back to its previous high valuation, it is saying that the new tariff rates will not make it to August 1st.
Weekly Research Briefing: Fireworks
Joining this year's July 4th nighttime festivities will be the U.S. financial markets which after difficult March and Aprils, rebounded to the sounds of a John Philip Sousa march. Count me as surprised to see US stocks at all-time highs, credit spreads near 20-year lows and US Treasury yields near 20-year lows.
