Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 SEPTEMBER SEASONALS: Bloomberg's Global Ag Bond index has seen a negative total return for the last seven consecutive months of September. Gold has been lower in 10 of September's previous 11 straight months. The S&P 500 has been lower for the last four consecutive months of September.

#2 ACCOUNTING SHORTAGE: The AICPA estimates that ~75% of the CPA workforce reached retirement age in 2020. The pipeline of future accountants is dwindling, with more recent AICPA data showing six consecutive years of decline in the number of students earning degrees in accounting.

#3 BATON PASS? According to data from Glenmede & FactSet, U.S. Small Caps are forecasted to start growing earnings on a year-over-year basis above their U.S. Large Cap peers in the current quarter and through at least the next six quarters.

#4 EDUCATION: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the student-to-teacher ratio in public schools has moved from ~27 in 1956 to ~15 in 2022.

#5 WEALTH PER PERSON: The U.S. ranks 4th in countries with the highest wealth per person at ~$565K and trails Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the leader, Switzerland (~$710K), according to the Visual Capitalist

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