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

#1 Leveraged Equity ETFs: The number of leveraged equity ETFs recently reached a record high of 701, according to BofA Global Investment Strategy. This marks a sharp increase from approximately 500 at the beginning of the year.

#2 Gold Bulls: Gold is currently up nearly 160% over a span of 1,115 days, according to Bespoke Investment Group. This compares to the average gold bull market gain of +100% over 718 days, and the longest bull market, which lasted 1,865 days.

#3 Inflows: Per Arbor Research, the three ETF categories with the largest inflows for the week ended October 17, 2025, were U.S. Large Cap at $16.9B, Precious Metals at $4.8B, and Consumer Cyclicals at $3.8B.

#4 Private Credit: Bank lending to non-bank financial institutions has climbed from 2% of total loans in the early 2010s to nearly 13% today, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

#5 Food and Beverage Headwind: Hedgeye recently noted that 42 million Americans could see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits disrupted beginning November 1 if the government shutdown persists. SNAP households account for roughly $9B in monthly purchasing power, with food representing 94% of this total.

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