Inside the Mind of COO Daniela & CIO John

THE OPINION

COO Daniela’s Strategic Take: Don’t trade the headlines. Trade the dislocations

The current environment is noisy, chaotic, and full of conflicting macro signals, but beneath the volatility, the structure is holding. Our job is not to overreact to the noise but to extract clarity from it. Here's how we are operationalizing that clarity:

• Tariff Theater is now Operational Reality:
  This is no longer theoretical. Companies are rethinking their strategies: GM has pulled guidance, and Stanley Black & Decker is pushing price hikes. These are real margin compression events now cascading through the operating layer.

• The Policy Narrative is Dislocated:
  With government agencies unable to agree on whether tariffs are sustainable, strategic, or symbolic, corporates are caught in the crossfire. The ambiguity increases execution risk at scale.

• Tech’s Aura of Invincibility is Breaking:
  Mega-cap tech is no longer immune to the impacts. Capex remains sluggish, and market access in China is narrowing. Legacy tech companies are being forced into political roles with earnings exposure to match.

• GDP Distortion Is Not Trendworthy:
  The negative Q1 print was driven by a one-off 41% import surge. When you remove that anomaly, GDP remains solidly positive. This was a tariff-induced inventory front-run, not a signal of collapsing demand.

• Fundamental Discipline is Becoming Ubiquitous:
  High-quality compounders with earnings resilience and recurring revenue streams are now getting the attention they deserve. Valuation thresholds are becoming discipline anchors, not just screeners.

THE OPINION

CIO John’s Tactical Lens: The real money is made between the headlines

In a market environment full of narrative confusion, macro misreads, and premature positioning, real alpha lies in exploiting the opportunities that arise between the noise.

🧭 Macro Regime Update:

• The Fed is Trapped: Inflation remains sticky, employment is softening, and GDP optics are skewed by temporary trade effects.

• Markets Have Already Looked Through the Noise: Consumer spending remains robust, inflation is easing in the right places, and the real economy is outperforming the narrative.

• Earnings Season is Stronger Than Expected: This is not the time to sell; it’s the time to selectively buy into solid fundamentals.

📊 Technical Framework:

• The S&P 500 has broken through key trendline resistance, signaling a shift in market structure.

• Weekly candle reversals and classic double-bottom formations indicate institutional accumulation.

• Oversold momentum indicators like Williams %R are firing — a historically reliable signal for bottoming behavior.

🧬 Positioning Playbook:

• Resilient Compounders: Focus on companies with margin durability, cash-flow generation, and defensible moats.

• Avoid Overbought Global Rotation: Certain international markets are sentiment-led and overextended. We’re staying clear of crowded trades in Canada, Germany, the UK, and France.

• Buy the Selloff in Quality: Wait for valuation dislocations and deploy with conviction into companies that can compound through volatility.

🧠 Vibe Check from the Frontlines

• Tariff-induced behavior is causing front-loaded demand across supply chains — a short-term lift masking long-term uncertainty.

• Consumer behavior is shifting down-market, with visible strain in discretionary retail, coffee chains, and travel.

• The AI chip race is becoming more protectionist and bilateral, requiring recalibration of revenue assumptions.

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United Vision: Where We’re Bullish

We are not in a stable macro regime. This is a fragmented, politically charged, and tariff-distorted economy. Traditional signals are backward-looking. Real positioning requires forward synthesis.

At Linda AGI, our strategy is to:

• Allocate into earnings visibility

• Fade the fear

• Let structure confirm conviction

What advice would you give?

As always, Linda AGI remains focused on the long-term vision: building and preserving wealth for our investors, regardless of the short-term volatility. We will continue to focus on resilient, compounders and tactical opportunities amidst macro uncertainty.

Let’s stay the course and remain selective in these volatile times. We’ll navigate the dislocations and emerge stronger.