Many institutional clients judge us on relative results vs the Russell 2000 Value. 25% of the index is in Financials which are mostly banks. Reason #6 from Grant’s we don’t own any here in smallcap.

“But deposit costs are rising rapidly now, up 290% year over year to $34.1 billion in the third quarter, according to FDIC data. Costs continue to mount: The four largest banks by assets—JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup, Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.—reported a cumulative 638% year-over-year increase in interest expense, to $40.1 billion in the fourth quarter. Understandably, savers remain unimpressed. In the fourth quarter, JPMorgan paid an average rate of 1.37% on its interest-bearing deposits, not an overwhelming value proposition compared, today, with the 4.13% on offer from money-market mutual funds, the 4.68% on three-month Treasury bills or the 4%- plus on one-year certificates of deposit from such lenders as Capital One Financial Group and Synchrony Financials.”

People react slowly to change. But they react.