Consensus says we will inevitably hit another recession, but not necessarily. There's a lot of scar tissue from the last recession, he notes. Recoveries are long, and we've had several resets since the last recession. So, it's not so simple to frame current markets as end-of-cycle. True, now we have the lowest expectations for global growth, and December saw huge outflows from markets. The bar is very low for upside surprises. The U.S. has and will continue to underperform vs. the world; has done so since the Sept. 21, 2018 market peak in America.

Not familiar with this. He owns BOTZ, though. FOUR-T is worth a look too. He's starting to look at these AI ETFs. No rush to buy these, but one should look into them.

A recession-proof ETF? Has a yield to maturity of 3.2%, with a duration of 14.7. But he doesn't expect a recession; American will slow down and the rest of the world will pick up, primarily China. Also look at the Chinese and Japanese currencies (FXY or KCNY).

(A Top Pick Sep 06/18, Down 6%) This is still good if global macro-economic expectations remain depressed, reasonable valuations and a likely upside. Also likes this for its Japanese exposure; Japan boast the highest ROE in the corporate sector and sitting on a lot of cash. Japan is a sleeper sector.

(A Top Pick Sep 06/18, Up 12%) Diversified in EM. You get the coupon offering a 7% yield; the return on the bond itself; and the currency return. In an emerging bull market, you want to see currencies stabilize first, then the bond markets so that investors move up the risk curve. He's bullish EM.

Mutual funds vs. ETFs Nothing wrong to own both, per se, but you can build a globally diversified portfolio with ETFs.

ZLB vs. ZUB These are low-volatility ETFs, and he isn't keen on low-vol. Low-vol means defensive sectors like utilities, and away from growth. He's slightly bullish the cyclical outlook. This is not a good entry point now, though otherwise both are good ETFs.

Trade wars pumelled China internet stocks last year, but they won't derail this long-term trend. Online retail is stronger in China than America: 20% of purchases are made online in China vs. 10% in America.