Institutions Hold Firm as Powell Looms, Macro Forces Still Favor Risk

VMSI Institutional Market Intelligence Report — August 28, 2025 Source: VICA Partners VMSI © — Data: Proprietary models & public sources Framing Note Model: EC·F₃·μ + C, enhanced with flow-momentum dynamics. It integrates inertia (mass × acceleration), friction (funding and execution constraints), urgency (deployment pacing), and convexity (amplification when flows meet stable macro). Proprietary drift … Read more

Quiet Acceleration: VMSI Signals Measured Force Into Growth Risk

VICA Research — Volatility & Market Sentiment Index (VMSI©) “Directional force is building across the tape — but not indiscriminately. Capital isn’t chasing — it’s calibrating. Institutions are moving first, with velocity, precision, and a strict time-cost bias.” — Matthew Krumholz, CEO, VICA Partners Institutional Summary • Composite VMSI rises to 61.7 — highest this … Read more

Kahneman Meets Newton: Behavioral Bias and Capital Physics in the August 2025 Market

Executive Summary As of August 1, 2025, the VMSI® composite score sits at 59.8, its highest level since Q1. Institutions are steadily expanding into risk—without chasing it. Capital momentum is deliberate. Volatility is easing. Hedging demand is receding. But behavioral signals tell a different story on the retail side: loss aversion, recency bias, and framing … Read more

What Markets Don’t See: Why Markets Discount Physics and Intelligence

By Matthew Krumholz | VICA Partners The Core Error Markets, even at their most sophisticated, remain anchored in what is familiar and backtestable. High-net-worth allocators and institutional funds alike prize clarity over possibility. Capital follows confidence intervals, not catalytic change. Markets allocate capital based on visible, historical, and quantifiable signals. Financial models optimize for near-term … Read more

Mandate Clarity Is Monetary Power

By VICA Partners | July 2025(Peer-reviewed by institutional market strategists and asset managers) The Federal Reserve’s policy efficacy is increasingly entangled with its institutional sprawl. As the Fed has absorbed additional mandates—climate oversight, credit allocation, social equity filters—it has edged away from its core comparative advantage: controlling expectations through clear monetary signaling. The accompanying chart … Read more

SIGNAL FOR THE MANY — NOT THE FEW

The VOLATILITY & MARKET SENTIMENT INDEX (VMSI©) is VICA Partners’ freely‑available, institution‑grade lens on market risk and opportunity. It captures where capital is moving now and where it’s likely headed next by blending 1,000+ live indices and data streams into a single, intuitive score. Why VMSI Is Different • Fuses real‑time trading, options skew, and flow analytics to forecast institutional positioning • Benchmarks those … Read more

Conviction Balances Amid Elevated Volatility: Institutions Reassess, Not Retreat

VMSI Edges to 55.1 as Rotation Stabilizes, Capital Maintains Risk-Aware Engagement June 26, 2025 | VICA Research — Volatility & Market Sentiment Index VICA Partners’ VMSI© (Volatility & Market Sentiment Index) isolates where conviction-weighted institutional capital is repositioning—helping investors cut through noise, quantify risk, and front-run structural shifts before they price into consensus. Institutional-grade signals … Read more

Conviction Holds as Risk Tolerance Meets New Volatility

VMSI Slips to 54.9 as Institutional Appetite Maintains Course Despite Uptick in Hedging Costs June 19, 2025 | VICA Research — Volatility & Momentum Signal Index | VICA Partners’ VMSI© (Volatility & Market Sentiment Index) isolates where conviction-weighted institutional capital is repositioning — helping investors cut through noise, quantify risk, and front-run structural shifts before … Read more

Conviction Builds: Institutions Shift from Probing to Positioning

June 12, 2025 | VICA Research — Volatility & Momentum Signal Index VICA Partners Research’s VMSI © tracks how institutional capital is repositioning — delivering signalover sentiment for portfolio decision-makers navigating risk, flow, and macro regime shifts. VMSI Holds at 55.2 as Capital Broadens Re-Risking Footprint   Weekly Snapshot Major Index Closes – June 12, … Read more

Cautious Confidence Builds as VMSI Brushes Recovery Line

Cautious Optimism Builds as Defensive Posture Persists May 30, 2025 | VICA Research VICA Partners Research’s VMSI © shows where institutional capital is moving — helping investors cut through noise, manage risk, and stay positioned ahead of the curve.   Weekly Snapshot VMSI Score: 49.2 (Defensive Zone) S&P 500: –0.01% | Nasdaq: –0.32% | Dow: +0.13% | VIX: 18.57 Momentum: 41.6 | Liquidity: … Read more