LIVE · INDEPENDENT MACRO · FIRM EST. 2026 ARCHIVE SINCE 2024    N 41.4° W 70.5°
// BOB SHEEHAN, CFA, CMT

LIGHTHOUSE
MACRO.

Institutional-grade macro and economic intelligence, built on framework and process, with the intellectual honesty the sell-side has forgotten.

Disciplines
Macro / Technical
Posture
Strong · Weakly Held
Mode
One Framework · Two Economies
Tagline
Macro, Illuminated.
// 00Who We Serve

TWO ECONOMIES, ONE FRAMEWORK

There are two economies now. The one that trades the cycle, and the one that lives inside it. We built one framework for both.

Advisors · Allocators · CIOs

The economy that trades

You position capital against the cycle.

Hedge funds, RIAs, family offices, and endowments who need the read and the risk posture, from published research to a strategist on call.

See advisor / CIO services →
Operators · Leadership

The economy that operates

You make the calls inside the cycle.

CEOs, CFOs, and founders whose capex, hiring, and pricing decisions hinge on the macro. We translate the framework into your decisions.

See operator service →
// 01The Framework

THE DIAGNOSTIC DOZEN

Twelve macro pillars, organized into three engines. Each captures a distinct dimension of the cycle. Together they feed a layered risk architecture that combines quantitative rigor with experienced judgment.

// 017 Pillars

Macro Dynamics

The real economy. Labor flows, price composition, growth momentum, and the four end-markets that move underneath the cycle.

  • Labor · Prices · Growth
  • Housing · Consumer · Business · Trade
  • Real-economy signals before they hit the print
// 023 Pillars

Monetary Mechanics

The plumbing. Treasury fiscal dynamics, credit and financial conditions, and the Fed liquidity regime that sits upstream of every risk asset.

  • Government · fiscal dynamics, debt sustainability
  • Financial · credit conditions, cross-domain gaps
  • Plumbing · reserves, liquidity regime
// 032 Pillars

Market Structure

Price-action internals and positioning. Breadth, leadership, divergence, sentiment, and the tape's read on what is consensus versus variant.

  • Market Structure · breadth, momentum, participation
  • Sentiment · crowding, positioning, term-structure
Explore all 12 pillars →
// 01BNowcast · Live Read

THE LIVE DASHBOARD

A public read of the engine. Master tiles set the regime. The twelve pillars show where the cycle is breathing. Subscribers get the full indicator stack, proxy tiers, and confidence bands.

MACRO RISK INDEX
+0.11
Late Cycle
RECESSION PROBABILITY
17.9%
Low Risk
ALLOCATION MULTIPLIER
0.15×
Capital Preservation
WARNING LEVEL
4
Red
// The Diagnostic Dozen · Current Z-Scores
01
Labor
+0.04
NEUTRAL
02
Prices
+0.02
ON TARGET
03
Growth
+2.67
STRONG GROWTH
04
Housing
+0.18
FROZEN
05
Consumer
-0.71
STRESSED
06
Business
+0.13
SLOWING
07
Trade
-0.84
HEADWIND
08
Government
+0.65
ELEVATED
09
Financial
+0.22
NEUTRAL
10
Plumbing
+0.07
TIGHT
11
Structure
-0.47
TRANSITIONAL
12
Sentiment
+1.79
EXTREME FEAR
// AS OF · 2026-06-14 · LIVE FROM LIGHTHOUSE_MASTER
OPEN THE FULL ARCHITECTURE
// 02The Philosophy

STRONG VIEWS, WEAKLY HELD

State a thesis. State the conditions that would break it. That tension, conviction and humility held together, is the whole discipline. Six principles run underneath everything we publish.

// 01

Process Over Outcome

A good process with a bad outcome is acceptable. A bad process with a good outcome is dangerous. We judge decisions at the time they are made, with the information available. Results are feedback, not validation.

// 02

Framework Over Forecast

We do not predict. We read the cycle and position accordingly. The framework tells us which regime we are in. The regime tells us how to size risk.

// 03

Flows Over Stocks

The level matters less than the direction. We track flows through labor, credit, and the financial system. Change, not state, is what moves prices.

// 04

Transparency Over Mystique

Some shops cultivate an air of mystery. We show our work. We explain what we are watching, why it matters, and what would change our mind.

// 05

Conviction Over Diversification

Diversification is for capital preservation. Alpha comes from concentration. We run concentrated, high-conviction books. Thirty positions is thirty opinions you are not sure about.

// 06

Variant Perception Over Consensus

Being right and consensus is low value. Being right and non-consensus is where the returns come from. We look for the gaps between market pricing and the framework's signal.

// 02BThe Process

Quantitative Foundation, Human Judgment

The machine builds the map. The judgment makes the call.

The Diagnostic Dozen is the systematic base: twelve pillars, one regime read, computed every day. The discretion sits on top. The base keeps us honest. The judgment keeps us adaptive.

Macro-Driven Positioning

Thesis-driven. Three-engine convergence finds the opportunity, conviction scoring sets the size, and dual stops manage the risk. When the macro picture is clear, we lean in.

Technical Adaptability

Markets do not wait for the macro to catch up. When the framework signals caution and strong trends are running, we participate through price, with tighter risk management.

Cash as a Position

When neither the thesis nor the technical picture supports risk, we hold cash. A meaningful cash allocation is discipline, not a failure of imagination. The best trade is sometimes no trade.

Views published with invalidation criteria Process metrics precede outcome metrics No retro-fitted narratives
// 01CThe Book · Live & Public

EATING OUR OWN COOKING

The framework runs a real book. It is funded and live, auditable in real time, and judged the way it should be: risk-adjusted, against QAI. The edge is downside protection, not a return-chase. Dollar amounts are withheld by design.

Downside Capture vs QAI
Syncing
The money shot. Capture the trend, sit out the drawdown.
Sortino
Syncing
Return per unit of downside risk.
Calmar
Syncing
Return over max drawdown.
Omega
Syncing
Probability-weighted gains over losses.
Live feed syncing

The book is positioned with the Diagnostic Dozen and benchmarked against QAI on the metrics that reward surviving the tape, not just riding it. The full position book, thesis tags, and live performance publish on the model portfolio.

SEE THE LIVE BOOK

// Allocation and performance figures publish as percentages and risk-adjusted ratios only. Position size, dollar amounts, and account equity are withheld by design. Not investment advice.

// 03Research & Advisory

ENGAGEMENT

From published research to a strategist on retainer. Same framework, different depth of engagement.

MOST FLEXIBLE
RIAs · Family Offices

Advisor

RIAs, family offices, advisory firms

Macro intelligence for firms that need sophisticated research and a strategist on call. Structured to fit your workflow, not the other way around.

  • Full research suite
  • Model allocation guidance
  • Regular strategy calls
  • Client-facing presentation materials
  • Direct strategist access for economic questions
Inquire ✉
Funds · Allocators · Endowments

Institutional

Hedge funds, allocators, endowments

Boutique macro research and advisory. Non-consensus variant perception with direct strategist access.

  • Complete research suite with priority delivery
  • Quarterly strategy calls
  • Priority email access
  • Bespoke research projects
  • CSA / soft-dollar payment compatible
Inquire ✉
RIAs $200M-$2B AUM

Fractional CIO

RIAs, multi-family offices

A part-time member of your leadership team. Investment-committee participation, asset allocation, and client-facing macro strategy.

  • Investment-committee prep and attendance
  • Model portfolio review
  • Quarterly market outlook ghostwriting
  • Crisis access during volatility events
  • Prospect meeting participation
Inquire ✉
CEOs · CFOs · Founders · Ops Leaders

Operator

Leadership teams making capital and hiring calls

Macro intelligence for leadership teams making capital, hiring, and strategy decisions. We translate framework signals into the commercial implications that drive your P&L.

  • Quarterly cycle briefing tailored to your sector
  • Capex and hiring guidance against the labor and credit pillars
  • Demand and pricing outlook for your end markets
  • Board and management presentation support
  • Direct strategist access for time-sensitive decisions
Inquire ✉
// Inquire · advisory@lighthousemacro.com
// 04The Archive · Live Feed

FEATURED RESEARCH

Pulled live from the publication feed: Horizon, Beacon, Beam, Chartbook, and the Diagnostic Dozen pillars. Click through to read each piece natively on-site.

ChartbookJun 11, 2026

The Lighthouse Macro Chartbook

June opened with the market doing the one thing it only does at turns.

Read on-site →
// AUTO-UPDATES · SOURCE · research.lighthousemacro.com
OPEN THE READING ROOM
// 05The Stack

WHAT WE PUBLISH

Systematic macro analysis built on the Diagnostic Dozen. A free educational base, plus a full paid stack: the Note, the Beam, the Beacon, the Chartbook, and the Horizon.

Free SeriesFREE

The Diagnostic Dozen

Educational series teaching the complete macro framework. One deep-dive per pillar with 8 to 10 charts.

3x WeeklyFREE

The Note

One observation, one chart, the data behind it. 150 words built for breadth and quick reads. The free-tier entry point.

// 06The Log

RECOGNITION & MEDIA

Where the work has landed, in the words of the people who read it.

“This valuable (highly readable!) piece takes the next step by connecting other views of wealth to their implications for spending.”
Jeff HorwichSenior Economics Writer, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
“Simply outstanding work that I have not seen elsewhere. This may be the best analysis I’ve ever read on the k-shaped bifurcation of the US consumer. Absolute masterclass.”
Tim PierottiChief Investment Officer, WealthVest
“The United States increasingly looks like two parallel economies living under one headline. What struck me most is that Bob is not just describing inequality in the usual abstract sense. He is showing that the so-called ‘consumer’ is now an average of two balance-sheet realities that no longer belong to the same economic world.”
Leon LiaoIndependent Researcher, former MD at a global investment bank
“Bob’s work is above and beyond. You will not only see a multi-factor view supported by data, you will learn how to see the market through this lens. His writing is instructional.”
MikeGLabsSubscriber
“Work on sentiment and market structure I follow closely. The charts reproduced throughout this essay are his, used with permission and full attribution.”
MondayswifePhD Research Economist
“Great research. Thank you for explaining the framework in detail, and helping readers to connect the dots.”
Falk WagnerSubscriber
01
PROMOTED BY
Vítor Constâncio
Promoted and praised the work publicly. Former Vice-President of the European Central Bank.
02
FEATURED IN
Financial Times Alphaville
"Banking on Nonbanks" featured in FT Alphaville's curated reading list (Nov 2025).
03
PODCAST
WealthVest Weekly Bull & Bear
With Tim Pierotti, CIO of WealthVest. Labor, consumer health, and cycle fragility (Feb 2026).
04
FEATURED IN
Forward Guidance (Blockworks)
Charts and analysis on-screen during podcast recording (Aug 2025).
05
PODCAST
Less Noise More Signal
Repo, Fed plumbing, and crypto/Treasury transmission with Pascal Hügli (Oct 2025).
06
FEATURED IN
LNMS Bitcoin Report
"What Really Drives the Bitcoin Price." Macro liquidity and crypto/Treasury transmission (Mar 2026).
07
FEATURED IN
LNMS Year-End Report 2025/2026
Featured among macro contributors alongside Michael Howell, Willy Woo, and others.
08
FEATURED IN
The Chart Report
Featured analysis and chart contributions.
09
FEATURED IN
Spilled Coffee
Work featured in Eric Soda's investing newsletter.
10
FEATURED IN
The Memo
Research featured and linked.
11
FEATURED IN
Featured Research
"Macro, Illuminated: Building Signal in an Overfit World" (Nov 2025).
12
NAMED BY
Steiner Capital
Named Lighthouse Macro among the macro voices "consistently impressing me with their originality and way of thinking," alongside Eric Basmajian and others.
// 07The Author

BOB SHEEHAN

Founder & Macro Strategist. Macro and economic intelligence for markets and operators.

"The Lighthouse" was the name of Bob's house in college, where he first began studying finance and economics. Over the years it evolved into a research firm built on quantitative rigor and systematic macro analysis, serving portfolio managers, advisory firms, and business leaders who need to understand what is actually happening beneath the headlines.

Bob's neurodivergent wiring is core to the firm's edge. Most analysts specialize in one domain. His ADHD-driven intellectual restlessness pushes him across the full macro landscape, from Fed plumbing to labor economics to credit markets to Treasury microstructure to crypto integration and quantitative modeling. The result is depth across domains. And with it, the ability to see connections specialists miss by staying in silos.

VP, Data & Analytics
EQUILEND
Securities-finance data and analytics leadership.
Senior Research Analyst
STROM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
Fundamental and quantitative equity research.
Associate Portfolio Manager
BANK OF AMERICA PRIVATE BANK
$4.5B multi-asset platform. SGS equity sleeve ~$1.2B at peak. Track-record window 2017-2020: 2.35 Sortino, 103% upside / 76% downside capture vs S&P 500.
12
Macro pillars in the Diagnostic Dozen
3
Engines: Macro · Monetary · Structure
6
Asset classes covered
CFA · CMT
Dual charterholder credentials
// 08Get in Touch

START A CONVERSATION

Whether you are an advisory firm exploring research access, a business leader making capital decisions, or an allocator looking for a strategist on call, pick the line that fits.

Advisory
advisory@lighthousemacro.com

For service inquiries: Operator, Advisor, Institutional, Fractional CIO.

General
bob@lighthousemacro.com

Direct line for general questions and media.

Research
research@lighthousemacro.com

For research-specific questions and subscription support.

// THE STACK
DON'T NAVIGATE
IN THE DARK.

The Beacon every Sunday, free. Beams twice a week, the Horizon monthly, and the Chartbook for subscribers. Institutional-grade macro, in your inbox.

Join the reading →
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