Archives of QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

MARKETS Investors cheered as the Fed turned dovish. Stocks enjoyed a vigorous turnaround in the first quarter after enduring painful performance and sinking sentiment in last year’s fourth quarter. Fed chairman Jerome Powell pivoted from endorsing further interest-rate hikes in December to proclaiming “patience” in January as the Fed’s new guiding principle for monetary policy. […]

MARKETS AND PERFORMANCE Investor worries overwhelmed fundamentals. A combination of worrisome factors—any one or two of which would normally be sufficient—drove stocks downward during the fourth quarter. The US trade war with China persisted. Global economic growth decelerated, particularly in China, sparking fears of corporate earnings declines, supply chain disruption and, potentially, a US recession. […]

It was a strong quarter for equities. Stocks scaled a wall of worry in Q3, driven by a mix of renewed synchronized global economic growth, robust Q2 earnings growth and strong Q3 forecasts. Companies found innovative ways to compete and excel. Credit markets faced challenges. US Treasury yields rose across the curve, reflecting increases in […]

US equity markets climbed higher in the second quarter, outperforming non-US developed and emerging markets. With investor appetite gravitating toward domestically oriented companies, smaller-cap stocks outperformed mid and large caps. Value names outperformed in small cap, but growth stocks beat in mid and large. Core bonds were slightly negative while convertibles posted healthy positive returns, […]

Global markets ended lower in the first quarter. US equities started the year strong, boosted by strong economic growth and robust earnings, but retreated in February and March. Most noteworthy was a return in equity market volatility, as measured by the CBOE VIX Index, which hit its highest level since August 2015. Against this backdrop, […]