In the US during the first quarter of 2021, the storylines
impacting the economy and markets included another
round of massive economic stimulus, a sharp rise in the yield
of the 10-year treasury bond, the continuation of value
outperforming growth, and a rapidly expanding rollout of
COVID-19 vaccines.
Equity and credit markets posted positive returns in the third quarter with the MSCI AC World Index and the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index returning 8.13% and 0.62% respectively. The Global Wealth Strategy portfolio modestly participated in the move higher in global financial markets with a net return of 1.02% for the third...
Global financial markets rebounded in the second quarter with the MSCI AC World Index returning 19.22% for the quarter while the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index produced a return of 2.90% The Global Wealth Strategy portfolio participated in the markets move higher with a return of 6.09% for the second quarter which is...
The unprecedented decision to shut down the global economy to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus brought
the longest bull market in US history to an abrupt halt. The first quarter of 2020 was the worst quarterly loss for global
equities since the fourth quarter of 2008 during the financial crisis.
During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Global Wealth Strategy portfolio produced a net return of 4.13%, bringing the 2019 net return up to 15.92%.
During the third quarter of 2019, the Global Wealth Strategy portfolio produced a net return of 0.32%, bringing the year-to-date net return up to 11.31%.
During the second quarter of 2019, the Global Wealth Strategy portfolio produced a net return of 3.02%.
During the first quarter of 2019, the Global Wealth Strategy portfolio produced a net return of 7.68%. We believe combination of an oversold market and changes in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (Fed) outlook on interest rates helped all asset segments in the portfolio gain more than 5% for the quarter.
The theme of low volatility that headlined our investment commentaries over the past three years came to a sudden halt in the fourth quarter.
Q4 2021 Investment Commentary