We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 is first and foremost a human tragedy of vast proportion. As a society, we are adapting to challenging circumstances, the most important of which is the risk to our health and lives. The financial consequences have been an unprecedented worldwide economic shock and monetary stimulus to mitigate its impact.
Stocks rallied strongly in Q4, and full-year returns for both stocks and bonds reflected a sharply positive reversal from 2018 (when virtually every asset class experienced negative returns). In 2019, many diversified stock and bond indexes recorded their best gains in several years. Domestic growth stocks led the way, with the S&P 500 index advancing 31.5%--the index’s best return since 2013. Small-cap and international benchmarks also delivered double-digit gains.
Shares of the largest U.S. companies continued their outperformance of foreign developed markets during the 3rd quarter. Over the past 12 months, their return also trounced both those of smaller U.S. companies (+4.3% vs. -8.9%) by a surprisingly wide margin.
Congratulations to the USA Women's National Team, which won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup earlier this month by beating the Netherlands 2 - 0. (...) As on the field, though, the US keeps mounting victories in terms of stock market performance, too, against the rest of the world.
After a dismal end to 2018, stock and bond markets rebounded in Q1, with the S&P 500 delivering its best quarter (+13.6% including dividends) since the financial crisis 10 years ago. Some factors positively influencing investor sentiment included: an end to the U.S. government shutdown, improving prospects for a U.S-China trade agreement, and a shift to more accommodative monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Every global asset class represented in our clients’ portfolios appreciated in Q1, and most equity indexes notched double-digit returns (...)
Global equity markets suffered significant losses during the 4th quarter, which dragged down stock returns across the board for the full year. Our clients’ portfolios, most of which include an allocation to bonds, declined somewhat less. Still, 2018 was unusual in that almost every major investment category experienced a negative total return. The exceptions were cash, US Fixed Income, and TIPs (note: your portfolio’s allocation and results may differ—please refer to your Quarterly Portfolio Review Report).