Happy belated Halloween! We’ve been in quite the up and down cycle the past few months. If we’ve talked about it already, you know that I think it was expected considering the AI boom and mid-term election.
I think there are two things at play. Investors are trying to figure out if the AI spending will be worth the future profits. And seemingly the markets want to get a bit volatile around election time. That doesn’t necessarily mean it goes directionally up or down, but that the swings (even midday) are bigger than normal. I think the markets are just trying to figure out whether the companies that make up the indexes will need to adjust their corporate policies to new government policies. With national elections every couple of years, it’s easy to forget that we just need to get through it so “Corporate America” can find its footing again in a few weeks.
Interest rate policy continues to stay top of mind for the markets as well. The Federal Reserve doesn’t look like it has any plans to lower rates soon. This could be considered a damper for many investors as both the bond and stock markets do well with lower interest rates. I think December’s Fed policy meeting will be an interesting vote on where to keep rates.
Overall, I am happy with our year-to-date being up over 10% in the S&P500, but the bond market needs to stabilize for the lower risk investors. Interest rate policy will affect this part the most.
If you ever have any questions, always feel free to reach out to our office. We’re happy to help.
Thank you for your continued trust in us!
Larry Mroczkowski
President
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful. All investing involves risks, including the loss of principal.