Market Update: Dog Days of Summer
After a challenging 2022, YTD performance up 20% in the S&P 500 through July has been a welcomed reprieve, despite the pullback and volatility we have been experiencing in August. Within this strong performance backdrop, there have been constant concerns around Fed interest rate hikes, banking sector turmoil, debt ceiling debates, and a potential recession […]
Investment Committee Video Discussion: Where is the recession everyone has been talking about?
Over the last year, economic headlines have been bleak. From the national debt ceiling debate to fears of a potential banking crisis, we’ve watched interest rates go up right alongside talks of an economic downturn. But as we turn the corner into the second half of 2023, Americans have been left to wonder, “Where is […]
Market Update: Lay of the Land
With the U.S. Congress passing legislation to lift the government’s debt ceiling this week, it appears a large overhang to recent months has been removed, and the markets have already been focusing on other things. The continued area of attention is the familiar debate on future rate hikes. Pundits have been talking about a “pause” […]
Q2 Market Podcast: Feeling Comfortably Uncomfortable
From turmoil with regional banks to bonds and treasury bills providing higher-yield competition for stocks, one way to describe how many investors are feeling right now is “comfortably uncomfortable.” Negative investor sentiment as we started 2023 set the bar relatively low, and both stocks and bonds are performing better than expected. But market volatility continues. […]
Market Update: The Big Picture
Over the last several years, the average investor has faced a historic wave of new factors to consider. The onset of the pandemic created constant ripples to monitor, from new case numbers, to mortality rates, quarantine lengths, government stimulus, vaccine developments and rates, consumer activity, wage growth, unemployment, inflation, Fed activity… the list goes on. […]
Market Update: Bank Failures in a Different Environment from 2008
Markets have been incredibly volatile recently with the Federal Reserve stepping in to protect both insured and uninsured depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last weekend. With a duty to safeguard the stability of the banking system, the Fed took action to ensure depositors are made whole under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation […]
Q1 2023 Economic and Market Update
With stocks and bonds sputtering on the heels of a January that saw many financial assets claw back a large chunk of their 2022 losses, investors are starting to wonder about the speed with which inflation will subside and how Fed policy might alter the trajectory of economic growth. In recent weeks, investors have recalibrated […]
Podcast: Market Update: Out of the Woods?
Just over a month into the new year, 2023 has provided investors with some long-sought good news. After a challenging 2022, both equities and bonds are off to a solid start, Europe and China are stimulating the global market, and the Fed may be coming close to the end of its tightening cycle. While this […]
The U.S. Debt Ceiling: What it Could Mean for the Markets
The Debt Ceiling is once again making front-page news, and investors are becoming increasingly anxious over what it means for their personal lives as well as their portfolios. In a nutshell, the JNBA Investment Committee believes the risk of the U.S. government defaulting on its debts is quite low. However, we acknowledge that the consequences of a […]
Investment Committee Video Discussion: What could 2022 mean for 2023 market performance?
If we could summarize 2022’s market performance in one word, it would be “frustrating,” with negative returns across almost all asset classes, from equities to bonds. Inflation, relentless interest-rate hikes by the Fed, and supply chain distortions from the war in Ukraine and the pandemic all led to a perfect storm of uncertainty, volatility, and […]
