Investment Commentary – March 31, 2025
Executive Summary Last week, stocks declined, and bonds rallied as fresh signs of economic weakness and renewed inflation fears disturbed markets. The S&P 500’s closed down 4.4% over the quarter. In particular, Tech Mega-Caps were hit hard. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell approximately 10 basis points to ~4.25% as investors sought safety. A […]
Q1 2025 Economic Recap
Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty provides a recap for Q1 2025. She discusses consumer confidence, personal income, Federal government employment, job creation, and tariffs.
Team Vail Portfolio Update
March 13, 2025 – We wanted to give you an update on your portfolio. Please click on the video link below to listen to the upcoming portfolio changes. In addition to the above, we have attached a few charts that help provide context to our commentary. Chart 1: Magnificent Seven stock sink, while defensive race […]
Tamer Feb US CPI may not budge Fed, given tariff picture
Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty was quoted in Reuters discussing stagflation concerns and the Fed’s next moves. “This should end for a while anyway, stagflation concerns. The dominant concern in the market that started last week was economic growth and then you got stagflation concerns,” said Garretty. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3FnTMYd Disclosures Investment advisory services offered through Robertson Stephens […]
Understanding the Current Market Selloff – March 11, 2025
Stocks started 2025 trading higher but have since pulled back. The S&P 500 has declined more than -8% from its all-time high on February 19th, lowering its year-to-date return to -5% (Figure 1). The Nasdaq 100, an index of technology and growth stocks, is down -7% year-to-date, while the small-cap-focused Russell 2000 has fallen -9%. The Magnificent 7, a group that includes Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla, has declined nearly -15%. Given the recent volatility, our team wanted to discuss the current environment and provide a market update.
February Recap: The Market Navigates Economic and Policy Uncertainty in February
Monthly Market Summary Stocks and Bonds Move in Opposite Directions Amid Market Rotation Stocks traded lower in a late-month sell-off as sentiment weakened. The S&P 500’s decline erased most of its post-election gains, which had been driven by expectations for stronger growth and deregulation under the new administration. Smaller companies underperformed, with the Russell 2000 […]
March Madness – Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain?
By Stuart Katz, Chief Investment Officer March 5, 2025 -March Madness and market uncertainty share striking parallels in their unpredictability and high stakes. The NCAA basketball tournament, known for its “Cinderella stories” and upsets, is a single-elimination event where even top-seeded teams can fall unexpectedly. Similarly, financial markets operate under constant uncertainty, with prices influenced […]
Market Note: Optimism Meets Reality
March 5, 2025 – The wave of economic optimism that prevailed at the end of 2024 has crashed on the shores of a complicated economic and policy landscape. Here’s what’s happening. First, a bevy of economic indicators suggests that the economy could be slowing faster than previously expected. Consumer spending declined in January for the […]
February 2025 Recap
Economy In February 2025, the U.S. economy exhibited steady non-inflationary growth despite rising political uncertainty and back-to-back weak consumer sentiment readings that pointed to much higher inflation expectations. Furthermore, the labor market showed signs of cooling, as job growth slowed to 143,000 in January, down from 307,000 in December and 261,000 in November. Despite the […]
Monthly Digest – August 2023 Edition
In this month’s newsletter, Chief Investment Officer, Stuart Katz, discusses the fallout of the Fitch Rating Agency downgrade of the US. We also are including our 2023 Mid Year Outlook in case you missed it. Chief Economist, Jeanette Garretty, hosted CIO, Stuart Katz, and Head of Wealth Planning, Mallon FitzPatrick, to discuss the first half […]
Marching Towards a New World Order
By Avi Deutsch November 11, 2023 – I recently returned from spending several weeks with my family in Israel. The mood there, which after the murderous Oct 7th attacks could only be described as existential despair, has morphed into one of righteous anger. Israelis know how to come together in difficult times, and civil organizations […]
Robertson Stephens Appoints Esta Stecher as Board Advisor
Financial Advisory Firm Leverages Stecher’s Banking, Legal, and Investment Knowledge to Strengthen Board and Drive Growth as an Advisor SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12, 2025 – Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, LLC (“Robertson Stephens”), today announced the appointment of Esta Stecher as Board Advisor on its Board of Directors. With more than 30 years of experience in […]