Q2 2023 Market and Strategies Update Macro Economic Update The second quarter of 2023 saw continued gains for equity markets driven by a pause in interest rate increases and stabilization in the banking industry. Bonds were down slightly in the quarter but still have positive returns year-to-date after their drubbing in 2022.   Inflation continued its…

Q1 2023 Market and Strategies Update The first quarter of 2023 saw a reversal of fortunes in the stock and bond markets, with solid gains across the board. While Nasdaq and growth stocks led the way, all major indices, including bonds, saw increases. However, the gains were not without some intra-quarter volatility, driven by textbook…

Q4 2022 Market and Strategies Update There is a saying in the financial markets that the Fed will raise rates until it breaks something. This seems especially relevant today when the entire global economy moves trillions of dollars on the words of one-man, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Coal for Christmas The S&P 500 was…

Q3 2022 Market and Riverwater Strategies Update Stock and bond market volatility persisted in the third quarter as the Federal Reserve continued to respond to high inflation by raising the Fed Funds rate. So far in 2022, the Fed has increased rates by 300 basis points, from effectively 0% to 3%. The last time the…

Q2 2022 Market and Riverwater Strategies Update The volatility experienced in the first quarter of 2022 continued in the second quarter, with all major markets down for the first half of Q2 2022. The S&P 500 officially entered a bear market (defined by a decline of 20% from its all-time-high) as stocks had their worst first half…

Q1 2022 Market and Strategies Update This year and Q1 2022 began with hopes that the pandemic would recede and that the global economy could begin the process of getting back to normality. Vladimir Putin had other ideas. Both stock and bond markets were down in the first quarter driven by the war in Europe…