2021 Fourth Quarter Review of the Markets
February 2, 2022
Market Commentary While many investors were excited to put 2020 behind them, 2021 certainly presented its own set of challenges. Despite these challenges, 2021 produced strong results in most equity markets. The S&P 500 returned 28.7% for calendar year 2021 after posting gains of 11% during the fourth quarter. The stocks of smaller companies generally did not fare as well, but were positive by 2.1%....
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2021 Second Quarter Review of the Markets
September 10, 2021
The S&P 500 returned 8.6% for the quarter. Smaller stocks, as measured by the Russell 2000, returned 4.3%, although they remain ahead of the S&P 500 for the year. International stocks lagged their U.S. counterparts, but were still up over 5% during the quarter. All in all, the first half of 2021 would have made for a great full year in the equity markets. The bond market had positive performance for the quarter, though it is still down for the year after a poor first quarter.
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2021 First Quarter Review of the Markets
September 8, 2021
The S&P 500 returned 6.2% for the first quarter of 2021. In a continuation from the fourth quarter of 2020, smaller capitalization stocks in the U.S. did significantly better with the Russell 2000 returning 12.7% over the same period. International stocks also fared well with the MSCI ACWI Ex USA index up 3.8%. After a strong start compared to developed markets, emerging market stocks started to pull back midway through the quarter as higher interest rates in the U.S. negatively impacted prospects for emerging economies.
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