1Q 2026 Market Commentary

Economic Backdrop

Global Markets entered 2026 with a renewed focus on AI, both the productivity-enhancing progress with sweeping labor-market implications as well as more specific use-case progress with potentially meaningful disruptions to legacy software businesses and, in turn, their listed equity and debt securities. US tariff policy, too, featured prominently in headlines to start the year as the US Supreme Court ruled on the Trump Administration’s implementation of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) argument. Ultimately, these themes fell to the wayside in importance as March saw the opening of global conflict in Iran which has remained active and unresolved through the end of the first quarter. As risk-off sentiment took hold later in March, traditional safe haven assets proved few and far between. The US Dollar was a notable beneficiary, strengthening during the first quarter (DXY spot rate +1.67%) relative to a group of global peer currencies.

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