In our Capital Markets Forecast published at the beginning of 2024, we noted that the challenges we faced included the fight against inflation, the outcome and path forward from the November elections, and current and potential geopolitical crises in Europe and the...
The election results are in, with the outcome of a Republican sweep of the presidency, Senate, and House of Representatives. This shift in power signals changes in fiscal, regulatory, and monetary policies that could shape the U.S. economic landscape for years to...
The potential impact of the 2024 U.S. elections on financial markets is on investors’ minds. And rightly so, as elections certainly have implications regarding the country’s direction. According to Gallup, the top concern among voters in 2024 is the economy, including...
For the past decade, Syntrinsic has developed our annual Capital Markets Forecast to inform long-term strategic asset allocations and near-term tactical shifts. Our long-term return assumptions for each asset class are based on quantitative building blocks that are...
Creating forecasts in a world that regularly surprises remains humbling. March of 2020 brought COVID, while February of 2022 had Russia unexpectedly invading Ukraine. And March 2023 saw unanticipated—though perfectly logical—stressors on regional and local banks in...
This sector attribution report for the iShares Russell 1000 Value Index ETF (IWD) covers January 1 – June 20, 2022. The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the US equity universe, including companies with lower...
It has been a while since we have been tested like this. While we have experienced a few downturns in the past decade, there has been nothing like the current market environment. With the spread of COVID-19 in February 2020 into a global phenomenon, risk assets fell...
In addition to being a human rights travesty and geopolitical game-changer, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 introduced widespread volatility across the markets, with notable asset price movements in commodities, fixed income, and global equities. It can be...
Pandemics have existed throughout history, yet in many ways, it seems we felt we were immune from such calamities given our lack of preparedness. Since the occurrence of the Spanish Flu in the early 1900s, there has not been a pandemic of such scale in modern times....
Someone approaches you with an offer. They want to sell you part of their company. You take a quick look at their metrics. They’ve got more debt than they can afford, especially if interest rates rise. Cash flow is weak and there is little prospect for meaningful...
Inflation is an insidious enemy to mission-oriented investors because it chips away at the value of investments, acting as a kind of silent tax, reducing the value of grants, programs, and operating budgets.
What does the performance of the US stock market in 2020 tell us about the strength of US companies and confidence of equity investors? It depends on how you slice it. The market-weighted S&P 500 is up 5.6% from January 1 to September 30. Not bad, all things...