RESEARCH & THOUGHT PIECES FROM OUR TEAM

During the third quarter, the biggest question on investors' minds was whether the Federal Reserve (the Fed) would cut 25 or 50 basis points at their September meeting. With one dissenting vote, the Fed surprisingly cut rates by 50 basis points, marking the first split vote since 2005. Fed...

A few short weeks ago, stock investors were partying like it was 1999, throwing caution to the wind, ignoring valuations and diversification, buying the hottest Artificial Intelligence (AI) story of the day, and, in many cases, employing massive amounts of leverage. But just because a handful of...

Stocks powered ahead during the first half of the year on the back of an unprecedented advance by Nvidia, despite a rise in interest rates. During the year's first half, the S&P 500 advanced about 15 percent, with about one-half of that return coming solely from Nvidia. Furthermore, AI-themed...

“Be Fearful When Others are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful” - Warren Buffett

Broader stock market averages continued the advance that began during the previous three quarters. Moreover, the fourth quarter of last year was one of the best for stocks in recent years, as...

Investors embraced risk throughout 2023, as they speculated that the Federal Reserve (the Fed) would pivot from their tightening stance that has been in place since March 2022, to one of easing. From a stock market perspective, the year can be summarized in two words: Magnificent Seven (aka Mag...

Stock prices moved lower during the third quarter of 2023 as progress on the inflation front slowed, and investors began to digest the likelihood of more interest rate hikes. As we have noted in previous MAP Views, we believe it will be challenging for the Federal Reserve (the Fed) to guide...

The first half of 2023 was a bifurcated one for the broader markets. Headline numbers for the broad indices posted impressive double-digit returns; however, a handful of large-cap technology stocks drove these returns. This was most evident in the Nasdaq Composite which was up 32.3% for the first...

Who's On First?

When the quarter began, all eyes were on the Federal Reserve (the Fed). The question on everyone's mind was how high is the Fed willing to push rates to drive inflation back to their stated two percent target? The Fed had already slowed its cadence from 75 basis points in November...

After being pressured during the first three quarters of the year, stocks moved higher during the fourth quarter, marking their first quarterly gain in 2022. However, for the year, stocks posted their worst performance since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), as investors responded negatively to...

The Inflation Monster Rears Its Ugly Head

Stubbornly high inflation has forced the Federal Reserve (the Fed) to become aggressive on the interest rate front, raising rates five times in 2022. These higher interest rates created a hostile environment for most asset classes. Stocks, bonds, most...

Stock markets wrapped up the first half of 2022 on a sour note. Investors braced for higher interest rates as the Federal Reserve (the Fed) attempted to combat the highest inflation levels in approximately 40 years. All three major U.S. indexes posted their second straight quarter of declines....

Investors faced several daunting challenges during the first quarter. The war in Ukraine stole the spotlight during the second half of the quarter, but even before that tragedy began to unfold, the investment landscape was changing dramatically for investors. Inflation went from being...