perspectives

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Investment Commentaries: 1st Quarter 2021

Index Returns 1st Quarter Calendar Year 2021
S&P 500 US Large Cap Stock Index 6.2% 56.4%
Russell 2000 Small Cap Stock Index 12.7% 3.5%
MSCI All Country World Ex-USA Stock Index 3.5% 49.4%
Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond Index -3.4% 0.7%
US Core Consumer Price Index - (Inflation) 0.2% 1.3%

     *All figures as of 03/31/21 unless otherwise noted.

The first quarter of 2021 has come to an end, and we are now a little over a year into a bull market in equities that began on March 23rd of last year.  Markets have been barreling full-speed-ahead in a half-speed economy, and investor sentiment/confidence has followed suit. Investors have been piling into stocks despite shaky economic conditions, in large part due to the perceived efficacy of government fiscal and monetary stimulus intended to counteract the negative economic impacts of Coronavirus. As we look forward, we focus on economic progress since the pandemic began, and what we believe must go right (as opposed to focusing on what could go wrong) for these trends to continue.

CommentariesJohn Barnes