Investment Perspectives

It would be an understatement to suggest that 2022 proved a difficult year for investors.

Financial markets have remained under significant pressure with many investors glued to each inflation print in an attempt to gauge future Federal Reserve policy moves. The concern: Stubbornly high inflation could prompt further aggressive interest rate hikes, knocking the economy into recession.

After a remarkable market rally in 2020-21 that saw investors largely unfazed by the ongoing pandemic, persistent supply chain disruptions and surging inflation have cast a shadow this year on the economic outlook.

The coronavirus pandemic has dominated the investment landscape the past two years. As the U.S. economy rebounded and corporate profits recovered, stock prices surged while interest rates stayed very low. Entering 2022, the focus shifted to the potential threat of inflation and how Federal Reserve policy could hamper growth. Then came Russia’s unconscionable behavior in Ukraine.

Stocks surged last year, reflecting investors’ confidence in the country’s continued healing from the COVID crisis.

Autumn’s approach brought a spate of disquieting headlines, prompting investor angst and choppy financial markets.

Eighteen months after the pandemic slammed into our shores, most Americans have been able to regain a sense of normalcy. 

This year, equity markets have generally continued to rally on signs that the coronavirus will ultimately be contained, prompting hopes of economic healing and, for society, a return to something approaching normalcy.