Category: Small Cap Select SRI Commentaries

The Market In General: The dynamics in the 2nd quarter of 2022 were largely a continuation of the themes that began early this year.  Commodity price fluctuations, supply chain troubles, and sporadic Covid-19 spikes remained economic headwinds.  Unfortunately, these events exacerbate the greatest economic concern:  inflation.  Over the last several months the inflationary data continued…

The Market In General: The market experienced a volatile first quarter of 2022.  Investors contended with inflation data that continued to come in ahead of expectations and a US Federal Reserve that finally began to intervene by raising interest rates.  Unfortunately, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrown another piece into the economic puzzle.  The…

The Market In General: US small cap stocks rose slightly in the fourth quarter.  While corporate earnings were generally strong, rising inflation received the bulk of investor attention.  In the face of stronger inflation data, the US Federal Reserve announced an acceleration to the end of their bond buying and forecasted a more aggressive interest…

The Market In General: US small cap stocks declined in the three months ending September 30th, slightly giving back some of the strong performance they posted over the previous five quarters.  This move happened as these past summer months saw an uptick in the Covid-19 Delta variant, mounting pressures on global supply chains, and a…

The Market In General: US small cap stocks continued their move higher in the second quarter.  This was based on persistent positive macro trends and strong corporate earnings results.  Increasing vaccination rates continued to hasten the economic reopening around the US and additional stimulus checks sustained consumer demand.  While there is evidence of increasing input…

The Market In General: US Small cap stocks posted a fourth consecutive quarter of strong returns and outperformed their larger cap peers to start off 2021.  The move higher was propelled by clarity around government policy following the runoff elections in early January and the passing of another federal stimulus bill.  The continued ramp up…

The Market In General: US small cap equities surged in the fourth quarter of 2020 which allowed them to finish the year meaningfully higher.  While COVID-19 has caused economic hardship around the country, the markets have benefited from government stimulus spending, lower interest rates from a very accommodative Federal Reserve, and gradually improving commercial activity. …

The Market in General: The equity markets continued their upward rebound in the third quarter.  At a high level, these moves were driven by a positive outlook regarding the recovery of the economy.  Industrial and services demand indicators turned positive and states continued to ease COVID-19 related restrictions.  Along with this, the market looked to…

The Market In General U.S. equity markets rose significantly in the second quarter though not fully recovering from the decline since the beginning of the year. Uncertainty and volatility remain high as investors work to assess the damage done to the economy, the benefits of government stimulus and the length of time the virus will…

The Market in General The U.S. equity markets were down significantly in the first quarter. This is clearly a time of great uncertainty and, therefore, a time of much volatility in the financial markets. The U.S. monetary and fiscal authorities have deployed meaningful aid to help consumers, businesses and financial markets weather the economic shutdown…

The Market In General U.S. equity markets were up nicely in the fourth quarter. Fears of a looming recession melted away as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and put the yield curve back to its normal upward sloping bias. Along with that, throughout the quarter, investors appeared to grow confident that the U.S. and…

The Market In General The overarching story in the equity market this quarter was the rotation from growth stocks to value stocks. With the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates and high hopes for the President getting a trade deal with China, investors appeared to conclude the economy should be fine and equities should be “off…

The Market In General U.S. equity markets were up in the second quarter but were more subdued than in the first quarter. We think several unknowns or unanswered questions may be hindering any larger market advances right now. First, the market appears relatively optimistic about the U.S. trade war with China being resolved soon. However,…

The Market In General U.S. equity markets were up big in the first quarter of 2019. While they did not recover all of the loss of the latter part of last year, it was a significant move up. As has been the trend over the past several years, growth stocks meaningfully outperformed their value counterparts…

The Market In General The U.S. equity markets sold-off in a meaningful way in the fourth quarter. Several macro-related events converged to cause investors to run for the exits. First, President Trump’s continuing trade war with China laid the groundwork for fears about corporate profits. Investors were concerned this will not end soon. That would…

The Market In General The U.S. equity markets were up in the third quarter. However, unlike the second quarter, large-cap stocks beat their small-cap brethren rather handily. The small-cap stock indexes were down in the month of September while the large-caps continued their upward trend. While we do not want to get too caught up…

The Market In General Most U.S. equity indexes were slightly down in the first quarter. Trade tensions were front and center as a concern for the markets. It is difficult to know how far the U.S. will go with tariff policies or how far U.S. trading partners will go in retaliation. There is a long…

The Market In General U.S. equity markets were up in the second quarter. The small-cap Russell 2000® handily beat its large-cap brethren, the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. Right now, investors are focused on potential tariff wars. One explanation for the small-cap outperformance is that investors assume U.S. based small-caps will be…