Q1 2023 Market Review

The market got a bit of a bounce in Q1 after a dismal year in 2022, as far as returns are concerned, even though drama continued throughout the quarter with:  bank closures, continued inflation, Fed rate hikes and war in Europe.  When banks started to close, investors began looking for the “next shoe to drop.”  Office REITs came under selling pressure with concerns of viability and low occupancies.  Local governments, municipalities, private equity, insurance companies and pension funds also remained a concern.

Both Stock and Bonds finished up for the quarter with international developed stocks performing the best, up 8%, which makes it the top performing region for 2 quarters in a row.  Both developed and, in particular, emerging markets have underperformed for a long time, so perhaps it is finally their time to shine?  Throughout the worlds’ stock markets larger size stocks outperformed smaller ones and growth stocks outperformed cheaper ones for the quarter.

US bonds were up 3% and International Bonds were up 2.9%.  Yields rose in the ultra-short dated bonds (less than 1 yr. maturities) but not beyond, as the market for those bonds (and notes) seemed to indicate lower interest rates in future as it saw yields actually reduced throughout the quarter.