Market Update – Riding Into Year-End

As we enter the final months of 2024, we would like to take this opportunity to share our perspective on the evolving economic and geopolitical landscape, along with our insights on various market segments. We continue to navigate a period of heightened uncertainty as the economy undergoes the post-COVID normalization process. Policymakers and politicians are encountering new challenges during this transition.
Charts That Caught Our Attention: Credit in Focus

Is Walmart equity performance sending a recession signal that corporate spreads are not picking up?
Welcome Carys Murphy

As we continue to grow and position ourselves for the future, we’re thrilled to welcome Carys Murphy to our team. Carys comes to us from Charles Schwab, where she was instrumental in driving their growth initiatives and integration strategies, including the landmark $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade.
Charts That Caught Our Attention: Federal Reserve Cuts 50bps, Market Receives Message Well

“Economy is strong overall… the labor market has cooled from its formerly overheated state, and inflation has eased substantially…” this is “a sign of our commitment not to get behind”, a summary of remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following the Fed’s decision on September 18, 2024.
Welcome Charlie Smith

We are excited to welcome Charlie Smith to our Business Excellence team! Charlie recently graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with emphasis in Real Estate and Marketing. He will be supporting our growth and reinforcing our commitment to delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients.
Rapid Rebounds: The Swift Dynamics of Credit Spreads and Volatility

At the start of the month, a convergence of factors drove the VIX higher and significantly widened corporate credit spreads. However, since then, we have nearly reversed those movements. While this brief piece doesn’t explore the specifics of the events that triggered the volatility, the recent non-farm payroll report has largely been held responsible.
Charts That Caught Our Attention: Economy In Focus

Charts That Caught Our Attention: Economy In Focus The market continues to move in extremes while the Fed maintains stability in messaging. The continuous repricing of Fed Funds throughout 2024 Source: Smith Capital Investors, Bloomberg (8/15/2024) 2’s have moved nearly 100bps six times since 2023 Source: Smith Capital Investors, Bloomberg […]
The U.S. Labor Market – Uniting the Market and The Fed – A Shift from Inflation

Recent inflation data has shown continued moderation, giving the Fed greater confidence that it is heading sustainably towards the 2% goal. This, however, has been accompanied by softer labor market data and has prompted Fed officials to shift their focus to the employment portion of their dual mandate, highlighting the risks of keeping their policy […]
Smith Capital Investors 5×5

For those new to this publication, it is produced when we identify market themes that are highly debated by the team that we feel are worth sharing. It also highlights our areas of focus. We have structured this as five things we learned over the most recent period and five things we will focus on […]
Welcome Nathan Palmer

We are excited to introduce Nathan Palmer as the newest individual to join Smith Capital Investors as part of our Software Engineering and Portfolio Analytics team.