After a nearly two-year bear market, the stock market has recovered and has begun to hit new highs – an excellent payoff for the disciplined investor. Despite interest rates remaining elevated since last July, the economy and stock market continue on a positive trajectory. The first quarter of 2024 was marked with strong gains in both domestic and international stocks. When we zoom out, you may not even notice the recent bear market, in fact, everything looks quite rosy: the US market returned nearly 30% over the last year and more than 14% annualized over the last 5 years. The US bond market was down a bit during the first quarter, however, the Global bond market was up by nearly the same amount – this just demonstrates the importance of diversification. For more details, we are pleased to present you with our quarterly market review.
