Quarterly Market & Economic Update Video

During this webinar, Kathmere’s Chief Investment Officer, Nicholas Ryder, CFA®, provides a brief look back on market performance during the first quarter 2021 and touches on a number of key themes and topics affecting investors today.

Here’s a high level overview of some themes this quarter:

• Global stocks delivered modest positive performance once again during the first quarter. Stocks have registered historically strong performance over the last 12 months as markets rebounded sharply from last year’s swift and significant first quarter sell off.

• Previously lagging segments of the equity markets-–value and small cap stocks—have dramatically outperformed in recent months taking over market leadership mega-cap growth and technology stocks which had been market darlings in recent years.

• Unprecedented amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus have injected massive amounts of liquidity into the economy to fuel the ongoing economic recovery which is broadly anticipated to be historically strong in 2021 and is projected to continue in the years ahead.

• The labor market still has a considerable way to go to fully recover all of the jobs lost during the depths of the economic contraction. The U.S. consumer, however, broadly remains in good shape as earned income has held up quite well and has been boosted by a significant increase in government transfer payments in addition to strong stock and housing markets and historically low interest rates.

• Outstanding government and corporate debt has increasing significantly in recent years resulting in increased vulnerability to rising interest rates.

• Long-term investors today can potentially benefit from modest tilts away from recent winners and towards recent laggards such as value, small-cap and foreign stocks. Additionally, some long-term investors may benefit from bearing modest amounts of illiquidity in an effort to potentially increase portfolio returns.