One month is officially in the books for 2022, and just as a marathon is never decided by the sprint of the first mile, investors should keep in mind that the market performance over the short term is rarely the final tale of the tape. We do, however, watch and comment on the race as it unfolds. Here are a few take aways from January:
- Anxiety about inflation, as well as impending rate hikes coupled with the tapering of asset purchases by the Fed, led to one of the worst starts to the year for U.S. equities in some time, with the S&P 500 down 5% in January.
- International Developed Markets performance was also generally disappointing.
- Emerging Markets benefited from strong performance in Latin America, while facing headwinds from Ukraine-Russia tensions.
- Commodities markets were driven by gains in the Energy complex (Energy was the only sector in the S&P 500 to post a gain in January, up a staggering 19%) boosted by the continued rise in oil prices.
- S. fixed income performance was weak, especially high yield corporates, as spreads widened.
- Across the board, Value strategies held up, with Large Cap Value leading the way.
- Symmetry’s mutual funds, mutual fund models and ETF models benefited from this strong showing by Value.
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