PHOENIX - March 19, 2024 - PRLog -- Trajan Wealth's chief investment officer, Udayan Mitra, CFA, analyzes February's "Goldilocks" financial market. Mitra has 20+ years in investment management, a B.S. in Economics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA in Finance from Rice University. The full February Market Review can be found here.

February 2024 Market Highlights:

• Equity markets posted a strong February based on solid earnings releases for 2023 and the perception that the FOMC's next move will be to reduce short-term interest rates.
  
  
• YTD returns on domestic equities range from 2.68% in small and mid-cap stocks to 7.33% in the technology-laden NASDAQ.
  
  
• Bond returns continue languishing, as strong growth/employment data gives the FOMC the ability to take a "wait and see" approach to inflation trends before cutting rates.
  
  
• While we're seeing strong growth, employment, and corporate earnings data amid decelerating inflation, looming risk makes us more nuanced about the trajectory of returns across most risk assets. US Federal Debt is rapidly rising, consuming an increasing percentage of the Federal budget. We're cautious about intermediate and long-term interest rates.
  
  
• While the FOMC cuts short-term rates, we don't expect commensurate declines in the rates that determine corporate borrowing or household mortgage rates. Increased debt servicing costs, both in the government and private sectors, act as headwinds to business investment, consumer spending, and government spending to stimulate the economy going forward relative to the past few decades.

• We're cautious about the performance of risk assets. We advocate for an elevated level of diversification across asset classes and develop specific asset allocation perimeters that cater to individual risk-tolerance thresholds. If it's been over 24-36 months since you've had one, schedule a portfolio review.