Posts by JMG Financial Group

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY July 2025 The economy remained resilient while some signs of weakening appeared in July economic data points. The stock market continued its upward trend from the second quarter, albeit with some volatility. Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ reached record highs in July, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and positive sentiment. For…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY June 2025 Wall Street has come a long way from its April sell-off as investor optimism over trade agreements and events in the Middle East helped lift stocks to record highs. Led by large cap growth companies, the S&P 500 had strong June performance, up 5.1%. Foreign developed and emerging markets stocks also rose…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY April 2025 U.S. equities experienced continued volatility in April as tariffs announced by President Trump on April 2nd led to policy uncertainty and trade wars. Intraday and daily volatility also increased on worries that Fed Chair Jerome Powell might be replaced by the president and by concerning news on economic growth, inflation,…

With the recent market volatility and economic uncertainty following the tariff announcements, we first want to address these recent events before providing the March 2025 market review. Tariff Announcements Stocks begin the second quarter of 2025 following the worst quarterly performance in nearly three years. After President Trump’s tariff announcements on April 2nd of a…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY February 2025 After posting strong returns in January, U.S. stock indexes fell back in February. Investors worried about lower economic growth potentially coming from tariffs, inflation, and rising geopolitical tensions. However, foreign developed and emerging market equities and U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) had positive returns for the month. Uncertain U.S.…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY January 2025 Equities opened the year higher as market optimism carried into 2025. For context, the S&P 500 just finished the best two-year performance period since 1997-1998 with a total return of greater than 25% for each of the last two years. While positive investor sentiment continues, another strong year for the…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY December 2024 Stocks trended lower in December as the S&P 500 retreated from all-time highs. Investor optimism declined following the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) December meeting. As expected, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced a cut in the fed funds interest rate by 0.25%. However, Powell’s commentary on future rate cuts had a more tempered tone. The Fed…