November was a dizzying month for investors. The highlight? Earnings. 82% of companies1 beat estimates this quarter, despite headwinds such as supply chain constraints and inflation. The market’s biggest muse? Elon Musk’s twitter handle, with tweets such as (paraphrased) “should I sell 10% of my Tesla stock?” The most exciting job? Fed watcher. We started tapering, saw a plethora of hot inflation data, and gleaned insight from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the last day of the month. November 2021 Market Returns 

October was another positive month for the markets after September’s pullback. So far in 2021, the S&P 500 had nine positive performing months, September being the only hold out. The index ended up 6.9%, even though the first week of the month started a bit volatile. However, 2021 is looking robust, even if November and December aren’t large contributors, as the YTD performance through October is 23.9%. 1

September ended the streak of seven positive months in a row for the S&P 500 as it was the first negative month for the index since January of this year. The index ended the month down 4.76%, but it is still up nearly 15% on the year. That is the worst monthly decline for the index since March of 2020 when it fell 12.51%. 1

August was one of the year’s best months for the investors as the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the NASDAQ Composite each hit new all-time highs. It is the seventh straight month of increases for the S&P 500 as it finished the month up 2.90%, and the index is now up 20.41% for the year. 1 Coming in alongside market highs was earnings growth as 98% of companies in the S&P 500 have now reported for the second quarter. Earnings were expected to be higher this year relative to the lower levels caused by the virus in 2020 as estimates for second quarter earnings growth came in at 63%. However, with almost all companies having reported, earnings growth significantly outperformed expectations as it came in at 89% helping the market reach new highs. 2

The S&P 500 continued to climb for the fifth straight month as the index hit a new all-time high on July 29 th . 1 The index finished the month up 2.27% and is now up 17.02% on the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the NASDAQ Composite both increased during the month as well finishing up 1.26% and 1.20% respectively. Both indices are now comfortably in double digit returns for the year. Small cap stocks took a significant hit as the Russell 2000 fell 3.65% during the month, but it is still up 12.73% on the year. As investors move some of their equity gains into fixed income and the Fed continues with their asset purchases, bond demand has increased leading to a return of 1.12% for the U.S. Agg in the month of July. It is now down just 0.50% on the year. 2

The S&P 500 Index continues to climb in June as it finished the month up 2.22% leading to a 14.41% increase on the year. The technology heavy NASDAQ led the way during the second quarter as it was up 9.50% on the quarter following a strong June, and it is now up 12.50% on the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) did not follow suit during the month of June as it was down 0.08%, but the index is still up nearly 13% on the year. 1

Equities fell on the last trading day of April as investors likely took their share of profits after positive news regarding corporate earnings and economic data. However, the major U.S. indices still finished in positive territory for the third straight month as the S&P 500 has hit 25 record highs thus far in 2021. 1

The markets started off strong in May before running into inflation fears towards the middle of the month. After those fears were somewhat curbed by the Fed, markets rallied to end the month. The S&P 500 index is up nearly 12% on the year after it finished the month of May up 0.55%. This is the fourth positive month in a row for the index after it finished down just over 1% in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finished the month up nearly 2% and is now up 12.82% on the year. The technology heavy NASDAQ did not fair as well during the month as it declined 1.53% and is now up 6.68% on the year. Small cap stocks were relatively flat for the month as the Russell 2000 finished up 0.11%. The MSCI EAFE and EM indices both finished in positive territory as well. 1 As we enter the summer months, June has traditionally been a weak month for markets as the DJIA is averaging 0.12% over the last 50 years, and it is down an average of 0.7% over the last 20 years. However, July and August are traditionally good months for the index as it averages an increase of 3% over its 125-year history. 2

After a volatile month, the S&P 500 finished at a record high when the markets closed on March 31 st . The index finished the month up 4.24% and is now up 5.77% on the year. As the economic recovery continues, the Dow Jones Industrial Average led the monthly performance numbers as it finished up 6.62% and is now up 7.76% on the year. The technology heavy NASDAQ finished the month in positive territory, but it continues to lag the other two indices after outperforming both in 2020. The index finished the month up 0.41% and is now up 2.78% on the year. Small cap stocks continued to inch higher as the Russell 2000 ended the month up 0.88% and is now up 12.44% on the year. The MSCI EAFE index is up just under 3% on the year after a positive month, however the MSCI Emerging Markets index fell 1.70% during the month and is now up 1.95% on the year. The Bloomberg Barclay’s U.S. Aggregate Bond index fell 1.25% in March and is now down 3.37% on the year. 1