Where Do We Go from Here?
The U.S. equity market experienced a strong start to the year with the S&P 500® Index advancing 10.56% in the first quarter—the largest first-quarter gain for the Index since 2019. Large-cap growth stocks, as measured by the Russell 1000® Growth Index, were the best performers in the quarter, gaining 11.41%. Value stocks, as measured by the Russell 1000® Value Index, lagged growth stocks, returning 8.99% in the quarter. Small-cap stocks underperformed their larger-cap counterparts, with the Russell 2000® Index advancing 5.18%. International and emerging market stocks continued to lag U.S. markets; the MSCI EAFE® Index advanced 5.78% in the quarter while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index increased just 2.37%.
Given the strong (but divergent) markets and the vast amount of information (or noise) available to investors, we have narrowed our focus to three questions we believe are most important to understanding what the drivers behind performance were in the quarter.
Investment Partner
The commentary is the opinion of Kayne Anderson Rudnick. This material has been prepared using sources of information generally believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy is not guaranteed. Opinions represented are subject to change and should not be considered investment advice or an offer of securities.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Indexes are unmanaged and not available for direct investment.
All investments carry a certain degree of risk, including possible loss of principal.
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