"The second quarter of 2021 had a “revenge of the normal” vibe reverberating through April, May, and June. From a way of life standpoint, as the number of people vaccinated climbed higher, pre-COVID activities like traveling, dining, and gatherings of friends and family became more common. Markets, pricing in humans, well, being humans, rallied on strong consumer confidence and spending reports with gains from domestic and international equities to publicly listed real estate and commodities. The strong performance of risk assets was a welcome sign for investors and their portfolios who were still apprehensive less than a year removed from the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression, and largest market drop since the Great Financial Crisis. This is not to say that everything was perfect in the quarter, far from it. Investors, commentators, and portfolio managers jostled over the appropriate interest rate level on the benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury bond, whether inflation was “transitory,” as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve insisted, if the extreme accommodations and liquidity measures of global central banks were widening the income inequality gap, and if the S&P 500 had reached peak valuations. To be sure, we spoke about COVID-19 and its Delta variant, but it was merely part of a much larger and broader conversation. Indeed, the second quarter really was a Revenge of the Normal..." Click here to finish reading the Q2-21 Market Commentary.

Prepared by Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors, L.P.