Based in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Vogel Consulting is an award-winning consulting firm providing investment advisory and other family and multifamily office services. Focused on giving investors the tools they need to succeed, Vogel Consulting publishes quarterly insights on market performance. Its most recent publication was an in-depth analysis of the market’s performance in the fourth quarter of 2020. At the start of Q4 2020, the US equities market recorded a sell-off in assets, indicating investors’ jitters. These were brought on by high COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations as well as increased economic restrictions around the world. In November, though, following positive news on the efficacy of two COVID-19 vaccines, investors became optimistic that the pandemic’s end might be in sight. They jumped into economically sensitive assets like cyclical and small cap stocks, sparking a rally to all-time highs. The Russell 2000 returned 31.4 percent that quarter, while the Russell Midcap returned 19.9 percent and the S&P 500 rose 12.2 percent. In the bond market, yields on short-term U.S. Treasuries remained subdued at almost 0 percent, while longer-term bond yields rose to close to 1 percent thanks to positive sentiment about the economy. Looking at the market for real assets, the Alerian MLP returned 32.5 percent while the MSCI US REIT returned 11.5 percent and the Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 10.2 percent.

1. V O G E L C O N S U L T I N G
Summary of US Market Performance - Q4
2020

2. Introduction
Based in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Vogel Consulting is an award-winning
consulting firm providing investment advisory and other family and
multifamily office services. Focused on giving investors the tools they need to
succeed, Vogel Consulting publishes quarterly insights on market
performance. Its most recent publication was an in-depth analysis of the
market’s performance in the fourth quarter of 2020.

3. At the start of Q4 2020, the US equities market recorded a sell-off in assets,
indicating investors’ jitters. These were brought on by high COVID-19
infections and hospitalizations as well as increased economic restrictions
around the world. In November, though, following positive news on the
efficacy of two COVID-19 vaccines, investors became optimistic that the
pandemic’s end might be in sight. They jumped into economically sensitive
assets like cyclical and small cap stocks, sparking a rally to all-time highs. The
Russell 2000 returned 31.4 percent that quarter, while the Russell Midcap
returned 19.9 percent and the S&P 500 rose 12.2 percent.

4. In the bond market, yields on short-term U.S. Treasuries remained subdued
at almost 0 percent, while longer-term bond yields rose to close to 1 percent
thanks to positive sentiment about the economy. Looking at the market for
real assets, the Alerian MLP returned 32.5 percent while the MSCI US REIT
returned 11.5 percent and the Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 10.2
percent.