A quiet Wednesday morning has allowed me to gather my thoughts on recent events. Of course, we can’t pretend to know much about the most recent Covid headlines, but we can do our best to interpret data and evaluate from our market-centric lens.

Like so many Octobers past, the historically turbulent month had plenty of reason to continue last month’s sell-off. There were earnings disappointments from tech giants Apple and Amazon, a measly U.S. GDP report, and plenty of noise around inflation and the Federal Reserve. Fortunately, the stock market ignored it all.

Making drastic portfolio moves based on trying to “time” a market correction has proven to be a horrendous investment approach. Yes, our team at Highland Peak Wealth has been working around the edges to improve short-term resiliency, but we have not altered our long-term view.

A solid second quarter for stocks marks the fifth consecutive quarter of gains, the longest such streak since 2017. Corporate earnings have been stellar, hiring continues to improve, and recent readings of small business-owners’ confidence and CEO Confidence have bounced back well above their pandemic lows.

I recognize that this month’s newsletter is a tad different from the month’s past, but I hope you find it useful. As is the norm, bombastic headlines can make inflation sound scarier than it truly is.

The S&P 500 Index started the month with a bang – up 5.4% and a six-day win streak – only to end the month with some noticeable selling pressure. Curiously, the topsy-turvy trading in the final week of February was brought on by mostly good news