When inflation is high, consumer sentiment tends to be low. This makes intuitive sense; as we're shopping and seeing higher prices, our dollars are not going as far as they used to. This is not the first time we have seen this setup with sentiment low and inflation high.

Larger daily price movements that negatively impact investors on the way down tend to be close neighbors to those price movements that benefit investors on the way up.

Why does it seem like the market goes down faster than it goes up? We dive into the notion that stock market movements seem to take the escalator up and the elevator going down.

US Treasury Series I Savings Bonds. These are bonds issued by the US treasury that earn interest and are protected from inflation. The yields on these bonds have moved quite a bit higher in recent months.

Financial markets and economies can move like a pendulum swinging side to side, exceeding the bounds of moving averages on occasion. While it may be tempting to believe that today's conditions will be with us forever, history reminds us that this too shall pass.

This Quarterly Market Update was recorded on April 12th with Jason Ranallo and Ezra Firkins. A shortened recap video is available here, along with the full-length 41-minute version for those wanting further context.

Whether the yield curve is inverted, normal, or flat, we believe that having a financial plan and a broadly diversified investment mix—that anticipates volatility in the short-term—can open the door for a more patient long-term investment strategy.