October 2024 Index Returns

In stocks (equities):

• All stocks indexes we show were down for the month with the R1000G dropping the least (-0.3%) while non-US REITs declined the most (-9.0%).
• At least part of the reason why US stocks outperformed their non-US counterparts during October is due to the US dollar, which steadily rose vs. a basket of other currencies over the month. To show the currency impact, the MSCI World ex-USA declined -5.1% for the month in USD. However, in local currency it fell only -1.3% (for reference the S&P dropped -0.9% over the same time period).
• It might be helpful to remind investors that their YTD stock returns are all positive with the MSCI ACWI having gained 16.0% YTD.

In bonds (fixed income):

• 3 month Tbills was the only bond index we track with positive returns over the month.
• Interestingly, even though the Fed decreased the Fed Funds rate by 50 bps in September, yields still rose across the Treasury curve for the 6 month Treasuries and those longer-dated. One possible explanation for this is that employment numbers during the month were fairly robust, which reduces recession fears. Another plausible reason is concerns about the prospect of a rising federal budget deficit, which could get worse regardless of who wins the Presidential election next week.
• Similar to stocks, all bond indexes we track are positive YTD with the exception of 10+ yr Treasuries (-2.3%).

As always, please let us know if you have any questions by emailing support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com.

As an additional note, please keep in mind that these reflect historical performance of the current models, not necessarily how accounts were invested in the past.