After a Disruptive Year for Markets, Three Things to Remember in 2023

Major Indices Post Worst Year Since 2008.

Amid soaring inflation, high interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and recession concerns, equities fell in 2022 as the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones indices had their worst year since 2008 (-33.1%, -19.4%, and -8.8%, respectively). US value held up the best (-5.4%) while US growth performed the worst (-29.5%). Within US equity sectors, energy posted massive gains (+65.7%) and utilities were also up (+1.6%), but all other sectors declined. Bonds also struggled as the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index posted its worst year in history (-13.0%). Municipal bonds fared better (-7.4%) while investment grade corporates saw bigger losses (-17.9%). Aside from gold (-0.8%), commodities had a strong year as crude oil gained 29.0%, broad-based commodities were up 15.2%, and silver increased 2.4%.