Category: Quarterly Investor Letters

March 2025

The S&P 500 continued its post-election rally until peaking mid-February as trade and policy uncertainties began to weigh on investor sentiment. Through the end of

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December 2024

In 2024, we disagreed with consensus forecasts regarding Fed policy, interest rates, inflation, and the bond market outlook. For example, we felt Wall Street strategists

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September 2024

The Fed initiated a series of aggressive rate hikes in 2022, from near zero to eventually terminating at 5.50% in 2023. In September, the Federal

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Mountains at Sunset

June 2024

Cash generally does not provide higher returns than fixed income securities, but for an extended period, that has been the case. In fact, money market

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March 2024

Market pre-occupation with Fed policy persisted through the First Quarter. One CNBC commentator claimed Fed policy debates consume ten of fourteen hours of daily airtime.

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December 2023

Happy New Year! Please save the date: Thursday, February 22, 2024 for Patten & Patten’s 15th Annual Investment Symposium at the Westin Downtown Chattanooga.  

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September 2023

Reversal was the theme of the Third Quarter. Through the first half of the year, stock market gains reflected an extreme narrowness last seen during

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June 2023

In the Second Quarter, stock market momentum accelerated as the NASDAQ Composite Index posted double-digit returns. The NASDAQ’s year-to-date returns are reminiscent of the late

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March 2023

A combination of factors contributed to strong stock market returns in January: a) China abandoned its “zero-COVID” policy; b) indications of peak inflation; c) favorable

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December 2022

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) meets next on February 1, 2023. At that meeting, the market anticipates the penultimate rate hike for this

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