Robertson Stephens Weekly Commentary – January 21, 2025

Some of you will remember the famous quote from the film “Apocalypse Now”: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” You can be forgiven for thinking this might be the new, intentionally theatrical motto of trade negotiators everywhere. Earnings season starts strong, and U.S. economic data keeps beating estimates. Last week, stocks and bonds were up on the week (bond prices up / yields down). The S&P 500 outperformed the MSCI EAFE and MSCI emerging markets indices. The best-performing sectors in the S&P 500 were energy, financials, and materials. Across U.S. style & market cap indices, mid-cap value did the best. As for fixed income, the 10-year treasury yield fell 16 bps on the week to 4.61%, and the 2-year – 10-year treasury yield spread flattened to +34 bps. High-yield bond spreads were down on the week to 262 bps, well below their 20-year average of roughly 500 bps. On the wealth planning front, we share our insights on Gen X and the generation’s increasing concerns for retirement.