Market Moment - March 2025
The recent decline in consumer confidence and an ongoing selloff in the equity market — and what it means for investors — are the focus of our latest Market Moment video with Anthony Valeri, director of Investment Management for Wealth and Fiduciary Services.
Key takeaways:
- Consumer confidence and other sentiment measures have declined in recent weeks and months in response to tariff uncertainty.
- Weaker sentiment has typically been a contrarian indicator. All else equal, the weaker the sentiment, the better the performance of the stock market going forward.
- International stocks — particularly developed international stocks — have been a notable outperformer after an extended period of underperformance compared to their U.S. counterparts.
- Pullbacks and corrections never feel good as an investor, but they are part and parcel to investing. We have intra-year declines almost every year, averaging 14% compared with 8% as of March 10, 2025.
- Volatility is normal in the equity market, and 75% of all years end up positive.
- Services comprise 85% of the U.S. economy, most of which won’t be impacted by tariffs.
- Bottom line: Remain invested, don’t chase the hot stocks and stay focused on longer-term goals.