News

O'Brien Wealth Partners Q4 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q4 2023

The holiday season proved to be a cheerful time to be an investor. Persistently softer inflation, coupled with a shift in stance by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to an easing bias for 2024, led to a sharp rally in both stocks and bonds during the final two months of the year.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q3 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q3 2023

After a solid start to the year, investors have taken a step back from asset markets since August, resulting in the first down quarter for both stocks and bonds since 3Q 2022. The main culprit behind this market pullback appears to be a relatively staid corner of the investment universe: U.S. treasures.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q2 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q2 2023

For much of last year the market was in a deep funk, seeing only headwinds from Federal Reserve tightening and what must surely be recessionary storm clouds blowing in fast. During the depths of this malaise, the market was down -25%. But since those depths, the Fed has slowed its pace of tightening and as a result, the valuation of our stocks has surged over 25%.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q1 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q1 2023

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although we began the quarter on a positive footing, our outlook is not without a cautionary note.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q4 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q4 2022

After three quarters of declines, markets rallied into year-end on the back of slowing inflation and a deceleration in the pace of Federal Reserve interest hikes. 2022 was a challenging year to be an investor.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q3 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q3 2022

The third quarter of 2022 has passed and the frustration for investors has continued, with every major asset class declining again – and stocks and bonds down for a third consecutive quarter.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q2 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q2 2022

Following a phenomenal three-year run through the end of 2021, the performance of global markets has frustrated investors here in 2022. Many of the dynamics that have unfolded – such as stocks (and even bonds) retrenching ahead of a sharp shift in Federal Reserve (Fed) policy towards tightening – are not unprecedented. The magnitude, speed, and simultaneity, of those retrenchments, however, are much rarer.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q1 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q1 2022

The past several months have seen a volatile pullback in most asset markets, largely driven by the Federal Reserve (Fed) tightening cycle and the war in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has been a humanitarian catastrophe, and we continue to wish for the safety and peace for everyone that has been impacted. But probably the biggest contributor to market volatility has been the ambiguity around the outlook for the Fed.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners Q4 Client Letter

Quarterly Client Letter – Q4 2021

As we look back at the year 2021, we were pleasantly surprised by the progress that occurred – even though it didn’t always feel like we were moving forward in the moment. Over nine billion COVID vaccinations were administered globally. Sales of zero-emission vehicles surpassed sales of diesel vehicles for the first time in Europe. NASA’s Perseverance rover was able to make oxygen on Mars. Juneteenth became a federal holiday. Tom Brady won a record seventh Super Bowl. And global stocks posted their third consecutive year of double-digit gains – the first time that has happened since the mid-2000s.

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O'Brien Wealth Partners
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