Market Update: Equities, Inflation, and Interest Rates in Focus Mid-Year Market Perspectives: AI, Inflation, and Investment Opportunities

In our latest market update, Senior Wealth Manager, Royce Medlin, Chief Investment Officer, Dhruv Maniktala, and Chief Operating Officer, Chris Pate, share insights on what’s shaping markets mid-year.

Equities have continued to show resilience, with the S&P 500 up nearly 10% year-to-date. Behind the headline numbers, artificial intelligence remains a powerful theme, driving optimism for long-term productivity gains. While not all sectors are participating equally, parallels are being drawn to the transformative days of the internet in the 1990s. The investment implications are more mixed.

On inflation, the team notes that while concerns persist, the most recent data suggests tariffs have not yet meaningfully impacted consumer prices. With inflation stabilizing around 3%, our team emphasizes the importance of building portfolios that are durable across both moderate and elevated inflationary environments.

Interest rates remain another focal point. While normalized rates present attractive opportunities for fixed income investors, they also create stress for certain highly leveraged sectors such as commercial real estate. This “good business, bad balance sheet” environment may generate opportunities for disciplined investors, even as broader credit spreads remain tight.

[Watch the Market Update Below]