The first quarter of 2017 started the year with positive returns across all major stock and bond investment asset classes except international bonds. Emerging markets stock was the super star with an 11.44% rate of return for the quarter as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. US stocks, as measured by the Russell 3000 index, returned 5.74% and International Developed stocks were up 6.81%, as measured by the MSCI World ex-USA index. The US bond market as measured by the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index was up 0.82%. International bonds, as measured by Citi WGBI ex USA 1-30 Years Hedged index, were down 0.35%.
These results make the quarter sound positive, but rather dull. But if you lived through it, you know it was anything but boring! To see all the details including interesting headlines throughout the quarter and the last year, here’s the full report. In addition, it includes a friendly reminder on the benefits of diversification in meeting your long-term financial goals.