By Vicki Simpson, Trading Analyst

There is no arguing 2020 was a year full of major events. Many of those are still on our minds, but here is a shortlist of highlights.

• Trade tensions with China

• COVID-19

• Stock market crash in March

• Lockdown, Quarantine, Economic Standstill

• Unemployment

• Black Lives Matter

• Wildfires

• Stock market recovery

• Elections

I have recently been thinking about the word reconcile. Over the last year, as we were implementing new data management software, I spent a lot of time working on reconciling accounts. Ensuring data was flowing in correctly, values were matching expectations, and auditing many portfolios gave me a lot of satisfaction. Data cleanliness became a place I could work in certainties while the world outside my (home) office was very uncertain.

On a deeper level though, I spent many hours in 2020 trying to reconcile the wide-ranging, powerful events occurring in our country with an optimistic and rising market. I certainly know the nature and history of markets do not always align with what is happening around the globe – be it politically, socially, or even environmentally, but I do want it all to somehow reconcile; to be in harmony, but it is not.

If, at the beginning of last year, someone had given you a list of the major events that were to come in 2020, would you have expected the results you see in the chart below? I do not think I would have. There is a lot of green on the market summary below. Fixed income markets had a turbulent fourth quarter as the effects of low-interest rates begin to catch up, but most markets were positive.  All markets were positive for the year and this takes into account the wild ride in March and April! The S&P 500 finished 2020 at historic highs. US Large, commanded by technology and consumer discretionary (think Amazon), led the charge in the middle of the year while US Small saw its recovery flourish in Q4. Portfolios also benefited greatly from Emerging Market allocations.

The economy did show improvement in the second half of the year as portions of the country re-opened, but it is a much slower journey. We hit rock bottom interest rates, the Fed and government-provided stimulus and job recovery have lost some momentum. There is still a long way to go in many sectors, including travel, dining, and hospitality. Many experts are optimistic for continued growth in 2021 as COVID vaccines are more widely available and administered. As people gain more confidence in returning to normal activities, the economy may also return to something more normal toward the end of the year.

While my data-oriented mind appreciates all the green, my heart is not yet reconciled to it. As an investor myself, I was glad for the positive returns, but as a person, I wanted it (the markets) to just take a minute to consider all the important things that were happening to people. I am thankful to work for a company that values people – my coworkers and especially our clients. You may be like me, still unreconciled, but I am glad to have the opportunity to walk through it with you whatever may come our way in 2021.