This quarter we take a look at the question of whether the inflation we are experiencing currently is transitory or more structural in nature.  With ongoing covid impacts to supply chains, employment and economic growth in general, we are feeling the pinch.  Despite the Fed’s optimism that this will only be transitory inflation and that supply-chain issues should be resolved by mid next year, there are reasons not to be so sanguine.  Heightened market volatility towards the end of the third-quarter highlights the sensitivity of investor and consumer confidence.

Global financial markets experienced some minor turbulence in September. In the end, investors with diversified portfolios held onto most gains earned in the first half of 2021. For global equity indices, the third quarter will mark the first negative result since the short-lived recession of 2020. Returns also varied widely across geographies. Although Japan proved one of the best developed markets with a gain of 4.6% for the quarter, China dropped more than 18%. Developed non-U.S. markets (MSCI EAFE) outperformed the S&P 500 in local currency terms but failed to keep up with a nearly 2% increase in the value of the US Dollar. The S&P 500 ended the quarter with a gain of 0.58%, but small cap stocks (as measured by the Russell 2000 Index) gave up nearly 4.4%. Growth and Value mattered differently across market caps and geographies. While Growth outperformed value in large caps, the reverse was true for small caps.

Whether buying your first house or upgrading to a forever home, it’s a big investment decision that affects your other financial goals. It requires significant amounts of capital, time, and understanding. To help our clients better understand the process of buying a home, Pathstone and FuturePath conducted a webinar, which brought together Pathstone advisors Matthew Bagnard and Blaire Ginnever to share their experiences and stories of shepherding clients through this process. We broke the conversation into the three important real estate purchasing pillars: planning, buying, and ownership/wealth transfer. During the discussion, both Matt and Blaire shared their experiences with helping clients navigate through the process of assessing a property, gauging their financial condition, and executing the transaction. What emerged from that discussion were five key takeaways which we share here. Each lends itself to a specific aspect of the process of purchasing real estate.

Click here to watch the webinar.