March 2025 Market Quick Hit

• US stock markets posted the second consecutive negative month with the S&P 500 losing 5.6% in March.

• US trade policy and the imposition of tariffs on foreign goods have dominated headlines and led to increased volatility in the US markets, particularly in the technology sector which has shed nearly $2 trillion in market capitalization.

• Inflation remains elevated, giving investors less confidence that the Federal Reserve will lower rates as soon or as aggressively as previously predicted.

• Defensive sectors proved most resilient with Energy, Utilities, and Health Care leading the way while Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors were the primary laggards for the month.

• Bonds were relatively flat as investors balanced “flight to quality” with lower likelihood of rate cuts from the Fed.

• Non-US markets continued to outpace the US, particularly European defense stocks as Europe ramps up defense spending in response to the US withdrawing military support for Ukraine.

Positioning & Outlook

• Global economic growth is expected to remain positive, however, US growth has been slowing.

• Inflation pressures continue to weigh on the ability for the Fed to loosen monetary policy which could pressure both stock and bond prices for the remainder of 2025.

• University of Michigan’s consumer confidence survey shows an 11.9% drop from February and 28.2% from a year ago with inflation cited as the key deterrent to consumer spending.

• We expect continued volatility as markets digest the impacts of trade policies and its impact on inflation and consumption.

• Allocations to defensive segments of the market and hedged strategies may help buffer against short-term volatility in portfolios.

Advisory services are provided by Bison Wealth, LLC (“Bison”) an investment adviser registered with the SEC. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, is believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified and is based on the opinions of Bison and subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing herein should be deemed an offer or solicitation to buy or sell a security or to provide investment advice. All investments contain risks to include the total loss of invested amounts. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Diversification does not protect against losses.

Index Disclosure
An index typically measures the performance of a basket of securities intended to replicate a certain area of the market, asset class or geopolitical region among others. Indices do not represent investments in actual accounts. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. The asset classes noted here reflect the following indices: “U.S. Large Cap” represented by the S&P 500 Index. “U.S. Small Cap” represented by the S&P 600 Index. “International” represented by the MSCI Europe, Australasia, Far East (EAFE) Net Return Index. “Emerging” represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Net Return Index. “U.S. Aggregate” represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. “Treasuries” represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bond Index. “Short Term Bond” represented by the Bloomberg 1-5 year gov/credit Index. “U.S. High Yield” represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield Index. “Real Estate” represented by the Dow Jones REIT Index. “Gold” represented by the LBMA Gold Price Index. “Bitcoin” represented by the Bitcoin Galaxy Index.