October 2025 Market Quick Hit

• Equity markets posted modest gains in October as investors responded to cooling inflation and stronger than anticipated GDP growth.

• The Federal Reserve delivered their second rate cut in as many months, but cooled expectations of further cuts leading to mid-month volatility for both stocks and bonds.

• Strong corporate earnings fueled gains, particularly in cyclical sectors such as technology and communication services.

• Geopolitical tensions remained high with tentative peace in the Middle East and trade negotiations with China leading to volatility in energy and semiconductor sectors.

• Gold continued its run for most of the month before giving up some of the gains later in the month on profit taking.

Positioning & Outlook

• We expect growth to continue to moderate through the end of the year as impacts of tariffs and the US government shutdown take hold.

• Inflation, growth, and labor statistics are delivering mixed messages, causing greater uncertainty on Fed policy and the rate and direction of interest rates.

• Reduced data availability due to the US government shutdown could lead to spikes in volatility as investors struggle to digest and decipher the changing economic environment.

• With mixed economic data, we continue to favor diversification across public and private market opportunities.

• Although monetary policy and seasonal trends remain supportive for risk assets, we maintain a preference for diversification in light of elevated valuations.

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.