Stock markets around the world had a strong Q4 2022. US stocks were up 7.18%, and International Developed Stocks including Europe and Japan were up 16.18%, contrary to negative expectations given the current turmoil in Europe. Catching the positive returns in Q4 2022 were critical to investors to recover from the downturn earlier in the year. An investor who experienced the downturn, and then subsequently exited the markets and missed Q4 2022, will now have a lot further to go to recover their losses. Bonds were also up during the quarter, contrary to many expert opinions. Bond are down for the full year and had one of their worst years on record. But the “certainty” that bonds would continue to fall in Q4 2022 due to rising interest rates did not come to pass.
