Weekly Market Update for February 28, 2025
by Jared Plotz, Director of Research
Equity markets have been more jittery the past two weeks. Some factors contributing to this dynamic have been a string of softer economic data, continued uncertainty in trade policy, and concerns over impacts of fiscal spending cuts. The S&P 500 declined -1.0% this week, while the Nasdaq slid -3.5%. Meanwhile, the 10-Year Treasury yield, an interest rate indicator, closed at 4.22%, down -21 bps from last week. The 6-Month US Treasury, a favorite of our US Treasury strategy, ended down -7 bps at 4.27%. This decline in interest rates boosted the values of fixed income securities.
Economic data disappointed this week. Consumer confidence notably dropped, with inflation worries increasing. New and existing home sales were weaker, as were housing starts. And weekly new unemployment filings jumped more than expected. While these moves are coming from healthy levels, businesses and consumers may be signaling an intention to wait for more clarity on federal developments. It remains to be seen whether tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect on March 4 or April 2. Tariffs on European countries may also follow.
A number of equity portfolio holdings announced Q4 results this week. Overall, trends were very positive, although stock reactions were mixed. Nvidia said sales grew 78% versus a year ago and guided 62-68% y/y growth for the next quarter. Profit margins on those sales are a bit lower as the company ramps up production of its new Blackwell products. The CEO said he’s observed no slowdown in capital spending from large clients, a concern amongst investors after rumors swirled that Microsoft had canceled some data center leases. Nvidia’s optimism was more consistent with Apple’s announcement that they would invest $500 billion over the next four years in the US (and hire 20,000 new workers in R&D and AI).
Axon and Intuit also reported, and both saw their stocks jump. Axon reported sales up 33% and suggested they don’t expect to see a material impact from potential federal and state spending cuts. Meanwhile, Intuit highlighted a strong start to tax season.
Next week brings earnings reports from Broadcom, Costco, and CrowdStrike, among others. We will see if any new tariffs take effect. And the most impactful economic release will be the February jobs report on Friday.
In exciting news this week, Ulland was informed that our Fixed Income (Intelligent Fixed Income) and Equity (Intelligent Blend) Strategies both landed in the latest Broadridge Top 40 Money Managers Rankings for the period ending 12/31/24.
Ulland’s Intelligent Fixed Income landed #1 in the U.S. Fixed Income (All Styles) category out of 1,132 strategies, +19.19% net of fees for calendar year 2024. Ulland’s Intelligent Blend finished #14 in the U.S. Diversified/Multi-cap Strategy category out of 273 strategies, +34.19% net of fees for calendar year 2024.
We thank our clients for the trust placed in our management and look forward to navigating portfolios in 2025. Please see the bottom of this post for a complete list of the rankings and disclosures.
Q4 2024 U.S. Fixed Income (All Styles) 4Q Rankings
Q4 2024 U.S. Diversified Multi-cap Equity 4Q Rankings
Broadridge Top 40 Money Managers Rankings Disclosure:
No compensation has been provided directly or indirectly by Ulland Investment Advisors, LLC in connection with obtaining or using the third-party rating.
Best Money Managers is a comprehensive survey of institutional money managers’ performance. All rankings in this publication have met the following requirements:
- Performance must be calculated “net” of all fees and brokerage commissions. This means after all fees and commissions have been deducted;
- Performance must be calculated inclusive of all cash reserves;
- Performance results must be calculated in U.S. dollars, that is, from the perspective of a U.S.-based investor;
- Performance results must be calculated on an asset base which is at least $10 million in size for “traditional” U.S. asset classes (equity, fixed income, balanced accounts) or at least $1 million in the case of international and “alternative” U.S. asset classes;
- The classification of the product must fall into one of the categories, which we rank. We only publish rankings for categories/time period combinations for which we have at least 20 contenders.
- Best Money Managers is published quarterly. While Best Money Managers acts only in a reporting capacity, every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information.
The information contained in this commentary is not investment advice for any person. It is presented only for informational purposes. Included information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing materials are accurate or complete. Investors should contact Ulland Investment Advisors for individualized information prior to deciding to participate in any portfolio or making any investment decision. Ulland Investment Advisors does not provide tax advice. All investors are strongly urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding any potential investment.Performance quoted is past performance. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. There is always a possibility of loss.
Current performance may be lower or higher than performance shown. Differences in performance versus the indices/funds may be attributable, in part, to differences in the asset make-up of the strategy vs. the indices/funds. Performance calculations are based on the reinvestment of dividends and gains unless these amounts were paid out to the client. Performance is subject to revision. See www.ullandinvestment.com for important strategy disclosures.
This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy or product for a particular investor. Investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risk, charges, and expenses of the strategy carefully before investing. This and other important information can be obtained by contacting Ulland Investment Advisors at www.ullandinvestment.com or 612.312.1400.
