USD June Market Performance

Noteworthy Developments 

 Global equities (MSCI ACWI Index) continued to appreciate albeit with differences in performance across regions.

Global Equities 

 Global equities increased 2.2% US Large cap equities (S&P 500) were up 3.6% as investors embraced better-than-expected inflation data and the strong corporate earnings delivered by NVIDIA (indicating a still robust demand environment for AI-related solutions). US Treasury yields declined by 10bps during the month as inflation reports were more favorable than anticipated and job market data indicated modest cooling. International developed equities (MSCI EAFE Index) were down 1.6% (-0.6% in local currencies) with European equities down more than Japanese equities. European equity declines were driven by investor concerns surrounding French elections. Emerging market equities were up 3.9% with gains largely driven by Taiwan, Korea, and India equities (11.8%, 8.8% and 6.9% respectively). China equities remained weak and were down 1.9%. Globally, growth (4.8%) significantly outperformed value stocks (-0.5%). The technology (9.1%) and communication services (3.9%) sectors performed best and were buoyed by strong results from US AI bellwethers such as NVIDIA and Apple. Cyclical stocks such as materials (-3.5%), industrials (-1.7%) and energy (-1.5%) sectors performed worst as economic indicators in many regions slowed.

Fixed Income 

 The benchmark US-Aggregate Bond index was up 0.9% for the month as interest rates declined. US Treasuries (65% of the benchmark) were up 1.0%, and investment-grade corporate credit (roughly 25% of the index) was up 0.6%. High-yield bonds were up 0.9% and benefited from high coupon income and declines in interest rates. Leveraged loans were up 0.4%, with performance driven by high coupon income (stable base rates) modestly offset by spread tightening.

Alternatives 

 The HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index was up 0.3%. Long-short equity and convertible-arbitrage strategies performed best (1.2% and 0.7%, respectively). Global macro / trend following and merger-arbitrage strategies performed worst (-0.7% and -0.2%, respectively).

Manager Comments

Russell 1000 Growth ETF: 6.6%

Outperformance vs. MSCI ACWI Index (2.2%) was driven by higher exposure to US stocks and especially within the technology and communication services sectors. Larger exposure to Nvidia (12.7%) and Apple (9.6%) were key performance drivers.

Russell 1000 Value ETF: -1.1%

Underperformance vs. MSCI ACWI Index (2.2%) was driven by higher exposure to cyclical value stocks, which modestly declined in response to weaker-than-expected US economic data.