SMID Growth Commentary 1Q24

MARKET OVERVIEW:

The financial markets face a myriad of challenges this election year, but currently economic growth is not one of them. Each challenge, such as war, can have expansive socio-economic consequences. Each must be given its due but the path of the domestic markets this year likely hinges on the course of interest rates and the inflation level.

The SMID Growth Portfolio benefited from security selection in Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Health Care, and Materials. However, security selection and a relative underweight allocation to Information Technology detracted from performance, as did an underweight allocation to Consumer Discretionary