OUR APPROACH
OUR APPROACH
Insights
October 8, 2026
Market Highlights
September proved to be a challenging month for investors. The market struggled with a combination of higher Treasury yields, lingering inflation concerns and uncertainty surrounding Federal Reserve policy. The S&P 500 was roughly flat, down -0.5% to 7,652 during the month of September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down -4.3% to 50,906. While the economy continues to demonstrate resilience, investors have become increasingly concerned that stronger than expected growth and persistent inflation could keep interest rates higher for longer than previously expected.
Perhaps most notably in September, the 10-year Treasury climbed above 5.2% and the 30 year, above 5.6%. Both were the highest they’ve reached in over two decades. As a reminder, higher yields are negative for stocks because they make bonds look relatively more attractive, putting pressure on stock valuations. Higher yields also increase borrowing costs, slow economic growth, and reduce corporate profits. Additionally, they hurt the valuation of outstanding bonds and bonds funds; as yields go up the price of bonds goes down.
Of the asset classes we follow, the best performing one for the month was Growth Stocks (Russell 3000 Growth) with a 1.8% return. The worst performing was Small Cap Stocks (Russell 2000) with a -5.4% return.
S&P groups similar companies into 11 sectors; when we dig into the S&P 500's performance, we find that only 2 of the sectors were up, 9 were down, 5 of which were down by more than 5%.
The best performing sector was Information Technology with a 4.4% return. The biggest contributor to this outperformance was Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., which is the sixth largest stock in the sector and had a return of 30.0%. The second best performing sector was Communication Services with a 4.3% return.
Financials was the weakest performing sector in September with a return of -7.3%. Rapidly rising Treasury yields fueled concerns about reduced demand for borrowing, higher funding costs and the possibility that higher interest rates could eventually lead to increased credit losses. The biggest contributor to this underperformance was JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is the second largest stock in the sector and had a return of -7.1%.
The second worst performing sector was Materials with a -6.9% return. The biggest contributor to this underperformance was Newmont Corp., which is the second largest stock in the sector and had a return of -8.5%.
Boo! Scareware!
Spooky season may be upon us, but we remind you that when you are a victim of a Scareware attempt - don’t be spooked, stay calm! The goal of a Scareware attack is to frighten you into taking immediate action. A Scareware attempt is when you click on a link, icon, button, etc., and suddenly your screen looks similar to the image below. You may hear alarming sounds or intimidating voices. Your screen might freeze and it may feel like your computer is unresponsive. The criminals want you to react before you have time to think. By creating a sense of fear and urgency, they hope you'll click a link, call a number, or unknowingly give them access to your computer and sensitive personal information. Oftentimes the fake alerts will even reference trustworthy and familiar names, such as Microsoft or McAfee Antivirus.
If you cannot readily see how to close down the window without engaging with any of the popups (which is their goal), you can bring up your task manager and manually force quit your browser (i.e. Chrome, Edge, Safari) window. On a Windows operating system you would hold down Ctrl, Alt, and Del. On a Mac, one of your options is to hold Command (⌘), Option (⌥) and Esc. Holding these keys should prompt a pop up of your open applications. Once the browser is highlighted, there is a button to “End Task”.
Reminders
We’d like to remind you that Medicare open enrollment begins October 15th and ends December 7th. Any changes will take effect January 1, 2027. Some changes you can make during open enrollment include changing from Original Medicare (Parts A and B) to a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C). You can add or drop a Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D); you can also change to another Medicare drug plan during this time. You can change to a new Medicare Advantage plan (adding or removing drug coverage) or return to Original Medicare. Unless you have reasons not to make changes, we recommend that you review your Medicare Advantage and drug plans each year because the offerings, including your current plans, can change every year. If you would like a referral to a professional who can help, please give us a call.
October 15th is also the deadline for filing your taxes if you filed an extension for you 2025 federal tax return.
And of course, Happy Halloween!
Be Well,
Disclaimers
The information contained herein, including summary/prices/quotes/statistics have been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Any comparison to a benchmark is for comparative purposes only and actual account composition may differ. Investments cannot be made directly into an index. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Past results are not indicative of future returns. This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as and may not be relied on in any manner as, legal, tax or investment advice, a recommendation, or as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a recommendation of any interest in any fund or security. This material does not intend to address the financial objectives, situation or specific needs of any individual investor.
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