Dear Quaint Community,
As we approach the end of the first half of the year, we are pleased to share the latest performance results and portfolio updates.
What happened this week?
This week saw mixed results for major indexes, reflecting investors' attempts to process conflicting data from a busy economic calendar. Both the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite reached record intraday highs, showcasing the strength in technology and growth stocks. In contrast, smaller-cap indexes faced a pullback. Growth stocks notably outperformed value shares by the widest margin since early in the year, driven by falling longer-term interest rates which increased the notional value of future earnings.
An unexpected rise in the unemployment rate to 4.0% on Friday introduced a note of caution among investors, tempering the positive sentiment from a strong jobs report that showed employers added 272,000 jobs in May—well above consensus expectations and the most since the start of the year. This rise in unemployment, the highest since January 2022, complicated the narrative for the markets.
Performance Metrics:
Here are the key performance metrics for our model compared to the benchmark:
Daily Returns:
Day 1: Model: -1.74%, Benchmark: +0.08%
Day 2: Model: -0.59%, Benchmark: +0.11%
Day 3: Model: +0.84%, Benchmark: +1.19%
Day 4: Model: -0.32%, Benchmark: 0.00%
Day 5: Model: -0.37%, Benchmark: -0.12%
Total Weekly Returns:
Model: -2.18%
Benchmark: +1.26%
Cumulative Returns:
Model: +4.35%
Benchmark: +12.38%
Analysis:
The performance of our model faced significant challenges this week, reflecting broader market volatility and mixed reactions to economic data. The rise in the unemployment rate to 4.0% introduced uncertainty, contributing to a cautious market stance despite the strong job numbers. The model's total return for the week was -2.18%, under-performing the benchmark which returned +1.26%. However, our cumulative returns remain positive at +4.35%.
Conclusion
We appreciate your continued trust in Quaint. Our commitment to leveraging advanced AI algorithms and providing transparent, data-driven insights remains unwavering. As we look ahead, we remain optimistic about our model's ability to deliver consistent returns and achieve our investment goals.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Let's continue to navigate these markets together, with confidence and strategic foresight.