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MINNEAPOLIS – January 19, 2022 – 90% of advisors who recently joined Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) say they have better client-facing technology, financial planning capabilities, and ability to serve and acquire clients now than they did with their prior firms, according to a survey the company recently conducted. The Ameriprise “Ultimate Advisor Partnership” survey of nearly 300 experienced advisors who moved their practices to Ameriprise in the last 5 years from wirehouses, regional firms, independents, banks, and insurance companies uncovered:

The ongoing bond market adjustment to the threat of tighter monetary policy accelerated last week, as yields jumped at the start of trading in the new year. The expectation of higher rates was reinforced during the week, first by the minutes of the Fed’s December meeting, followed by the solid December jobs report. The yield on the U.S. ten-year note surged 25 basis points higher on the week to 1.76 percent, its highest in two years, dating back to just prior to the onset of the pandemic. The bond market adjustment began in September when the Fed first hinted at tapering. Back then the ten-year note was yielding 1.30 percent. The more Fed sensitive two-year note has climbed from 0.20 to 0.86 percent since September, after rising 14 basis points last week. For the week, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index fell 1.5 percent. 

Stocks ended the year in a show of strength, establishing a new record weekly close, one day after setting a record daily close. Last week, the S&P 500^® index rose 0.9 percent, and for the month of December rose 4.4 percent. For the full year, the S&P 500^® index surged higher by 26.9 percent. But it may be worth noting that the strongest groups recently have mostly defensive sectors, as investors weigh concerns related to the pandemic, evolving monetary policy, and an aging bull market. The leaders last week were Real Estate, Materials, and Utilities. Only Communication Services was lower, but Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Financials all underperformed. For the month, Consumer Staples, Real Estate, and Utilities led the way. No sectors were lower, although in a statistical anomaly, the Consumer Discretionary ETF XLY was exactly unchanged. But other underperformers included Energy, Financials, and Tech. For the full-year, energy stocks led the way higher with a gain of 46 percent, followed closely by the 42 percent gain in Real Estate. The underperformers were led by 14 percent gains in Utilities and Consumer Staples.