Introduction
During the September 30, 2024 quarter, the GW Investment Institute (GWII) ran two sections of the Applied Financial Securities Analysis class, enrolling 33 students. This quarter marked the debut of the GW Stock Pitch Competition, awarding financial prizes to four outstanding participants. GWII continues supporting student competitions; we sent a team to Cornell’s Women in Investing Conference and another to the McGill International Portfolio Challenge. GWII published its annual report, and Professor Lake began hosting the weekly podcast, “Market News with Rodney Lake,” delivering insights on timely market topics. GWII also co-hosted the Summer in the City event in New York City and participated in the GW Alumni at the Colorado Rockies event. Ojas Chitnis, a GWSB senior majoring in International Business & Finance, writes this quarter’s market commentary. After graduation, Ojas will join Deutsche Bank as a sales & trading analyst.
Market Commentary
The S&P 500 index added 5.89% on the quarter, despite a cooler-than-expected nonfarm payrolls print that pushed the VIX to (34.49%) a level unseen since the onset of COVID-19.
The quarter saw the realization of the long-awaited Fed easing cycle, with the central bank delivering a 50-basis point “double cut” to the policy rate at its September meeting – the first adjustment in 15 months. With robust progress towards the Fed’s dual mandate, increased GDP growth expectations, and earnings beats across sectors, the third quarter saw an “everything rally” across asset classes.
Of S&P 500 sectors, only Energy (-2.32%), on account of commodity price pressures, ended the quarter in the negative. Notable sector outperformances included Utilities (19.37%), Real Estate (17.03%), Industrials (11.55%), and Materials (9.70%). After leading markets in the front half of the year, Communication Services (1.68%) and Information Technology (1.61%) notched a much more modest quarter. Small-cap stocks had their second-best quarter since 2021, with the Russell 2000 returning 9.27%, while the Magnificent Seven (5.43%) underperformed.
GWII Student Investment Funds underperformed the equity benchmark by 2.2% in the quarter. Year-to-date, the four GW SIFs have returned 8.4% more than the S&P 500 index.
We invite you to review the full report below: