February brings a mix of market momentum and key developments. As we enter tax season and continue monitoring the markets' start to 2025, I'm excited to share our latest insights and a pro tip for future tax preparation.
Q1 2025 Market Perspective
As we move through early 2025, markets are navigating both supportive factors and new challenges:
Corporate Earnings Strength: Corporate performance remains robust, with FactSet reporting 78% of companies exceeding expectations this earnings season. The average positive surprise of 6.8% demonstrates continued business resilience despite economic uncertainties.
Stable Employment Data: January's employment data shows controlled economic moderation. Employers added 143,000 jobs, which was slightly below expectations and below the 166,000 average experienced in 2024. In addition, the unemployment rate dropped to 4% and wage growth came in better than expected. These factors combined point to a more stable employment environment.
Evolving Rate Expectations: Recent hotter-than-anticipated inflation data has impacted market sentiment and monetary policy expectations. While Treasury yields had shown positive movement earlier this year, settling around 4.4%, the latest inflation reading suggests the Federal Reserve may maintain higher rates for longer than initially anticipated. Current expectations by economists are for one additional 0.25% interest rate reduction in 2025.
Sources: FactSet, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Barron's, Reuters
Tax Season: Accessing Your Statements
Your 2024 tax statements are accessible through the Schwab platform as of today, February 13, 2025, and should be available through the Orion platform shortly (which you can reach from both our Client Login portal and the Certus Wealth Management mobile app). The app, which is free to download from the App Store and Google Play, provides secure, convenient access to your complete portfolio history. New clients can request login credentials by emailing info@certuswealthmanagement.com. For enhanced security, the app supports biometric authentication - Face ID for Apple devices and Face Recognition for Android users.
Pro tip for future tax seasons: While most investment companies release tax documents by February 15th, consider scheduling your tax preparation appointments for late February to ensure you have all your documents in hand. This timing can help you avoid rescheduling or making multiple trips to your tax professional.
Financial Advice is offered through Certus Wealth Management LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
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This material prepared by Certus Wealth Management, LLC (“Certus Wealth”) is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Opinions expressed by Certus Wealth are based on economic or market conditions at the time this material was written. Economies and markets fluctuate. Actual economic or market events may turn out differently than anticipated. Facts presented have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Certus Wealth, however, cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Certus Wealth does not provide tax or legal advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as tax or legal advice.
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