The 4th quarter of 2023 was great for stocks and Winslow’s stocks gained approximately 13%,
comfortably ahead of the market averages. For the year, our stocks equaled the 25% return of the
broad market averages. By now “soft landing” is a familiar term to most. The Federal Reserve, in their
efforts to bring down inflation could have caused a significant recession, but fortunately, the U.S.
economy and corporate earnings have stayed strong while consumer prices in general and commodity
prices have come down. As a result, it’s now clear that the Fed is done hiking rates and a rally in bonds
as well as stocks has commenced.
A noteworthy development during the last three months has been the broadening of stock market
leadership to include more sectors and far more individual stocks. There is growing confidence in the
sustainability of earnings into this New Year.
