Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There! | Steve Henderly, CFA
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The title phrase is most often attributed to the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, yet again proves to be sage investing advice when thinking about the markets during the 2Q and 2025 YTD. From a painful drawdown of -15% at the April lows to finishing +5.5% by June 30, it was a remarkable turnaround. It took just 55 trading days for the S&P500 to fully recover back to its all-time highs – the fastest return to a new high following a drawdown of that size or greater in history (see below)! Similar to the sharp drawdown experienced in March 2020 during Covid, the most successful investors this year are likely those who “just stood there” in the face of wild swings and multi-faceted uncertainties linked to trade (tariffs), tax policy, interest rates, and unsettling geopolitics (a 12-day war) to name them broadly.