In his opening remarks, Nuveen Chief Investment Strategist Brian Nick, CAIA®, provided perspective on recent market volatility, noting that the markets reflect change more quickly than the economy or individual households are able to adjust their behaviors.
“What we are seeing is the market’s ability to react to news and take a forward-looking approach to the macroeconomic outlook,” Nick said.
“We learned that the first quarter was a negative quarter for GDP (gross domestic product) growth and is likely to be classified as a recession.”
Given the financial market’s performance in the month of April, however, there may be reason for optimism.
“The depth and duration of this downturn, including how long it lasts and how deep it may go, will be a function of COVID-19 and policymakers’ ability to contain it. We will only have a sense of how well that policy is working when the economy reopens. In all likelihood, there will be volatility, as well as periods where the news is good, such as signs that we are moving aggressively toward a vaccine.”