April was another rip-roaring month, as almost every major stock index across the globe increased significantly. International companies continued to outperform their U.S. counterparts, as the MSCI World ex USA Index returned over 2.13% for the month, compared to 1.03% for the S&P 500. This widens the gap of international outperformance to 1.92% for the year, which is noteworthy due to the fact that international stocks have not outperformed US stocks on an annual basis since 2012.
While international stocks have been superior, it is also important to recognize that U.S. stock returns have not been disappointing. The S&P 500 has returned over 7% in just four months this year, an extremely strong gain considering the index is at all-time highs.
On the fixed income side, U.S. treasuries were actually quite stable throughout the month, despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in March. It is generally expected that rising rates will affect bonds negatively; however, the Barclays Aggregate Index returned a steady 0.77% for the month.
If you have any questions about your investments, please contact us. Below are returns of major indexes for April
:
| Index | April | 2017 YTD |
| S&P 500 Composite | 1.03 | 7.16 |
| Russell 2000 | 1.10 | 3.59 |
| MSCI World Ex-US | 2.13 | 9.08 |
| Barclays US Aggregate Bond | 0.77 | 1.59 |
