We have been counselling our clients to try to ignore politics and geopolitics when they consider their investment strategy. Instead, we have said, pay attention to the fundamentals, the strong economy, and impressive corporate earnings.

As the second longest economic expansion on record in the United States entered another year, questions around potential catalysts for greater gains arose. With economic data still solid, and the effects of the corporate tax cut not yet fully felt, the case for equities remains intact.

A strong U.S. economy, continued global growth improvement, a concerted effort by global central banks to remain accommodative as long as possible, and a general sense of complacency about valuations in the equity markets provided the backdrop for 2017’s wins.

As January began, it was clear that 2017 was going to be a tough act to follow for investors. It was a year marked by historically low volatility, essentially unchanged Treasury yields, and a straight up trajectory for equity markets, and as such, it seemed unlikely for this Goldilocks scenario to repeat itself again in 2018.

If there is one thing that all investors can agree on from the first quarter of 2018, it is that volatility in the markets is most certainly back. But what does that mean, and why is it such a critical data point for market participants?

Shannon Saccocia, Boston Private Wealth Chief Investment Strategist, provides insight on recent market activity, the impact of macro-factors on equity markets and shares specific holdings favored for 2018

While the new law simplified some tax provisions for individuals such as replacing most itemized deductions with a larger standard deduction, it made the law murkier for one of the most valuable tax benefits for small businesses — the special tax rate for businesses organized as pass-through entities.