It's only a slight exaggeration to say that 2019 was a year that rose out of the ashes of the fourth quarter of 2018. People’s memories seem to be getting shorter, so it can be easy to forget how bad that quarter was. Technically, the economy entered a bear market in December, though many may not have realized it at the time. The reason being, most people measure such things at the close of trading each day, and while the market did hit a point where it was down 20% from its peak, it didn’t close that way. If it had, economists would be either talking about a new bull market or looking for a catalyst to set the stage for one. Given the speed of the market’s recovery, benefited by several record-setting highs, it is safe to assume that the longest-running bull market in history continues unabated, likely with more to come. The past year returned exceptional results in virtually every category, including fixed income.
