March HANDLS Market Rebirth and Renewal

The graph and table above provide return data for major income-oriented asset categories for the month of March 2023 and Q1 2023. Returns for each asset category are based on the returns of the constituent(s) in the Nasdaq HANDLS™ Base Index representing that category. Also included are returns for the Nasdaq 5HANDL™ Index, the Nasdaq 7HANDL™ Index and the Nasdaq 10HANDL™ Index.

Rebirth and Renewal

The broad securities markets enjoyed a strong March, with equity and fixed income markets alike delivering healthy returns. The Core Large Cap Equity category delivered a 7.3% return for the month, powered by a rebound in beaten-down large-cap technology stocks. Meanwhile, the Core Fixed Income category generated a 2.6% return in March, benefitting from reduced inflation expectations and declining interest rates.

Monthly returns were somewhat more mixed for the income-oriented categories that make up the Nasdaq Dorsey Wright Explore portion of HANDLS Indexes. Leading the way with a 5.3% return was the Growth & Income category, which provides exposure to both equities and bonds. The Utilities category rebounded from a disastrous February (-5.7%) to return 4.4% in the month of March. After a hot start to 2023, the Preferreds category cooled off in March, generating a -4.5% return to lag all other income-oriented categories.

The Nasdaq 5HANDL Index returned 2.6% for the month. The Nasdaq 7 HANDL Index, the 1.3x leveraged version of the index, returned 3.3% in March while the Nasdaq 10 HANDL Index, the 2.0x leveraged version of the index, delivered a 4.8% return.

For the first quarter of 2023, the Core Large Cap Equity category was the big winner, delivering a scorching 15.6% return in the wake of a challenging 2022.

Returns for the Core Fixed Income category were more muted during the quarter, but still came in with a healthy 3.1% gain. For the income-oriented categories that make up the Nasdaq Dorsey Wright Explore portion of HANDLS Indexes, the Growth & Income category led the pack with an 8.4% return. Despite a strong March, the Utilities category (-3.5%) was the only income-oriented category tracked by HANDLS Indexes to generate negative returns during the first quarter.

The Nasdaq 5HANDL Index was up 4.4% for the quarter ended in March, versus returns of 5.3% and 7.4% for the Nasdaq 7 HANDL Index and Nasdaq 10 HANDL Index, respectively.

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