2023: The Year In Review

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Investment Committee

The year 2023 was a year when things ultimately worked out for domestic investors, somehow. From high-profile bank failures to war in the Middle East to domestic labor strife to higher interest rates to discord in Washington and general societal malaise, it would have been easy to make a worst-case scenario for the past year.

Instead, given all the turmoil in the world, it ended up being close to a best-case one.

Throughout 2023, Oakworth’s Investment Committee was very active making tactical shifts to asset allocation. As the timeline below suggests, it had to be that way in order to stay ahead of the news and business cycles.

As the old expression goes: “you skate to where the puck is going to be and not where it currently is.”

Blocking out the noise in the media, and focusing on what really matters to the economy, is extremely important when making investment decisions. The key is determining what is noise and what isn’t.

Fortunately, Oakworth’s Investment Committee was effective in doing that last year. If you would like to know some of the primary shifts we made in our clients’ portfolios, please feel free to contact your Oakworth client advisor or investment portfolio manager, or set up a time to meet with one.

The opinions expressed within this report are those of the Investment Committee as of the date published. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders or employees.

This content is part of our quarterly outlook and overview. For more of our view on this quarter’s economic overview, inflation, bonds, equities and allocation read our entire Annual 2023 Macro & Market Perspectives.