It is difficult to believe that this is the third consecutive investment letter that has addressed the potential or actual impact of COVID-19 on financial markets. It appears the worst of it is over, and we are entering into an era of tolerable coexistence with the virus. Financial markets, as forward-looking mechanisms, are adjusting to this forecasted condition and are anticipating a new chapter as we resume the natural business cycle.
In this commentary, we will cover new challenges to our economy surrounding inflation and the workforce, our expectations for 2022 in terms of potential risks and rewards to certain asset class exposures, and our perspective on how society emerges from what we hope are the final innings of the pandemic as COVID and its related variants develop into endemicity.