Markets at record highs as infrastructure debate begins Thoughts A late surge drove the S&P 500® Index to a record high last week, as economic optimism outweighed valuation worries. Investors worry that we could see elevated equity and bond market volatility in this holiday-shortened week, as large institutional investors rebalance portfolios following a quarter that saw strong equity performance and weak bond returns. Dispersion of performance in the capital markets is wide this year. To date in 2021, the S&P 500 has returned 6%, the Russell 1000 Growth Index is flat, the Russell 1000 Value Index 12%, the Russell 2000 Index 13%, the MSCI EAFE Index 4%, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index 2%, the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index -3%, High Yield +1% and the 20+Year Treasury -13%.