Can Small-Cap Stocks Help You Beat Inflation?

The small-cap Russell 2000 Index posted an impressive 14.8% gain during 2021, but nearly all of it came in the first quarter. And weakness over the ensuing nine months carried into the first month of 2022, when the index shed 9.7%. Francis Gannon, co-chief investment officer of Royce Investment Partners, notes this frustrating performance came despite generally strong earnings growth for small-cap companies. Gannon joins Real Vision’s Maggie Lake to share his outlook for small caps over the balance of 2022, including the fact that it’s the only major asset class to have outpaced inflation during every decade since the 1930s. And rising interest rates could provide an additional tailwind for small-cap value stocks such as regional banks. Meanwhile, major indexes reflect uncertainty ahead of Thursday’s release of Consumer Price Index data for January, as investors weigh the potential for a 50-basis-point hike by the Federal Reserve. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3HBlVau