The equity rally resumed, and bond markets continued to advance...

Amid increasing confidence that the recession has ended, equity markets finished July with a fifth consecutive month of positive performance. In fact, the bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average achieved its best performance for the month of July in 20 years. As measured by a broad index of U.S. equities, investment returns for stocks are now in the low double-digits for the first half of 2009, an impressive turnaround from the market lows reached in March. International equities resumed a recent trend of outperforming their U.S. counterparts, with the stocks of companies in developed countries advancing 9.1% for July and the stocks of developing countries gaining 11.3%. The latter group of stocks, also known as emerging markets, has collectively gained an impressive 51% so far in 2009.

Read the entire July Investment Report.

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