September 2014 Monthly Market Review: Asymmetric Warfare

Despite continued geopolitical instability and the media’s newfound focus on jihadist terror, equities rallied during the month on optimism that monetary policies among major central banks will continue to be quite supportive. U.S. corporate earnings for the second quarter of 2014 also came in stronger than expected, with the S&P 500 earnings growth rate accelerating to over 8% year-on-year. Developments outside the U.S. were less encouraging.