The HCM Technology M&A market is experiencing resilient transaction volumes in 2024 following a drop off in 2023 due to improvements in macro-economic conditions including unemployment and inflation rates that affected public markets across the globe Recent deal activity and the persistence of outsized transaction multiples implies investors continue to place more value on mission-critical…

Markets were volatile during the last quarter of 2024 as investors reacted to President-elect Trump’s election victory along with evolving interest rate expectations Despite this added volatility markets capped off a robust year and impressive two-year run Looking forward markets should be supported by strong economic conditions but high valuations should dampen expectations somewhat In this…, US markets reacted positively immediately following Trump’s early November election victory as stocks began pricing in campaign promises such as lower corporate tax rates and deregulation This rally mostly reversed in December as the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates began setting in  The Federal Reserve cut its key Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points in both November and December but…, Equities, The S&P 500 Index rose 24% during the fourth quarter of 2024 resulting in a 250% return for the full year following a 263% return in 2023 The largest companies continue to drive most of the performance for the S&P 500 counting for more than half of the index’s annual return An equal-weighted version of the index fell 19% during the fourth quarter and rose only 130% for the full year …, Fixed Income , Bonds struggled during the quarter due to volatility in interest rates The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index fell 31% during the quarter wiping out all but 13% of the index’s return for the full year Shorter-term bonds held their value better than longer-maturity bonds due to their lower interest rate sensitivity and the Bloomberg 1-3 Year Treasury Index returned 40% for the year  Below…, Commodities , Gold prices fell 08% during the quarter but still posted an impressive 261% return for all of 2024 Oil prices nudged up a little during the quarter to $72 per barrel Overall the Bloomberg Commodity Index fell slightly during the quarter but returned 54% during all of 2024 Important Information The Bloomberg Commodity Index is a broadly diversified commodity price index distributed by Bloomberg…

The Public Safety / First Responder Technology & Services M&A market is experiencing resilient transaction volumes in 2024 as investors continue to value emerging technologies that reduce costs increase efficiency and improve service quality Investors are paying outsized transaction multiples as software and service offerings continue to evolve across all levels of government Technology…

Year-end review, Primary influences on the sector Active participation by private equity firms continues to shape the packaging sector Until relatively recently publicly-traded strategic buyers would nearly always outbid private equity firms That no longer seems to be the case The sector has seen many examples of a company being sold by a family or divested by a corporation with the prevailing buyer being a…

Quarter-end review, As current events continue to quickly evolve our hearts and thoughts remain with the families across the globe that continue to be impacted by COVID-19 At Mesirow we continue to focus on the safety of our employees and their families our clients our business partners and the communities in which we operate As we move into a new year one with the promise of effective vaccines and new therapeutics…, COVID-19, We have been quantitatively graphing the COVID-19 pandemic since its earliest signals in Wuhan Hubei Province We believe that the team’s ability to source and understand local Chinese data sources and to analyze them at the height of the March panic gave Mesirow and our clients a considerable early advantage in understanding the enormous potential of the pandemic to disrupt both daily life and…

4Q2021 Review, “The markets look a lot less efficient from the banks of the Hudson than they do from the banks of the Charles” – Fischer Black “How about from the banks of the Potomac” – Blake Anderson Mesirow Capital Markets and Investment Banking Fischer Black having made the journey between two distinct worlds from MIT to Goldman Sachs neatly summed up the difference between economic forecast models and the…

Introduction, Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold upon the mind” – Socrates The Republic 375 BCE I would like to underscore for the American people that we understand the hardship that high inflation is causing and that we are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2 percent goal Over the course of the year we have taken forceful actions to tighten the stance of…

Market commentary, US Treasury market volatility remained elevated during the 4th quarter as the market continued to struggle with interpreting the Fed’s policy and the ultimate level of the Fed Funds rate as well as some changes in global monetary policy outside the US The final month of the year saw increased volatility with Treasury yields at the low end of the recent range heading into December This was a…

Currency for return   |   Latest MCM viewpoints   |   Contact us   |   Explore currency solutions, US dollar underperforms all G10 currencies, US dollar underperformed all constituents of the G10 in the fourth quarter on a dovish Fed along with relatively soft inflation prints While interest rates were left unchanged at the FOMC meeting in December the dot projection update indicated 75bps of rate cuts next year as Powell noted discussions around the timing and magnitude of the cuts While subsequent Fed speakers attempted to push back…, EUR |, Euro depreciated against most developed currencies in Q4 trailing G10 currencies save the weaker US and Canadian dollars The ECB left rates on hold at 45% and moved the timing of the end of the PEPP reinvestments forward to the end of 2024 while emphasizing that the council did not discuss rate cuts at all and that market expectations of rate cuts were premature The most recent Eurozone flash…, GBP |, Sterling landed in the middle of the G10 this quarter outpacing the US and Canadian dollars while slightly outperforming Euro Recent data was primarily dovish with employment falling 13K pay growth decelerating at a faster pace than expected core inflation dropping to 51% YoY and GDP contracting by -03% MoM in October The BoE kept rates at 525% while promoting a hawkish bias through its minutes…, JPY |, Yen landed in the upper half of the G10 trailing only Swiss franc and Swedish krona Despite the BOJ standing pat on rates and delivering dovish commentary market assumptions tilted towards a policy change signaled by Governor Ueda’s comments that policy management would get more challenging in 2024 The BoJ redefined 10% as a loose upper bound rather than a rigid cap on their yield control Short…, AUD |, Australian dollar was a middling performer in the G10 in the fourth quarter The RBA hiked rates by 25bps to 435% in November although their guidance reflected a more data driven approach going forward Inflation printed at 54% YoY for Q3 a bit higher than consensus Australian dollar found support late in the year through improved risk sentiment as risk assets gained in December to end the year, CAD |, Canadian dollar weakened only outperforming the weaker US dollar in the G10 The BoC held rates steady at its policy meetings noting that the economy was no longer in excess demand and thus reducing inflationary pressures Annual inflation came in unchanged at 31% YoY for November although consensus was lower at 29% BoC Governor Macklem reiterated that it was still too early to consider cutting…, CHF |, Swiss franc outperformed the rest of the G10 ending the year as the highest performer in 2023 The SNB kept rates unchanged at 175% throughout the quarter noting that inflation will continue to be monitored to ensure price stability Inflation slowed to 14% YoY in November although higher electricity prices and rents are risks for increasing prints in the future, EM |, Emerging market currencies gained overall as the MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index appreciated over 4% this quarter With US dollar performing poorly over the quarter emerging market currencies were able to gain ground as the outlook for lower interest rates increased risk appetite TABLE 1 USD-BASED AS OF DECEMBER 31 2023    , FX Rate, Change 3M %, Change YTD %, EUR-USD 110465 434% 350% GBP-USD 12748 444% 598% USD-JPY 14098 585% -641% AUD-USD 068235 573% 062% USD-CAD 13186 253% 276% USD-CHF 084165 869% 993% Source WM/Reuters Source WM/Reuters Currency for return Currency Alpha Mesirow Currency Management’s (MCM Currency Alpha strategies all suffered losses this quarter The Emerging Markets Currency Alpha and the Systematic Macro strategy end the year…, Explore currency solutions, Passive and Dynamic Risk Management,       Customized solutions to manage unrewarded currency risk in international portfolios Learn more, Currency for Return,       Strategies that aim to profit from short and medium-term moves in the currency market  Learn more, Fiduciary FX,       Trading solution for asset managers and owners with focus on reducing transaction costs improving transparency and enhancing efficiency Learn more 1 The GVI is an internal proprietary model utilizing one month at-the-money (ATM volatility for G10 currencies including crosses plus BIS liquidity report weightings

Section 529 College Savings Plans — commonly referred to as simply “529 plans” — were introduced in their current form in 2001 Traditionally these plans have been used by families to save and invest for their children’s and grandchildren’s college educations  However legislative reform over the last decade has impacted how 529 plans can be used as an educational funding vehicle, 529 plan basics, 529 plans are investment accounts administered by a mutual fund provider insurance company or bank Each plan is sponsored by a state and some states sponsor more than one plan Families can select a 529 plan from any state regardless of their residence or the location of the school their student attends The primary advantage of a 529 plan is their significant tax benefits, Tax reduction,  , —, In some cases a single contribution to a 529 plan can reduce a family’s state income taxes federal income taxes and federal estate taxes, Tax-free withdrawals,  , —, 529 plans provide for tax-free withdrawals of principal and earnings when they are used for “qualified” education expenses such as college tuition room and board computers fees or for “qualified” tuition for kindergarten through 12th grade (Taxes and tax penalties may apply to non-qualified withdrawals, Assets not included in the owner’s estate,  , —, While these accounts are typically owned by a parent or grandparent (owners retain control of investment decisions and have the sole ability to make withdrawals assets are removed from the account owner’s estate when calculating federal estate taxes, Flexibility to exceed annual gift exclusion,  , —, Parents and grandparents are also able to exceed the annual gift tax exclusion amount (currently $18000 by “super funding” up to five years of contributions in a single year, State tax benefits,  , —, Many states (including Illinois provide state tax benefits for contributions to 529 plans For example Illinois provides a state tax deduction for contributions to an Illinois-sponsored 529 plan (up to $10000 for single taxpayers and $20000 for those married filing joint returns, Using a 529 plan for K-12 tuition, There are notable differences in what is included as a “qualified” expense for primary and secondary school costs versus college costs Qualified K-12 withdrawals can only be used for school tuition (not books computers or other fees Withdrawals for educational camps or other enrichment programs are not qualified and may also be subject to taxes and tax penalties, Caution Many states have not updated their tax codes, While withdrawals for K-12 tuition may be exempt from federal taxation many states have not updated their tax codes to provide for the same tax treatment Additionally states may not have updated the guidelines for their own state-sponsored 529 Plans For example as of this writing Illinois’s tax code has not been modified to treat K-12 withdrawals as a “qualified” expense A withdrawal from…, Caution Don’t overlook the power of tax-deferred growth, One of the most powerful benefits of 529 plans is their ability to defer taxation on investment growth over longer-term timeframes In most cases this tax deferral will provide the greatest benefit when used for college costs For families who have yet to accumulate sufficient assets for their college goals it may be most efficient to use their 529 plans to target college costs and to use other…, 529 ABLE accounts, TCJA changed the way that families can contribute to a 529 ABLE account As of January 1 2018 529 plan assets can be rolled over into a 529 ABLE account on a tax-free basis Like 529 College Savings Plans 529 ABLE accounts provide for tax-free withdrawals of principal and earnings when used for qualified expenses These accounts are available for disabled individuals and qualified expenses include…, Next steps, We understand that many of our clients’ investment objectives include providing for their children’s educations and being certain that disabled family members have access to appropriate financial resources As we monitor the evolution of the 529 College Savings Plan and the 529 ABLE programs we will respond to the changing regulatory landscape to assure our solutions are relevant to each household…, Published March 2025, Mesirow does not provide legal or tax advice Past performance is not indicative of future results The views expressed above are as of the date given may change as market or other conditions change and may differ from views express by other Mesirow associates This is not a solicitation to buy or sell the securities mentioned Do not use this information as the sole basis for investment decisions it…