Early on in my investing profession my boss gave me a superb piece of recommendation I nonetheless take into consideration to at the present time.

He mentioned one thing alongside the traces of, “It’s OK to be stunned. The world is a stunning place. Simply don’t be stunned that you just’re stunned about what occurs within the markets.”

2022 was a superb litmus check for this concept.

Listed here are some issues that stunned me this yr:

Shares and bonds each fell double-digits. This is among the worst years ever for a portfolio of shares and bonds.

It’s uncommon for shares and bonds to fall in the identical yr. By my calculations, it’s occurred simply 4 instances earlier than this yr going again to 1928.

However in that point, they’ve by no means every fallen 10% or worse in the identical yr.

The worst yr on document I may discover the place every asset class was down considerably was 1969 when the inventory market fell greater than 8% whereas 10 yr treasuries had been down 5%.

The speedy rise in charges and inflation is the apparent catalyst however this can be a first in trendy monetary markets in america.

The Federal Reserve opening pushed for the inventory market to fall. Throughout the bull market of the 2010s, in case you had been a Zero Hedge reader certainly one of your prevailing theories needed to be that the Federal Reserve was chargeable for all the positive factors within the inventory market.

It was an enormous conspiracy so make wealthy individuals richer.

There was extra to it than that, however it will be exhausting to argue that the Fed’s low rate of interest insurance policies didn’t have some impact.

Nevertheless, the Fed by no means truly went out of its technique to cheerlead for the inventory market. They by no means made it a speaking level.

Should you thought the Fed solely cared about propping up the inventory market, 2022 ought to dissuade you from that opinion.

This yr, we had Fed officers who wished inventory costs to fall. And these weren’t closed-room discussions. They had been mentioned on the document for all to listen to:

There was so much happening this yr however this about-face most likely didn’t get sufficient publicity.

The Fed was glad our 401k balances went down!

Losses are a part of the sport when investing however I might not have anticipated them to take their inflation struggle this far, particularly when there may be such a disconnect between inventory costs and the financial system.

It’s not like individuals spent much less cash as a result of we had been in a bear market this yr.

Mortgage charges greater than doubled. The housing market was scalding scorching in 2020 and 2021. Low mortgage charges weren’t the only reason for the unprecedented housing worth will increase. We all know this to be true as a result of mortgage charges have been low for some time now.

However they actually performed a task.

It made sense for borrowing prices to rise when the Fed went on their rate-hiking spree. I’m unsure anybody ever thought they’d go this excessive this quick:

We went from 3% to 7% in lower than a yr. I keep in mind 5% feeling excessive on the time however I by no means thought we might see 7% this shortly.

Perhaps issues will get again to regular within the housing market if mortgage charges return to five% in brief order but when they keep within the 6-7% vary we must always count on to see some disruptions within the financial system.

A method or one other, the housing market will most likely make my checklist of surprises for subsequent yr as effectively.

Authorities bond yields remained comparatively low. The final time we had inflation this excessive within the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties, authorities bond yields and inflation usually tracked each other pretty carefully.

However after inflation fell, bond yields remained elevated above the speed of inflation for a very long time:

Bond yields have risen this yr as effectively however not almost as a lot as inflation:

Rates of interest by no means obtained near the extent of inflation.

I want I had a greater rationalization for this apart from the pattern of charges was greater from the Fifties by means of the early-Nineteen Eighties and it’s been decrease ever since then.

There may be extra to it than that however muscle reminiscence within the bond market is probably going taking part in a task right here in preserving charges a lot decrease than the inflation fee.

Bitcoin getting shellacked with 9% inflation. Bitcoin remains to be comparatively new and the narratives round crypto are continuously altering.

For years, crypto proponents mentioned it was a technique to subvert the banking system and hedge in opposition to inflation, cash printing, the Fed, authorities spending and different macro shocks.

Effectively, 2022 took a sledge hammer to this narrative as bitcoin crashed within the face of upper charges and rising inflation:

It’s apparent now that crypto is just a threat asset with the longest period potential however I’m stunned at simply how poorly it failed its first check as a macro hedge.

It was an superior yr for sequels. I’ve at all times been an enormous Prime Gun particular person so I used to be apprehensive in regards to the sequel. You possibly can most likely rely the variety of basic films the place the sequel lives as much as the unique on two palms.¹

Prime Gun: Maverick was among the finest film experiences I’ve had in years, perhaps ever. We noticed it in a type of Dolby encompass sound theaters so it felt such as you had been within the planes after they had been taking off.

They did such an exquisite job of providing some nostalgia to followers of the unique like me with out overdoing it. It was simply among the finest motion films ever made and the most effective half is that it wasn’t some CGI film made on a pc.

The brand new Avatar was CGI however it was so effectively completed. The final hour or so of the film was continuous motion and one of many higher struggle sequences I can keep in mind.

Knives Out is certainly one of my favourite films of the previous decade. The sequel wasn’t nearly as good as the unique however it was fulfilling. Signal me up for an additional Benoit Blanc thriller.

My children cherished the brand new Minions film.

Plus, the second season of The White Lotus was even higher than the primary. Even the Sport of Thrones dragon prequel was manner higher than I anticipated it to be.

I’m not a fan of the fixed regurgitation in Hollywood in relation to all the superhero films however 2022 was a superb yr for follow-ups in TV and films.

Elon Musk buys Twitter. At first it felt like Musk was simply being a bored billionaire who preferred to tweet. It didn’t appear to be he truly wished to purchase the corporate.

In actual fact, it appears like he did the whole lot he may to keep away from it after the deal went by means of.

I don’t blame him.

This may be probably the most ill-timed takeovers in historical past. Simply have a look at the returns for different social media corporations this yr:

Snap is now valued at lower than $14 billion. Musk paid $54 billion for Twitter.

I used to be stunned he didn’t pay the $1 billion break-up price and stroll away. I plan on being much more stunned with how this one performs out from right here.

FTX as one of many largest frauds in historical past. Lots of people are re-writing historical past now that Sam Bankman-Fried has been uncovered because the Bernie Madoff of crypto however nobody was calling this one out earlier than it occurred.

FTX had its identify on NBA arenas. That they had star energy and massive traders. It appeared like they had been the one crypto alternate that will make it by means of the crypto winter unscathed. In actual fact, they had been those bailing out different corporations all through the crash.

SBF gave interviews to anybody and everybody and got here off as a wunderkind who wished to make the world a greater place.

Certain, there have been individuals who thought one thing wasn’t proper in regards to the relationship between Alameda and FTX however nobody had any thought how unhealthy this actually was.

Gasoline costs hitting $5/gallon after which round-tripping. The battle in Ukraine was additionally probably the most stunning occasions of the yr. The impression on the monetary markets was apparent at first however extra stunning in the long run.

Gasoline costs going from a bit over $3/gallon in the beginning of the yr to greater than $5/gallon was painful for lots of households.

The truth that the battle remains to be ongoing, it may be much more stunning that gasoline costs usually are not solely decrease than they had been earlier than the onset of the battle, however they’re now decrease than they had been in the beginning of the yr.

I’m positive subsequent yr goes to be stuffed with surprises as effectively.

Simply don’t be stunned by what we’re certain to be stunned about in 2023.

Additional Studying:
Cash Classes From The White Lotus

¹The Godfather Half II, The Darkish Knight, Terminator II, Again to the Future II, Rocky III & IV, Earlier than Sundown, Austin Powers 2, each Indiana Jones follow-ups and I’m positive there’s something I’m leaving out right here. The largest whiff this yr was the Jurrasic Park finale which was horrible.