Mutual Funds Commentary

We appear to be shifting away from early cycle behavior with peaking economic conditions to more mid-cycle behavior. During these periods, higher-quality stocks tend to perform relatively better, which would favor our general philosophy and current positioning of targeting higher-quality core and reasonably valued growth stocks.

Broadly, we view recent inflation spikes as transitory, primarily an outcome of shorter-term supply and demand imbalances, as economies find their post-COVID footing.

As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, we believe people around the world will continue to buy goods and services and trade with each other, though there will be lasting differences from prior norms. We believe the Global Opportunities Fund's businesses will benefit as the world adjusts to an improving economic backdrop and continued stimulus.

We appear to be shifting away from early cycle behavior with peaking economic conditions to more mid-cycle behavior. During these periods, higher quality stocks tend to perform relatively better, which would favor our general philosophy and current positioning of targeting higher quality growth stocks.

We remain constructive about the outlook for international markets, and ESG, in the second half of the year. We believe in a balanced core position led by bottom-up stock selection, particularly in companies with superior or improving ESG performance.

We remain constructive about the outlook for international markets in the second half of the year. Though Value has outperformed, the fluctuating leadership between Value and Growth and Growth’s recent outperformance suggests a more balanced core position led by bottom-up stock selection.

We see the fundamentals of our companies as strong and in many cases strengthening. In spite of macroeconomic factors, such as rising inflation expectations, that can impact valuations, we believe that as economies normalize and we enter mid to later cycle conditions, this creates a favorable backdrop for high quality growth stocks.

We continue to be optimistic regarding the income and return potential of Thornburg Investment Income Builder’s assets.