Things never got better for equity investors in 2022 than the first trading day of January, when the S&P 500 closed at its peak for the year and by October 12th it was down about 25%. From there, a rally did ensue through mid- December, as year-over-year inflation readings were continuing to ease and hopes grew for a lifting of China’s zero- Covid policies. That rally petered out through the holiday season and only in the closing hours of trading was a 20%+ price drop averted for the year. 2022 will still enter the historical record as the seventh worst calendar year for equity returns since the 1920s. The only bright spot was traditional energy stocks which had a second year of absolute and relative outperformance, even though commodity prices are well off their highs.