Summary

• Equities retracted 4.35% in the first quarter as a sharp spike in energy prices stoked concern about inflation and, more recently, worries about an economic slowdown.
• Cisco Systems positions for revenue growth through 2026-27 as customers modernize legacy campus switching infrastructure to support AI workloads, driving a major multi-year networking refresh cycle.
• TechnipFMC is transitioning the subsea industry from bespoke custom designs to a standardized model that lowers cost and cycle times, offering operators superior economics over bespoke offerings.
• Church & Dwight intends to sell its vitamin business to accelerate organic revenue growth and allow the company to focus resources behind power brands with compelling long-term growth prospects.
• Salesforce was eliminated because successive AI model iterations are likely to resurface debates over whether AI models can replicate successes with developers to non-technical users and business use cases.

Investment Environment

Equities retracted 4.35% (S&P 500 Total Return – USD) in the first quarter. There was an abundance of headlines in the quarter that made for a volatile market. Early in the quarter, the U.S. invaded Venezuela and captured then-sitting president Nicolas