Market Commentary

As a leading provider specialized exclusively in performance measurement for the wealth management industry, First Rate shares its unique knowledge to help financial institutions make more strategic choices. These non-biased commentaries feature summaries and data tables on the U.S. Economy, Performance in Recent Market Cycles, Relative Strength of U.S. Dollar, as well as U.S. Bond Performance and Stock Market summaries.

The information presented below reflects the opinions of First Rate’s Managing Director of Marketing, as of January 22, 2013. These opinions do not necessarily represent the views of First Rate, Inc. or any other person in the First Rate, Inc. organization and are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions. First Rate, Inc. disclaims any responsibility to update such views.

2013 Quarter I Market Commentary

The U. S. Economy

• During the first quarter of 2013, gold decreased in value relative to the US dollar at a rate of -3.57% and closed at $1,598.30 per ounce on March 28, 2013.

• The Barclays Corporate High Yield performed the strongest among major bond indices tracked during the first quarter, with a return of 2.89%. Global bond markets performed negatively, lagging behind the High Yield with a return of -2.10% during the first quarter of 2013.

• During the first quarter, the major US equity markets reflected a significant increase in performance with returns ranging from 11.93% for the Dow Jones index to 8.21% for the NASDAQ Composite index.