For the last 12-18 months, the Federal Reserve (or Fed) has been in the spotlight. The focus on the Fed has only increased over the last few weeks as the situation unfolds with Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, among others. Financial markets have been at the edge of their seats waiting to see how high interest rates would go. Economists were ready to dig into the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections. But if you’ve ever wondered what the Federal Reserve (or Fed) is designed to do, what it was meant to do, and why we care about it, then this is for you.

Earlier this week our institutional investment consultants published a communique on the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank Exposure and Implications. Below is a summary and key takeaways that provide additional insight.

Cassius Clay, or Muhammad Ali, the widely regarded GOAT of professional boxing, could’ve been even bigger, socially speaking. Ali practically invented swagger. He talked the talk and walked the walk. Imagine the brand he could’ve created if his career overlapped with the TikTok era of social media.

One of my closest friends is an oncologist for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies on the planet. We often go cycling in the evenings to get some exercise, fresh air, and a break from our demanding lives. Last week he was sharing some of the intricacies of different types of cancer treatments. Surely, we all know someone who has been impacted by cancer, but how many of us have considered the importance of the right treatment? Interestingly, the way cancer is treated in the U.S. isn’t all that dissimilar to how inflation gets treated in the economy. I’ll withhold from calling myself a medical expert, even though the quality of my handwriting (which is abysmal) should give some measure of credibility. I do think that the comparisons between inflation and cancer treatment are worth discussing.