With the equity market plunge the talk of the trade over the first week in February, pundits offered a diversity of explanations as to why stock prices had turned so suddenly and a range of expectations for what’s to come. Though many pointed to the surge in interest rates as a reason for the downdraft in equities, less discussed was the impact on the rate shifts to fixed income investors. Though the sharp decline on February 5 led to a flight to relative safety in bonds, we acknowledge that the recent spike in yields still has negatively impacted fixed income returns in the near term. Even so, we continue to welcome higher rates as both a signal of a more properly functioning economy and as means for more fruitful long-terms returns for bond investors.