The Fed raised rates in September and signaled more to come, landing on households that coverage calls stretched. Yields above 5% fed panic talk and selective bargain hunting, while Warsh's Fed faced questions about whether it can deliver price stability.
Boards, regulators and pension giants like CalPERS and OMERS argued over who should steer portfolios, while Fitch, SLR and Oaktree flagged private credit defaults and weak recoveries, fraud cases widened, and private equity sat on 33,575 unsold companies.
Treasury and the IRS moved against 351 ETF conversions and other tax-aware strategies while RIAs bought CPA firms and repriced toward flat fees. Consumers kept spending even as confidence slid, and donors from MacKenzie Scott to Bezos kept giving.