Dear Clients,

During these hot and steamy summer months we offer you a brief but hopefully insightful summery of our thoughts below. For those of you following along I recorded a podcast on international markets that will be available to you before mid-September. In the meantime, please reach out to our fantastic advisors and financial professionals for in-depth analysis into what Equitable and EIM can offer. As always, we emphasize the importance of staying invested and maintaining a diversified portfolio to achieve long-term success.

Market Overview:

Considering YTD market, sector and asset class volatility, alongside the macroeconomic challenges of tariff and Fed policy uncertainty, the S&P 500, and investors alike are still showing resilience.

Asset Class Highlights:

• Remember, the S&P 500 Index had two consecutive years of +25% performance before facing 1H2025 volatility.

• Developed international markets, represented by the MSCI EAFE, outperformed domestic markets with over 19% growth compared to the S&P 500's 6.2%, as of August 5, 2025.

• High yield bonds continue to perform well, reflecting economic resilience.

• The S&P 500 is heavily concentrated, with the top ten names comprising almost 40% of the market cap, indicating a narrow focus in large-cap growth sectors.

Sector Rotation:

• Throughout the first half of 2025 there have been notable rotations in sector performance. Information technology, particularly the "MAG 7" stocks, dominated at the end of 2024, and now, Industrials and Utilities are leading the pack of best-performing sectors (as of the 7/31/25), illustrating increased market breadth.

Interest Rates and Fed Policy:

• The yield curve has steepened significantly year-over-year, with long-term rates remaining high. We believe this trend is due to factors including the national deficit, an already raised debt ceiling and large 2025 refinancing needs yet to come.

• Recent economic data suggests potential interest rate cuts with Fed fund futures implying two 25 basis point moves by year-end.

These points highlight the dynamic nature of the market and the importance of diversification and understanding investor behavior in navigating volatility. As described by prospect theory, investors tend to sell during market downturns due to loss aversion, and often re-enter the market when it feels safer, typically when prices are higher. We say, stay the course and diversify, diversify, diversify.

Market Observations as of 8/5/2025, subject to change and not to be used, or interpreted, as a recommendation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Definitions:

S&P 500 Index is a weighted index of common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy, capturing 75% coverage of U.S. equities. The index is capitalization weighted, thereby giving greater weight to companies with the largest market capitalizations.

Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000® Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. It is market-capitalization weighted.

A basis point (BPS) is a unit of measure used to indicate percentage changes in financial instruments. Basis points are typically expressed with the abbreviations "bp," "bps," or "bips." One basis point is equal to 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01%. In decimal form, one basis point appears as 0.0001 (0.01/100).

Information provided in this newsletter is general in nature, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) as of the stated date of their contribution and any such views and opinions are subject to change at any time based on market, or other conditions, and are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice. Securities and sectors referenced should not be construed as a solicitation or recommendation, or be used as the sole basis for any investment decision.

All investments contain risk and may lose value. Statements concerning financial market trends or portfolio strategies are based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate. There is no guarantee that these investment strategies will work under all market conditions or are appropriate for all investors and each investor should evaluate their ability to invest for the long term, especially during periods of downturn in the market. Outlook and strategies are subject to change without notice.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Portfolio re-balancing and diversification do not guarantee a profit or protection against loss in a declining market.

No guarantee or representation is made that investment objectives and/or opinions stated will be achieved. The experience of each specific client or investor may vary.

Due to the subjective aspect of these analyses, the effective evolution of the economic variables and values of the financial markets could be significantly different from the projections, forecasts, anticipations and hypotheses, which are communicated in this material.

Quick Takes feature commentary from subadvisors of investment portfolios that are available through model portfolios, mutual funds variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable America) (AZ stock company) with an administrative office located in Charlotte, NC, and Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial) (NY, NY), and mutual fund products.  Variable annuities and variable life insurance products are co-distributed through Equitable Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI and TN) and Equitable Distributors, LLC.

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GE-8280261.1 (08/2025) (Exp. 08/2029)