Nicklaus: After a strong three-year period, equities are more expensive but still attractive | business

Ken Crawford, senior portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management in Clayton, thinks that won’t be a problem. “You would rather have a strong economy and the need to put on the brakes than the opposite situation where the economy is weak,” he said. “Historically, it was a good time to own stocks now that the Fed is raising rates.”

Stocks can also do well during an inflationary environment. In recent conference calls, companies from restaurant chain Chipotle to industrial giant 3M said they were passing cost increases on to customers.

The only signs of 1999-esque foam in today’s financial markets are on the fringe, not in the mainstream. Cryptocurrencies, so-called meme stocks and special purpose acquisition companies were among the assets that saw both booms and busts in 2021.

Those signs of foam aren’t alarming Norman Conley, chief investment officer at JAG Capital Management in Ladue. “It’s not bubbling in the S&P 500,” he said. “It has been a local phenomenon. … As far as exuberance or foam on the market, it could be that crypto or the SPAC craze is acting almost like pressure relief valves.”