While the bond market exhibited signs of concern, equities continued to rally. With its third straight month of positive returns, the S&P 500 notched its best quarterly return since the third quarter of 2009. After a below-average February, the volatility of the S&P 500 increased in March, back to its five-year average. The volatility of the S&P 500 began the month below the 18% volatility threshold of the S&P Managed Risk Index and remained below it the entire month. The U.S. dollar rose 0.7% in March.