Testing the waters - From waiting it out to wading in

Our previous outlook, Caught in a holding pattern, likened the quandary of investors seeking a place to put their money to the plight of a plane circling until cleared to land. A similar sense of delay persists today. Many wary market participants are sitting on high levels of cash and cash equivalents. Their rationale: Better to stand safely on shore — and earn what looks like a decent yield in today’s higher interest rate environment — than risk swimming in choppy and uncharted waters.