August was a challenging month for equity investors following two solidly positive gains in June and July. Contributing to the August equity performance was weakness seen across the seven large-cap technology leaders that have paced the 2023 equity market rally. Against this backdrop, the VIX Index or “fear gauge,” which started the month at a little under 14, ended the month relatively flat. For the full month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 2.4%, the S&P 500® index was down 1.8%, and the smaller cap-weighted Russell 2000® decreased 5.2%.