For many, the dawn of October, November, and December means readying themselves with pumpkins, turkeys, and holiday gifts, but for bankers, lawyers, and dealmakers, the fourth quarter signifies the year-end sprint to sign deals before everyone disappears for the December holidays. In Q4 2022, however, that sprint was more of a jog as the typical year-end surge in deal activity never quite materialized.During the fourth quarter of 2022, the BeautyMatter Deal Index tracked 79 deals, a 28.8% decline from Q4 2021 and a 12.2% and 9.2% decline from Q4 2020 and 2019, respectively. In fact, the entire back half of 2022 was a bit slow. 2022 deal activity for July through December was down 28.1% versus the same period last year and down 9.3% and 15.6% versus 2020 and 2019. This was a far cry from the beginning of the year when deal activity was down just 2.9% versus 2021 and up a staggering 85.0% and 94.1% versus 2020 and 2019. The 2022 fizzle in the back half of the year is largely reflective of the increasing uncertainty and perceived risk that was introduced into the market as the year unfolded in the form of global, geopolitical turmoil, the highest rate of inflation in a generation, the Fed’s reaction to that inflation, and highly volatile capital markets.