The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey rose to 67.9 in August, the first time the index has seen an increase in five months. Despite still falling short of economist estimates, consumers' short and long-term economic outlooks also improved, rising to the highest levels since April of this year.

Mercer US Chief Investment Officer Olaolu Aganga sits down with Catalysts to discuss the state of the consumer in this economic environment as the Federal Reserve stated its intent to cut interest rates.

"There is some pain with the consumer," Aganga says of the data, "but this is expected. The goal was to slow things down a bit and bring inflation lower and we're starting to see that."

Aganga also lays out catalysts ahead that could help consumers feel more comfortable going forward, beginning with the Fed. "They're monitoring rates. That feeds into mortgage rates, lending rates, the average things that you see, they had to bring it down from a consumer standpoint."

Aganga also finds geopolitics can be "destabilizing," but points to the election as an event that could bring "alignment" amid uncertainties.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts.

This post was written by Cheyenne Reid.