As we reflect on 2025, we are reminded that uncertainty and volatility are normal in markets, and this past year was no exception. Throughout the year, we were faced with a steady flow of economic news, geopolitical developments, and shifting expectations about growth, inflation, and interest rates.

While these events often moved markets in the short term, successful investing depends less on predicting what comes next and far more about maintaining discipline through changing conditions.

With that we are happy to share with you our 2025 Annual Market Review.

MARKET SUMMARY

• US stocks delivered another strong year, marking three strong years in a row and eight up years in the past ten. This year’s gain was supported by steady economic growth, improving corporate earnings, and a continued upward trend in stock valuation metrics. Though a small number of large tech firms continue to dominate the broad indexes (e.g., the S&P 500), there was very broad optimism around stocks generally: Practically all slices of the US market showed double-digit returns, including smaller, mid-size, large, value, and growth stocks.
• International stocks, both developed and emerging, outdid their US counterparts by the widest margin since 1993, serving as a reminder of the potential benefits of a globally diversified portfolio. Again, support was unusually broad: Nearly all developed countries had positive market returns in 2025. Of note was China’s 31% gain, a large and notable market which had been showing modest returns in recent prior years.
• Bonds provided a reasonable return through a combination of income and modest principal appreciation, while the spread between corporate bond rates and treasury bond rates continued to trend at or near all-time lows, suggesting a generous appetite for credit risk among market participants.
• The Fed reduced short-term interest rates by 0.75% while long-term interest rates stayed comparatively stable, creating a meaningful gap between short and long-term interest rates for the first time since the Zero-Interest-Rate Policy (ZIRP) era ended in 2022 – a so-called upward sloping yield curve.

Looking ahead, markets will undoubtedly present new challenges and opportunities. While we can’t control future headlines, we can control how we respond to them.

Your financial plan is built to navigate this uncertainty and support your long-term objectives, not to chase short-term predictions.

Thank you for your continued trust and confidence. If your goals, circumstances, or priorities have changed—or if you simply want to revisit your plan— we encourage you to reach out.