2025 Q4 Quarterly Investment Report

An excerpt from our 2025 Q4 Quarterly Investment Report:

Global equity markets rose in the fourth quarter to cap another year of double-digit gains, the third in succession. The potential of AI remained the focus of speculation and a main market driver. In addition, strong corporate earnings, resilient economic growth, easing monetary policy, and the prospect of considerable fiscal stimulus ahead also contributed to the U.S. equity market’s solid performance, despite the uncertainty created by sharp swings in trade and other macro policies. U.S. Treasury prices rose in the fourth quarter. Yields across the maturity spectrum closed 2025 below their levels at the start of the year. Investment grade and high yield credit markets also rose in the quarter. Credit spreads remain quite compressed. The U.S. dollar rose slightly in the quarter but closed the year down nearly 10%. Gold prices, in contrast, soared, rising 12% in the quarter and 64% for the year. Plagued by oversupply, oil prices closed the year down nearly 20%.