Which Asset Classes Had the Best 2025?
Investors wondering which asset classes will outperform in 2026 might look back to 2025 for some guidance, since the trends that drove asset prices last year didn't end or reverse course on New Year's Eve.
Last year was definitely good for stocks, including U.S. equities. As measured by the S&P 500 index, which represents about 80% of the market capitalization of all U.S. public companies, the market climbed 16.4% last year. And that came after consecutive gains of more than 23% in 2023 and again in 2024. That's an impressive run, considering the long-term average annual gain for that index is less than 11%.
But U.S. stocks were not the best-performing asset class in 2025. International stocks from developed countries, as measured by the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (NYSEMKT: VEA), more than doubled the S&P 500 performance.
Source Fool.com
