The year felt like a stress test wrapped in a plot twist: a spring selloff on tariff fears, a quick reset, and a powerful finish powered by heavyweights. Andy, Jake and Mark walk through the real drivers behind the numbers—how a 19% drawdown and an 8% wobble hid inside a “good year.” Plus, why market leadership looks unusually concentrated, and what makes today’s earnings story different from the dot-com era. No crystal balls here, just clear context and a focus on decisions that actually move the needle for long-term investors.

We dig into the global picture as well. Developed international and emerging markets finally showed some life, helped by a weaker dollar that lifted returns for U.S.-based investors. On the fixed income side, bonds did their boring, beautiful thing: they provided ballast when stocks stumbled and finished positive as the yield curve started to look normal again. (Oh yeah, we explain what a yield curve is!) Starting yields matter, and they tell a better story now than at any point in the near-zero rate era.

Policy and headlines gave us plenty to chew on too: tariffs that started scary but moderated with negotiation, consumer debt stories that missed the key metric of debt service ratios, and high-profile tech layoffs set against an unemployment rate still near full-employment territory. We close with a contrarian insight that keeps proving itself: when sentiment is bleak, forward returns tend to improve. The “wall of worry” is real, and it’s climbable with diversification, patience, and a plan built for years, not months.

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