What 2025 Taught Us About Staying the Course

A bumpy year reminds us why patience pays off

If you watched the news in 2025, you probably felt stressed about your investments. Tariff battles. A 43-day government shutdown. Interest rate changes. AI worries. The headlines were all over the place.

But here's what actually happened: the S&P 500 gained almost 18% for the year. That's three years in a row of double-digit gains.

The lesson? What feels scary in the moment often looks very different when you zoom out.

A Year of Headlines (and Resilience):

Let's look at what investors faced in 2025. The chart below shows the market's path through the year, along with the major news events that made people nervous.

Chart: Market Events of 2025. This chart tracks the MSCI All Country World Index throughout 2025. Notice how the market dropped sharply in early April when tariffs were announced. But it recovered and kept climbing. By year's end, global stocks finished up over 22%. The headlines that seemed so important? They were just noise along the way.

In April, when tariffs were announced, stocks took a big hit. Many people panicked. But investors who stayed patient saw the market bounce back as trade deals came together.

Key insight: April 2025 was one of the most volatile months in recent history. But if you checked your portfolio on April 1st and again on May 1st, you would have thought the market was calm. The wild swings in between didn't show up in the final numbers.

The Big Picture: 100 Years of Growth:

Here's something powerful to think about. We now have 100 years of stock market data to study. The chart below shows two ways to view the same history.

Chart: Two Views of the Market (1926-2025). The bars show yearly returns—some years up big, some years down big. It looks like chaos. But the yellow line tells a different story. That's what happened to $1 invested in 1926. Despite wars, recessions, pandemics, and countless scary headlines, that dollar grew to over $10,000. The bumps along the way? They're hard to even see from this view.

When you look year by year, the market seems wild. Big gains. Big losses. It's hard to predict what comes next.

But when you step back and look at the whole picture, you see steady growth over time. An investor who stayed the course through the Great Depression, World War II, the 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19 would have seen their money grow dramatically.

What This Means for You:

Key Takeaways from 2025

• U.S. stocks gained 17.9% despite all the scary headlines

• International stocks did even better while developed markets outside the U.S. gained nearly 32%

• Diversification worked. Investors who owned stocks around the world were rewarded

• Doing nothing was a great strategy. Those who stayed invested captured the gains

It's natural to want to react when markets get bumpy. When the news is bad, our gut tells us to do something. But history shows us that doing nothing is often the best move.

Markets have faced wars, recessions, political crises, and global pandemics. They've always recovered. The investors who did best were the ones who stayed in their seats.

Looking Ahead:

Nobody knows what 2026 will bring. There will be headlines that make us nervous. There will be days when the market drops and we wonder if this time is different.

But if history teaches us anything, it's this: time in the market beats timing the market. The best thing you can do is have a plan that fits your goals and stick with it.

That's what building a solid retirement blueprint is all about.

Important Disclosure: This article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Market data referenced is from Dimensional Fund Advisors' 2025 Year-End Review. Please consult with a qualified financial professional, such as a Certified Financial Planner, before making investment decisions.