It’s rather easy to sum up 2024. “It exceeded expectations” is the most obvious way to put it. Even the most optimistic projections were well shy of the eye-catching gains investors experienced across equity and fixed income markets in 2024. Positive market surprises shouldn’t come as too much of a shock though, as the markets have a way of making forecasting the year ahead a futile and frustrating exercise. The markets don’t operate on a timeline dictated by forecasts, which is why we prefer to focus on the trends with any forecast, rather than try and hit the bullseye.

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As we look back, the end result was indeed a better outcome (at least at the time of writing). Yes, there was hand-wringing along the way, given the global landscape that included tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. elections and the ongoing war in Ukraine, but none of this translated into any meaningful market volatility. The S&P 500 Index, for example, got through the first 10 months of the year without a dip greater than 8.5% (which happened between July 16 and August 5).

Inflation continued to fall, central banks initiated an easing cycle, economic growth held in, and corporate profits grew. Whether we want to call it a soft landing, a mid-cycle slowdown or a resumption of a normal economic cycle, 2024 will go down as a resilient year that rewarded the patient investor.

Looking ahead to 2025 and the new, new normal

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