Markets didn’t make it easy in 2025. The year started with a familiar mix of anxiety and headlines, as trade tensions flared after the US raised tariffs to levels not seen since the 1930s. Investors reacted quickly - and sharply. By early April, developed market equities were down 16.5%, and it briefly felt like the market was bracing for something much worse.

Then, as often happens, the narrative shifted. The second half of the year brought a clearer focus on what actually matters for markets: policy support and liquidity. Fiscal spending picked up, central banks stayed accommodative, and investors gradually leaned back into risk. The result was a broad-based rally that lifted almost everything. By year end, developed market equities had not only recovered but finished up 21.6%, and 2025 became the first year since the pandemic where every major asset class ended in positive territory - a timely reminder that markets have a habit of climbing walls of worry.

Bartizan Monthly Market Summary - 2025-11-30.pdf

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