Wow, 2024 has flown by!
Where does the investing time go??
Once again, while Joe and I were pleased to observe how the 2024 investing year went – overall – we’re cautiously optimistic about the 2025 investing year ahead.
We probably have every right to be…maybe you do too!
At the time of writing this post just before the holidays, returns of key low-cost ETFs we follow and own have delivered the following:
Mark’s key equity ETFs:
- XAW – up over 25% YTD.
- QQQ – up over 30% YTD.
Joe’s key equity ETF beyond owning XAW himself:
- VTI – up over 25% YTD.
Pretty amazing stuff.
That’s on the backs of 2023 which was another great investing year where all these key ETFs above were also up double-digits.
Will 2025 be as good?
We doubt it.
That’s not because we don’t think it could happen nor because it hasn’t happened in the past but it’s not likely to happen – some “return to the mean” should be expected at some point. We think 2025 could be that investing year.
For fun and interest, here’s a look at the S&P 500 for some recent investing returns, prior to 2023 and 2024:
S&P 500 Historical Returns
| Year | Annual Returns With Dividends |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 37.20% |
| 1996 | 22.68% |
| 1997 | 33.10% |
| 1998 | 28.34% |
| 1999 | 20.89% |
| 2000 | -9.03% |
| 2001 | -11.85% |
| 2002 | -21.97% |
| 2003 | 28.36% |
| 2004 | 10.74% |
| 2005 | 4.83% |
| 2006 | 15.61% |
| 2007 | 5.48% |
| 2008 | -36.55 |
| 2009 | 25.94% |
| 2010 | 14.82% |
| 2011 | 2.10% |
| 2012 | 15.89% |
| 2013 | 32.15% |
| 2014 | 13.52% |
| 2015 | 1.38% |
| 2016 | 11.77 |
| 2017 | 21.61 |
| 2018 | -4.23 |
| 2019 | 31.21% |
| 2020 | 18.02% |
| 2021 | 28.47% |
| 2022 | -18.01% |
Source: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern School of Business
With 2025 just around the corner, we figured we’d share some of our favourite posts from 2024 that really resonated with our readers and members, posts that got some media attention, and/or posts that added value to many brand-new visitors to our site.
We hope you enjoy our list for your holiday downtime!
Best Posts of 2024
January
This month, we read the book Die with Zero and provided a giveaway copy of that book as well to one lucky reader!
Our summary:
“Die With Zero is a very quick personal finance read, one that offers some time and ideas for reflection, which might be an enabler to put a much more robust retirement income and asset decumulation plan together on your terms.”
That said, while we love the idea (die with zero), it’s not very practical for many reasons.
We would love your take!
February
The concept of Loud Budgeting took off in 2024 – so we wrote a post about that and our take on that subject too.
We wrote:
“If putting your financial goals on social media helps you with the mechanical and behavioural sides of personal finance and investing, like many bloggers do, then feel free to post and publish away.”
March
In March, we shared some very practical ways to determine your retirement number.
In that post, we also wrote the following since while stock markets do go up over time…watch the downside too.
“So, beyond volatility of +/- 5% stock market declines every few months that some corrections could be at least 20% and the stock market could remain “down” for about 1.5 years.”
April
In April, thanks to much reader feedback and questions, we shared this post:
What are your top-5 stocks and why?
May
Also thanks to reader and member feedback, folks were curious about any Bucket Approach for retirement income planning and how we might employ that approach ourselves as we enter semi-retirement.
Can it work?
We said “yes” and offer up this 1-2 bucket approach combination / asset approach for most investors as they enter retirement:
- Bucket 1 – short-term spending needs (cash, GICs, other near-term assets are pooled together), leaving
- Bucket 2 – long-term equities or a balanced portfolio matched to the investors’ tolerance for stock market risk.
What approach do you use or will you use?
June
In June, even with interest rates dropping and expected to drop even more in the coming year or so into early 2025, we thought we would post and answer this question on our site:
Should You Invest in a High-Interest ETF?
Read on for our answer! We would like to hear your answer too!
July
This month, somewhat as a follow-up to our Top-5 Stocks post, we shared with all readers and members how we manage each 7-figure portfolio respectively.
While Joe and I (Mark) have very similar investor philosophies, you might be surprised to learn we don’t have the same portfolios at all. :)
August
This month was the start of a major bull market run for the coming months.
In reflecting on that, we wondered what asset class returns (including domestic or global stocks) might be in the years ahead?
In that post, we mentioned the following that we still believe in, for 2025:
“We believe in recent years, given the poor extended returns of international markets, it might be time for international large-cap stocks to shine. So far, in 2024, that slight prediction on our part is coming true. This is mainly due to the risk premium involved. International stocks are generally riskier than U.S. stocks and investors should expect to be compensated for taking on this additional investment risk.”
Based on our work with dozens upon dozens of clients in 2024, we leveraged the asset class return standards released and published annually by The FP Canada Standards Council. You can still get your FREE copy too:
You can download your own free copy here for the 2024 edition!
September
So many of our clients and members want to retire by age 60. Well, to support those DIY investors we put together this free case study to demonstrate what your portfolio value might need to be, to consider retirement by age 60.
How do your numbers line up?
October
As stocks continued to soar, many indexes reaching new weekly all-time-highs this fall, we updated this post to share if you can retire just using your TFSA.
For younger investors, with a very long investing time horizon, we think you can. :)
November
From our post this month, we believe:
“Everyone has a different emotional make-up and lesser version of themself. Plus, experiences and circumstances can shape your attitudes towards risk and return.”
In working with hundreds of clients/members on this site via our low-cost services, we can confirm no two (2) DIY investor portfolios, spending goals, income needs, and taxation strategies are exactly the same.
With that to share and more, here are some of the investing principles we believe in.
December
Finally, just a few weeks ago, year-end marks the time of year to take advantage of the many taxation tips and tricks available. As an aspiring retiree or for someone now in retirement, here is what we’ve learned to support you: these top tax tips for retirees.
Our Best to You in 2025!
Knowing how to save and invest wisely is just one part of the investing equation.
We know – we’ve been working on our respective asset accumulation plans for the last 20 years!
But moving into 2025, both Joe and I are looking at more work on our own terms. This means, we will really ramp up our respective asset decumulation plans while we continue to support other DIY investors with that same need.
Asset decumulation is a personal puzzle. Not two portfolios, spending plans, estate/legacy ideas are the same. Nor should they be.
We enjoy helping different DIY investors who have different objectives and goals…and it’s something we’ll continue to do in 2025.
As DIY investors ourselves, a reminder we offer up our time and expertise to help other DIY investors; we’ve been more than happy to support hundreds of clients at the time of this post in just a few short years.
We know we can help you out too at a low-cost compared to pretty much any services charged by others!
If you are interested in obtaining private projections for your personal financial scenario, read more about our retirement projections services.
A reminder to all loyalty members who have previously used our services in 2024, you’ll get a phenomenal 50% discount off any future retirement income projections reports tailored to you in 2025.
To new members, well, you’ll be eligible for that returning deep discount as soon as you work with us.
To all loyalty members, new members and readers in between, thanks very much for your engagement on this site, comments in our inbox, and work with us in 2024. We look forward to updating and sharing more content on this site along with continuing our low-cost service delivery model in 2025 to all Canadians.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes,
Mark and Joe.