Your Financial 2025 Wrapped

The year is almost over. Before you close the book on this year, let's look at what actually happened.

Think of this as your financial year in review—Spotify Wrapped style. The data doesn't lie. It just tells us things we didn't necessarily want to know. Like that the S&P 500 had 37 all-time highs this year, but we spent most of April convinced the global economy was imperiled.

Here's your year in money, wrapped.

Your 2025 in one word: Whiplash

The S&P 500 gained about 16% this year so far. But that number hides the real story:

• January-February: Cautious optimism (new highs!)
• March: Unease (tariff talk begins)
• April: Pure chaos (10.5% drop in 2 days, then 9.5% gain in one)
• May-June: Relief rally
• July-August: Tech euphoria (Nvidia hits $4 trillion)
• September-October: Crypto carnage ($19B liquidation day)
• November-December: Surprisingly resilient



If you felt all of these emotions, you were paying attention.

If you didn't, perhaps you had a good financial plan.

Your mind on your money and your money on your mind

These five questions dominated your conversations with us in 2025:

1. "Should I do a Roth conversion?"
2. "Am I invested enough in Tech/AI? Wait. Am I too invested in Tech/AI?" 
3. "Is this tariff thing going to tank my portfolio?"
4. "Can I retire yet?"
5. "How do I use my wealth to help others?" 



Sound familiar? You weren't alone.

Word of the Year: Tariffs (Tarrifs? Tarifs?)

None of us could spell it consistently, but we all learned what it meant for markets:

• April 3-4: Market drops 10.5% (4th worst two-day stretch since 1950)
• April 7: VIX hits 60.1 (fear index goes wild)
• April 9: S&P surges 9.52% in ONE day (biggest gain since 2008)
• April 9: Heaviest volume day in Wall Street history with 30 billion shares traded 
• June 27: Markets fully recovered



The lesson: Markets can fall apart and put themselves back together too quickly for anyone to profitably trade the headlines.

The Magnificent 7 became The Pretty Good 7

The Mag 7 now represent 34% of the S&P 500 (up from 12.3% in 2015).

• Pop Quiz! Can you name all seven?
• YTD return: Around 25%
• 10-year annualized return: 37.6%
• Only 3 of the 7 beat the S&P 500 this year: Alphabet (up 64%!), Nvidia, and Tesla
• Big moment: Nvidia became the first company to hit a $4 trillion market cap

Answer: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla

Your top Genre: AI Everything

From your questions about tech exposure to debates about sustainability, 2025 was the year AI went from buzzword to portfolio concern. The Mag 7 spent billions on infrastructure. Markets rewarded some (Nvidia), questioned others (Apple), and punished a few (Tesla's early struggles).



The takeaway: AI is real. So is the risk of everyone crowding into the same bet.

October 10, 2025: CRYPT-OH-NO!

Threats of new tariffs, overleverage and systematic algorithm trading saw nearly $1 trillion in crypto market value evaporate in one day. Bitcoin dropped 15%. Ether fell 14%. Crypto operates on a different scale of chaos.

Wipe that smug look off your face, US Dollar. The almighty buck fell 10.7% against major world currencies in the first half of the year. It was the worst plummet in 50 years.

Fresh, New Policy Dropped: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Signed July 4, 2025. Here's what changed your tax life:

• Extra $6,000 deduction for seniors 65+ (income limits apply)
• SALT cap raised to $40,000 (for incomes under $500k)
• No tax on tips, overtime, or car loan interest (temporary, many rules)
• Child tax credit: $2,200
• TCJA made permanent (tax brackets, deductions, etc. aren't expiring)

Why it matters: This shaped your year-end planning, especially Roth conversions and QCDs. You can read our summary on our website or by clicking here. (Shout out to summer intern, Junah Jeong for her hard work on this piece)

Your 2025 Stats

Market Performance YTD:

• S&P 500: +16%
• Nasdaq: +23%
• Dow Jones: +14%
• Russell 2000: +14%
• All-time highs hit this year: 37
• Days you checked your portfolio: No judgement
• Average S&P annual return since 1950: 11.5%

Behind the scenes: 2025 at Dyer & Co.

• Number of meetings that Caroline Hawkins has been a part of since joining: 43
• Hours worked by our outstanding summer intern, Junah Jeong: 562
• Cans of Harris Teeter seltzer consumed on site: Untold dozens
• Combined years of client relationships: 116
• Longest relationship: 7+ years
• Newest client: Welcomed two weeks ago
• Number of YouTube videos about bananas created: 1 (check it out here!)
• Business days spent stressing about our mock audit (we passed!): 5



Closing: What 2025 Taught Us

Markets don't care about your feelings. They don't care if you're worried about tariffs, exhausted by AI hype, or convinced another crash is coming. They just... go. Sometimes up, sometimes down, often sideways.

The people who did well in 2025 weren't the ones who predicted the April crash or the June recovery.

They were the ones who:

• Had a plan and stuck to it
• Took advantage of the appropriate planning opportunities
• Rebalanced
• Funded their donor advised funds with generosity
• Didn't panic
• Consulted us after brainstorming with ChatGPT

That's not flashy or wrapped in a bow. But it works.

Here's to 2026. 🥂

Thank you for reading. If you liked this content, please share with a friend. You can always reach us by replying to this email or at 704-323-6872.