Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have been available to investors for more than 30 years. Initially, ETFs were best known for providing investors direct access to large indices – the S&P 500 and the TSX.

The first ETF was traded in the United States (U.S.) in 1989. It was called the Index Participation Shares (IPS) and was an S&P 500 proxy that traded on the American Stock Exchange and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. This new investment product was so new and misunderstood that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange filed a lawsuit to stop the sale of IPS in the U.S.

For almost half of human history, our ancestors moved with the four-legged food supplies of their respective areas, leaving only traces of their lives in the form of cave drawings, stone weapons, and tools.

Although home ownership may be less affordable than it was in the past, it is still open to many. And we can thank the Industrial Revolution, one of the greatest economic equalizers in human history, for this. Albeit slow, the transfer of wealth to the working class and entrepreneurs meant more people, in more places, could purchase and own their own home.

Another year is behind us. As we embark on another tour around the sun, like clockwork, forecasts are emerging about how markets and economies will look  in 2026. We read a lot of these – sometimes they are entertaining, sometimes they are enlightening. Rarely are they 100% correct.

Before we look at industry predictions for 2026, let’s take a quick look back at 2025.

The end is nigh… for the year that is.

And what a year it has been for investors! Trade wars, the rise of AI, outperformance by the technology sector, tariffs, interest rates… it’s enough to make your head spin. To bring some of this back down to earth, we decided to take a quick look back at some of the key events that shaped the investment landscape in 2025.

December 2 was Giving Tuesday, an annual day – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States (U.S.) – that is meant to be a counterbalance to the spending sprees of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It focuses on encouraging people to give back through donations, volunteering, acts of kindness, or sharing their skills. Giving Tuesday, which started in New York in 2012, is now a global catalyst for year-round giving. (1)

There is a lot of talk these days about a “K-shaped economy” in the United States (U.S.). References are being made by corporate executives, Wall Street analysts, and even Federal Reserve officials.

But just what is a “K-shaped economy” and why does it matter?

Global stock markets have been on the retreat recently due to growing concerns about sky-high stock valuations as well as anxiety about whether artificial intelligence (AI) will generate enough profits to justify the massive spending that is being poured (and continues to be poured) into supporting the development of AI technology.

The billion-dollar question here is, “When this will happen?”

As individuals, we need a large, diversified set of products and a host of services to live a comfortable life. These include commodities like metals and fuel, utilities like electricity and transportation, and services like healthcare and entertainment.

And we need food to eat.

Howard Marks wrote an interesting piece entitled “Cockroaches in the Coal Mine.” And he raised an important point.

According to Marks, when the economy is humming along -- companies reporting growing earnings, stock prices are rising and profits are increasing, people (aka investors) will say that risk is their friend. The investor approach is, “The more risk I take, the more money I will make.” These good times heighten positive news (even if it is ambiguous) and downplay negative news. Moreover, the longer the good times last, the more the possibility of loss recedes.

Disconnected… that is what stock markets and economies look like in 2025. There’s always been a difference between what happens on “Main Street” versus what happens on “Wall Street,” but today, the stock market and the economy might as well be on different planets.