There are countless places to put your money: U.S. stocks, international stocks, small companies, large companies, bonds, gold, silver, oil, crypto, real estate and more. In any given year, the performance gap between these asset classes can be enormous.
2025 is a perfect example. The best-performing major asset (silver) returned over 130%. The worst performer (Solana) lost about 35%. An investor who put everything in one or the other would have wildly different results.
This is why diversification matters. No one consistently picks the winner each year, and last year’s best performer is often next year’s laggard. Owning a mix of assets smooths out returns over time.
Here’s how every major asset class performed in 2025.
U.S. Stock Market
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | +21% |
| U.S. Large Cap Growth (VUG) | +20% |
| S&P 500 (VOO/SPY) | +18% |
| Total U.S. Stock Market (VTI) | +17% |
| U.S. Large Cap Value (VTV) | +13% |
| Russell 2000 Small Caps (IWM) | +12% |
| U.S. Dividend Stocks (SCHD) | +4% |
The S&P 500 posted its third consecutive year of double-digit gains. Large-cap growth stocks, particularly in tech, continued to lead. The Nasdaq-100, heavy in AI-related companies, outpaced the broader market.
Growth stocks beat value stocks again. Large-cap growth returned 20% versus 13% for large-cap value. That’s now the eighth year out of the last ten that growth has outperformed value.
Small-cap stocks lagged significantly. The Russell 2000 returned about half of what large caps delivered.
Dividend-focused strategies had another rough year. SCHD, one of the most popular dividend ETFs, gained just 4%, hurt by its heavy energy exposure after oil prices collapsed.
International Stocks
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| Developed International (EFA) | +28% |
| Emerging Markets (EEM) | +28% |
International stocks crushed U.S. stocks in 2025. Developed markets and emerging markets returned close to 30%
This is a significant reversal. U.S. stocks had dominated international for over a decade prior. European markets rallied on improving economic conditions, and a weaker U.S. dollar boosted returns for American investors holding foreign assets.
Bonds
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| U.S. Aggregate Bond Market (AGG/BND) | +7% |
Bonds delivered a respectable 7% return in 2025, a welcome recovery after brutal losses in 2022 and lackluster performance in subsequent years. The Federal Reserve’s shift toward rate cuts provided tailwinds for fixed income.
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| Silver | +132% |
| Gold | +70% |
Precious metals dominated 2025. Gold broke through $4,400 per ounce and returned approximately 70%, its best performance since 1979.
Silver stole the show with a 132% gain. The metal surged from under $29 per ounce at the start of the year to nearly $70 by mid-December. Industrial demand from solar panels, electric vehicles and AI data centers combined with a fifth consecutive year of supply deficits to create explosive price action.
Cryptocurrency
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | -6% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | -12% |
| Solana (SOL) | -35% |
Crypto had a brutal 2025. After massive gains in 2024, all three major cryptocurrencies finished the year in the red.
Bitcoin reached all-time highs above $126,000 in October but fell back below $90,000 by December. Ethereum dropped from around $3,400 to under $3,000. Solana had the worst performance among major cryptos, falling from about $190 to roughly $125, with an all time high of $294 in between..
The “Bitcoin as digital gold” narrative took a serious hit in 2025. While actual gold surged 70% on its way to record highs above $4,400 per ounce, Bitcoin moved in the opposite direction and finished negative. The two assets that are often compared as stores of value and inflation hedges couldn’t have performed more differently.
Commodities
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| WTI Crude Oil | -20% |
Oil was the year’s biggest loser among major assets. WTI crude dropped from about $72 per barrel at the start of the year to around $57 by mid-December, a decline of approximately 20%.
Expectations of oversupply weighed on prices throughout the year, even as geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and elsewhere occasionally sparked rallies.
The Full Picture
| Asset Class | 2025 YTD Return |
| Silver | +132% |
| Gold | +70% |
| Emerging Markets | +32% |
| Developed International | +28% |
| Nasdaq-100 | +21% |
| U.S. Large Cap Growth | +20% |
| S&P 500 | +18% |
| Total U.S. Stock | +17% |
| U.S. Large Cap Value | +13% |
| Russell 2000 Small Caps | +12% |
| U.S. Bonds | +7% |
| U.S. Dividend Stocks | +4% |
| Bitcoin | -6% |
| Ethereum | -12% |
| Oil | -20% |
| Solana | -35% |
Key Takeaways
- Precious metals led everything. Silver’s 132% gain was the standout performance of 2025, followed by gold’s 70% surge.
- International stocks beat U.S. stocks. This hasn’t happened consistently in over a decade. Developed and emerging markets both outperformed the S&P 500.
- Growth beat value again. Large-cap growth returned 20% versus 13% for value, extending growth’s dominance to eight of the last ten years.
- Large caps beat small caps. The Russell 2000 returned about half what the S&P 500 delivered.
- Dividend strategies lagged badly. SCHD’s 4% return significantly trailed the broader market.
- Bonds bounced back. A 7% return for aggregate bonds marked a solid recovery year.
- “Bitcoin as digital gold” fell apart. Gold surged 70% while Bitcoin fell 6%. These supposedly similar assets moved in completely opposite directions.
- Crypto crashed across the board. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana all finished negative after huge 2024 gains.
- Oil collapsed. A 20% decline made crude one of the worst major asset classes of the year.
What This Means for Investors
If you owned a diversified portfolio in 2025, you likely captured some of the gains from precious metals and international stocks while avoiding the full impact of oil’s decline or Bitcoin’s volatility.
That’s diversification working as intended. You won’t have the best returns in any given year, but you also won’t have the worst. Over time, that consistency compounds.
Past performance doesn’t predict future results. The assets that led in 2025 may lag in 2026, and vice versa. The lesson isn’t to chase whatever performed best this year. It’s to own a mix of assets and stay the course.
Note: All returns are approximate and based on data available as of December 19, 2025. Returns include dividends where applicable.
