December 2021 Monthly Index Returns

Happy new year! We hope everyone had a wonderful 2021 and we are really looking forward to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2022 for you and your families.

As this is the last monthly index total return comparison for 2021, the bullet points below are more focused on annual returns.

In equities:

All indexes shown had positive, double digit returns in 2021 except for emerging markets, which declined by -2.5% for the year.
Some stats related to the S&P 500 for the year:
- it jumped 28.7% in 2021, which followed gains of 18.4% in 2020 and 31.5% in 2019
- its 3-year annualized return is now an astounding 26.1%
- it hit 70 new highs during 2021
US REITs had the highest equity returns for the year, returning 45.9%. Global REITS were also a top performer earning a 35.0% return
Large growth gained 27.6% while small value earned a slightly larger 28.3%

In Fixed Income:

Fixed income returns were very mixed in 2021
- Munis (across the curve), inflation protected securities and high yield saw positive returns
- Treasuries, corporates, and non-US bonds were largely negative returning
  - 10+ Year Treasuries lost -4.6% for the year. As a reference point, the 10 Year Treasury at the start of 2021 was 0.93% and rose to 1.52% at year end.
- ST TIPS gained 5.5%, even outpacing high yield's 5.3%

As always, please let us know if you have any questions at support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com.

As an additional note, please keep in mind that these reflect historical performance of the current models, not necessarily how accounts were invested in the past.