2025 Investment Performance Thread

[audreyh1]

11.74% for 2025 on a ~55/45 portfolio.

 

[Fermion]

I think YTD we are at about 12% portfolio gain after all spending withdrawal. Really doesn't sound as good as you guys but I have a decent chunk in a IRA that is throwing off a 72T and I have it in ~4.8% treasuries for some reason or another. We wouldn't even be at 12% had I not made a Roth biotech play on the very last trading day of the year that added about $60,000 to the Roth balance.

I think I have too many bonds :-( Was going to move the new Roth money into more bonds but now considering dumping it into S&P500 index.

 

[Winemaker]

13.79%

 

[MRG]

My self managed Fidelity accounts are up 17.96% in 2025. It's at 85/15% AA.

Vanguard under PAS has returned a little over 15%. I had them change the AA from 50/50 to 60/40. I talked to him in 1Q. He made that move on April 9th, and 10th nailing the lows. I gotta give him a hard time about market timing.

 

[imjustawarrior]

Really doesn't sound as good as you guys

I think a lot of people are reporting portfolio return not portfolio net increase. At least that is what I'm doing.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I think a lot of people are reporting portfolio return not portfolio net increase. At least that is what I'm doing.

+1. Yep. While my returns that is reported on Fidelity said +18.12%, actual portfolio increase is only 12% because we spent quite a bit of the money (and paid taxes).

 

[treeofpain]

We are up 18% for 2025. This will go down a bit in '26 because I just retired on 12/31.

 

[Koogie]

12.81% return for 2025. 11 year average is now 6.18%

Portfolio is 45FI and 55EQ at the moment.

Still w*rking part time.

 

[jimbee]

Just over 13% with a 60% equity/40% fixed asset allocation. Calculated using the money chimp investment performance website. Includes all monetary assets, IRAs, after tax accounts, checking, savings, HSAs, sinking funds, etc.

 

[audreyh1]

I think a lot of people are reporting portfolio return not portfolio net increase. At least that is what I'm doing.

What’s the difference? Do you mean the return after withdrawals are taken into account - that is the true return.

 

[FD1000]

Another year with returns above 11%. Since January 2018, my portfolio has averaged annual returns of over 11%, achieved with approximately 97% invested in bond open-end funds, while never experiencing a drawdown of more than 1% from any prior peak.

These results include all of our assets across every account—brokerage firms, credit unions, and banks.

See the blue line in the chart.

 

[wingfooted]

Q4 and full year 2025 investment return, time weighted inclusive of dividends, interest and mark to market gains / losses. And exclusive of any withdrawals / additions during the period.

All stocks, slightly levered

Q4 Result +6.6%, handily beating the SP500 benchmark (SPX) of 2.7% for the fourth quarter.

Full year 2025 result +21.1%, beating the SPX benchmark of 17.9%.

I was happy with year, particularly as overweight positions in AMZN and energy were largely flat, the later despite crude oil prices retreating $15 for the year. The April ‘Liberation Day’ downdraft was extremely stressful, proud I didn’t loose my cool.

Positives were

1) The chip names - SMH and NVDA
2) Guessing right on CVX winning their Guyana arbitration case and HES spiking to the upside
3) Short HIMS position
4) Quite a slug of covered call and naked put option income spread over the entire year.

And now the slate is wiped clean - the mistakes and triumphs of 2025 swept away. 2026 starts on Friday open at zero.

 

[RetiredHappy]

What’s the difference? Do you mean the return after withdrawals are taken into account - that is the true return.

The difference is that portfolio returns are calculated based on the part of the portfolio that remains year to year, which is the true return. When you sell and withdraw the investments, that reduces the total value of the portfolio. The increase / decrease year-to-year is not the same as portfolio return.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

I probably should have posted this here instead of the Is Your Portfolio At A High? thread, but I'll post it again in this thread.

2025 Investment Performance:

1/1/2025: Portfolio + savings balance: $1,619,869.32

1/1/2026: Portfolio + savings balance: $1,816,583.48

= 12.1438% increase over the past 12 months.

I'll take it.

Edit: This includes 6 months of earnings, but also 6 months of post-retirement spending in retirement so I'll call it a wash.

Next year's numbers will be more accurate as far as investment performance goes.

 

[imjustawarrior]

What’s the difference? Do you mean the return after withdrawals are taken into account - that is the true return.

Portfolio returns is what the portfolio returns. Net increase is the increase after withdrawals.

 

[Fermion]

Right, so if your portfolio was down to $19,000 and you had a 50% return, you would post that, even though you withdrew $28,000 and are now broke.

 

[Fermion]

So I have to amend my post and subtract out spending....that is a tough one as I sold some gold and silver. I am just going to guess here then and say total portfolio "return" was 15.6% (not counting spending withdrawals)

 

[imjustawarrior]

So I have to amend my post and subtract out spending....that is a tough one as I sold some gold and silver. I am just going to guess here then and say total portfolio "return" was 15.6% (not counting spending withdrawals)

You don't have to. I was just explaining why your return number may be smaller than other return numbers. Different people use different definitions. That is okay. It is just nice if people are clear about the information they are providing.

 

[AudiDudi]

Well, I beat the S&P and the DOW, but the Nasdaq got me by about a point.

 

[lem1955]

Portfolio increased 10.4% with 67/33 AA, and purchase of one new car for DW and one used car for DS, plus some great vacations - including 3 weeks in South Africa, 3 weeks in NC, 1 week in CA, and 1 week in UT.

 

[street]

You don't have to. I was just explaining why your return number may be smaller than other return numbers. Different people use different definitions. That is okay. It is just nice if people are clear about the information they are providing.

Differences are OK IMO too. Some people are still working and contributing large amounts on a monthly basis also.
When I do YTD I'm all in expenses included to come up with a percentage. I use Moneychimp.

 

[Fermion]

Differences are OK IMO too. Some people are still working and contributing large amounts on a monthly basis also.
When I do YTD I'm all in expenses included to come up with a percentage. I use Moneychimp.

Complicated too, even with that. Consider a person who chooses to take SS at 62 vs someone else the same age, same portfolio, same investments and expenses but delays to 70. They are going to have quite different numbers, especially if SS is a decent chunk of their income.

 

[homestead]

2025 15.1% on 60/40

 

[audreyh1]

Portfolio returns is what the portfolio returns. Net increase is the increase after withdrawals.

OK - I see it the opposite. Since I remove funds on Jan 2 first thing before any market activity, everything after that is the YTD portfolio return.

 

[RetiredHappy]

OK - I see it the opposite. Since I remove funds on Jan 1, everything after that is the YTD portfolio return.

If you have already the removed the funds and then use that as the baseline, the numbers will be the same for portfolio return or increase/decrease in value.