We are already halfway through the year.
Summer has just begun and it feels like it’s already racing to a close.
In case you missed it, America is now more than two and a half centuries old. And the stock market has done pretty well since 1776. Michael Hartnett has shown that “over this expansive time frame U.S. stocks have delivered an annualized return of 8.7% while GDP has averaged 6%, inflation 2.5% and 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds BX:TMUBMUSD10Y have offered investors 5.1% annually.”1
Given all the ups and downs, heights and heartbreaks, sins and successes, it is stunning how much wealth investing in American companies has brought to shareholders.2
America has its challenges at home and abroad again this year, but overall the performance of US stocks has been solid. The conflict in Iran shook up the markets in the spring and that conflict has been rumbling again as of late, yet year to date investment returns remain impressive: +9-10% depending on the index.
What may surprise you is that, for the S&P 500 at least, company earnings have outpaced stock price gains, which means stocks may be cheaper than you think despite hovering near highs.
Interest rates have been stable.
Mortgage rates continue to be above 6%. And while savings accounts still hardly pay anything, fixed income investors going out a year can squeeze a lot more from conservative bonds than they could for many years after the Great Financial Crisis and its low-interest rate environment.
Speaking of the Great Financial Crisis, according to First Trust stocks have been the best winners among most other asset classes like house prices and gold.
How have you been investing your money this year?
But more importantly: why or why not?
If you or someone you know needs help with that question, talk to one of our advisors.
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Sources:
1. Taken from Jules Rimmer’s article “U.S. stocks have delivered 8.7% a year since independence was decleared in 1776” (July 3, 2006). Accessed online.
2. Chart from Barchart on X posted July 4, 2026. Accessed online.