Before you read a year-end forecast

by Tom Bradley

In the next few weeks, your newsfeed will be filled with predictions about 2025. Emerging trends. Stock market targets. Impact of government changes.

Before you take the time to read any of them, I implore you to look at these two pieces, both of which are from commentators that we like and value. The first is Ben Carlson’s ‘A Wealth of Common Sense’, in which he reminds readers that while market forecasts are mostly up and always single-digit, “Double-digit moves in both directions are the norm. In fact, in 70 of the past 97 years, the U.S. stock market has finished the year with double-digit gains (57x) or double-digit losses (13x).”

The second read is from Joe Wiggin’s Behavioral Investment newsletter. His latest piece is all you need to read at year-end … any year-end. He sums up what will be in a majority of the forecasts. My favourite item on his list is: – “The traditional approach to portfolio management might not work anymore: Just in case a reader is investing in an old fashioned, unsophisticated way.”

For a happy and fulfilling holiday season, I suggest a good book rather than subjecting yourself to the fire hose of articles about how 2025 is going to turn out.

Charitable giving: How to make an impact

Charitable giving offers many benefits beyond just tax credits. It can enhance your happiness and help support causes that matter to you. In this Coffee Break, we chat with Aneil Gokhale, Director of Philanthropy at the Toronto Foundation, about how Canadians can make their charitable giving more impactful.

We explore the role of community foundations, the distinction between foundations and charities, and the ways in which giving connects us to our communities. Aneil also shares insights from the Toronto Foundation's Vital Signs Report, discusses how families can engage in meaningful philanthropy through donor-advised funds, and explains how aligning your values with your giving can create real change.