11. Looking Back at 2025: Lessons Learned and How 2026 Is Shaping Up

At first glance, 2025 looks clean. Broad markets finished the year with solid gains and a headline return that may feel reassuring. But once you move past the surface, the year tells a more complicated story. Leadership stayed narrow, rotations arrived later than expected, and investor experiences varied widely depending on allocation.In this episode, Tom Moran, AIF®, and Don Drury review how the fourth quarter wrapped up, discuss why profit-taking emerged when it did, and explore how themes like AI, small caps, international markets, and natural resources contributed to results beneath the index level. They also share the indicators they’re monitoring as 2026 begins including inflation trends, employment data, interest rates and discuss where diversification may become more relevant.The conversation closes with a practical look ahead: what developments could shift the outlook, which areas they believe warrant closer evaluation based on current pricing and fundamentals, and why maintaining a balanced, disciplined process can be especially important as market conditions evolve.Subscribe and follow along, we're just getting started!The content on this page and/or video is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Specifically, the content is intended to provide education and tools for individuals looking to handle their retirement planning on their own. Should you need personalized investment advice, you should consult with a registered investment adviser. Any communications on this page with other individuals that are not associated with Moran Wealth Management, LLC are done voluntarily by users and are unsupervised and unaffiliated with Moran Wealth Management, LLC and Moran Wealth Management, LLC has no responsibility or liability over any discussions or advice that may be given. Moran Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser and can provide investment advice. If you are interested in Moran Wealth Management, LLC’s advisory services, you can contact us at 239-920-4440 or [email protected] Wall Street Journal & Barron’s is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the podcast or its host. No compensation was provided for this reference. Any mention of third-party publications is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement or a guarantee of results.For disclosures, visit: https://www.moranwm.com/disclosuresThis communication may contain testimonials of Moran Wealth Management’s clients. These testimonials reflect the real-life experiences and opinions of these customers. However, these experiences are personal to them and are not necessarily representative of all clients’ experiences. Moran Wealth Management® makes no claim, and you should not assume, that all clients will have the same experiences. Your individual results will vary. The views and opinions contained in the testimonials belong solely to the individual client and do not reflect our views and opinions. Clients are not paid or otherwise compensated for their testimonials.