Dear Valued Client,
The team here at Dougherty Investment Advisors hope you are doing well. This year we have continued to see strength in stocks, steady gains in fixed income, and outsized performance in precious metals and digital assets. Below is your updated snapshot as of 10/14/25.
Year-to-Date Market Performance (as of October 14, 2025)
| Sector / Asset Class | YTD Return | 2024 Return |
| S&P 500 large stock bucket | +12.1% | +25.0% |
| Tech stocks group | +19.1% | +29.3% |
| Utility stocks group (ex. income) | +20.3% | +19.2% |
| Staples stocks (food, household) | +1.1% | +10.7% |
| Gold | +55.8% | +25.5% |
| Bitcoin | +23.1% | +113.1% |
| Bonds – Fixed Income (incl. income) | +6.1% | +0.4% |
| Preferred Stock (hybrid) | +2.9% | +0.4% |
| CD rate, 1-year average | +2.0% | +1.8% |
The returns from the market so far this year have been excellent. Despite a great deal of turmoil, we continue to see markets rise as they always do in the long run. For the S&P 500 stock index, the 100-year average is about 10% annual gain, so the last two years have been remarkable, indeed.
Markets in Review
- Stocks have remained remarkably resilient, with a rise in many sectors and continued strength in both technology and utility stocks.
- The government shutdown has been widely televised and discussed. Historically we usually see a slight dip in the market during shutdowns, followed by performance as usual by the market. During this shutdown, we have not seen any significant dip and continue to see business as usual as the market looks ahead and understands that the government will likely be back up and running shortly.
- As predicted in the last dispatch, employment growth has dropped significantly as we find ourselves in a state of “no hire, no fire” for employers.
- Gold has been an exceptional performer, rallying over +55% YTD, while Bitcoin has also posted solid gains. This has been due to governments buying a great deal of gold due to trade deal uncertainty, and inflation uncertainty. However, as gold is an unproductive asset, it likely will not outperform in the long run compared to stocks.
- Fixed income, including income yield, continues to provide ballast with +6.1% YTD.
- The larger economic backdrop remains a mix: inflation is moderating, but the labor market and consumer strength will be key to watch heading into year-end. Consumer strength often drives the stock market.
Companies in the Spotlight
Progressive Corporation (PGR) Approx. -7% YTD
Progressive continues to expand its footprint in the insurance market, gaining share through underwriting excellence and operational efficiency. What’s especially notable: in competitive markets, they’ve managed to lower premiums in select areas without sacrificing profits — a powerful sign of pricing discipline and strength. Progressive continues to provide an excellent buying opportunity even with recent market outperformance.
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Approx. -1% YTD
Amazon remains a multi-headed growth engine. Beyond its e-commerce and cloud dominance, the company has heavily invested in integrating AI-powered tools and logistics optimization to drive efficiency and scale. This underscores that Amazon’s growth trajectory remains not just broad, but deep. Amazon is a company we continue to buy into for many of our clients today; Their stock provides access to quality growth at a bargain price.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) Approx. +47% YTD *a new addition to the core
Uber continues to show robust growth, especially in delivery and mobility. Their non-restaurant delivery business is expected to hit approximately $12.5 billion gross bookings run rate by year-end. As autonomous vehicles gain ground, Uber’s scale, brand, and adaptability position it to be a core platform in the evolving mobility landscape.
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Approx. +35% YTD
It has been business as usual for the AI king as of late. CEO Jensen Huang continues to be an incredible negotiator, securing many deals which help to allow for the profits and potential market of their chips to grow at extraordinary rates, seen as 71% growth in revenue compared to last year. As one of our firms’ largest holdings, and many of our clients largest positions, we watch closely for any signs of fundamental shifts surrounding the company.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) Approx. +33% YTD
The travel sector has progressed nicely this year. Royal Caribbean continues to offer its best-in-class cruises to a growing number of travelers. The company has had stalwart management in Jason Liberty as CEO and continues to impress on all fronts. As one of our top holdings, we continue to watch this company closely, however at this time we continue to see excellent projected growth and execution from Royal Caribbean.
Google (Alphabet Inc., GOOGL) Approx. +34% YTD
As noted in our last dispatch, Google provided an excellent time to buy as fears over lawsuits from the department of Justice, and over possible competition to the company from AI and other developments, kept the stock price of a quality, growing company very low. Since our last dispatch, the stock has roared higher, now up over 34% this year. We continue to monitor this dominant company, and are happy to have taken advantage of its quality bargain status for many of our client’s benefit.
Looking Ahead
As we head into the fourth quarter, the market is pricing in multiple interest rate cuts, and there is one question on many investors’ minds: How much higher can it go?
For those of you sitting on the sidelines wondering when a substantial dip will occur to begin putting more money to work, it is important to note that trying to time the market has not shown historical success. A dip is always possible, but steady allocations to your investments are almost always the better long-term strategy.
As you can see from the chart below, in the long term, it is always an excellent time to buy. This is vital to consider as many of our clients are investing for the long term, or even for their children and families. For such investors, the risk of having the market continue to rise and never dip down to where it is today is greater than the risk of buying in and experiencing a short-term decline. We have never heard a clients family say, “I wish my grandparents didn’t invest so much!”
Our favorite recent quote:
“Pessimists sound smart. Optimists make money.” – Nat Friedman, Tech CEO/Founder
Let us know if you have any questions or comments. Thank you for your great trust in our firm as we continue to captain your financial ship.
P.S. If we have assisted you or your family, we’d greatly appreciate you leaving a review (if you haven’t already) at https://tinyurl.com/DoughertyInvestments.
It is our pleasure to help you,
The Dougherty Team
A Tradition of Excellence
4048 Deltona Blvd | Spring Hill, FL 34
