Macro views

A year to remember: S&P 500^® and volatility move higher

February 27, 2025 - 1 min

Gateway market perspective - December 2024

Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and Portfolio Manager – Gateway Investment Advisers, LLC

Gateway market perspective

Market volatility experts from Gateway Investment Advisers, specialists in options-based investment strategies, examine key volatility trends each month and risk management ideas to help investors stay invested for the long run.

December 2024 highlights:

In 2024, the S&P 500^® Index achieved its first consecutive 20%+ return since 1998-1999 while the Cboe^® Volatility Index (the VIX^®) reached crisis-like levels, supporting options-based strategies.
After returning 26.29% in 2023, the S&P 500^® Index advanced 25.02% during 2024 which respectively rank as the 11th and 12th highest calendar year returns since 1988.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) shifting policy has contributed to the normalization of interest rate and volatility levels.
As we move into 2025, interest rate and volatility conditions have the potential to persist. Active options-based strategies have the potential to capitalize on such an environment, as exhibited through strong performance and improved equity market participation during 2024.

Gateway market perspective - December 2024

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CFA^® and Chartered Financial Analyst^® are registered trademarks owned by the CFA Institute.

The Cboe Volatility Index^® (VIX^®) is a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500^® stock index option prices. The Cboe Volatility Index^® (VIX^®) reflects a market estimate of future volatility, based on the weighted average of the implied volatilities for a wide range of strikes, first and second month expirations are used until eight days from expiration, then the second and third are used.

S&P 500^® Index is a widely recognized measure of U.S. stock market performance. It is an unmanaged index of 500 common stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation, among other factors. It also measures the performance of the large cap segment of the US equities market. You may not invest directly in an index.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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