The start of the Santa Claus rally appeared promising with the S&P 500 nearly reaching the 7000 mark before the end of the 2025 year. The major indexes in the U.S. market all closed with double-digit gains.
The Federal Reserve went ahead with its third cut of 2025. But Chair Powell reiterated a “wait and see” what the economy does as he cites a slowing jobs market and inflation data.
Bitcoin ended the year at US$87,000, a loss of about 6% year-over-year. The digital asset hit a record high of US$126,000 per token in the fourth quarter but by year end, the enthusiasm weakened as crypto ETFs saw a significant retreat in flows.
Gold and silver finished the month of December with historic annual gains not seen in four decades. Propelled by volatile trade policies earlier in the year, the precious metals reached record highs with gold rising above $4355 per ounce and silver at around $76 per ounce.
Silver was the runaway rally with Its unprecedented surge that resulted in top performing funds that include iShares Silver Bullion ETF (SVR-T) with a gain of 25.98% price return for a single month. The Ninepoint Silver Bullion ETF (SBUL-T) trailed slightly with a return of 22.06%. The third commodity-based best performer was the Global X Silver Covered Call ETF (AGCC-T) with a percentage increase of 19.09%.
Looking back at the year in review, 2025 was a good year for gold investors. The top three performers on a year-over-year basis belonged to Global X Gold Producers Index ETF (GLDX-T) with 175.4% gain, BMO Equal Weight Global Gold Index ETF (ZGD-T) with 170.04%, and Harvest Global Gold Giants Index ETF (HGGG-T) with a 166.7% return.
While most issuers made their final distribution announcements for 2025, December was a quiet month for ETF launches with only two new funds.
Evolve Big Six Canadian Banks UltraYield Index ETF (SIXY-T) offers exposure to a portfolio of Canada’s six biggest banks, namely Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Bank of Montreal (BMO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), and National Bank of Canada (NBC). The fund’s use of modest leverage and a covered call strategy will generate a monthly income while enhancing yield.
Global X Copper Producer Equity Covered Call ETF (CPCC-T) focuses on investments in copper mining companies globally. Employing a dynamic, covered call strategy, the fund seeks to generate a monthly income.
Amy Mak is ETF Specialist at Inovestor.
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