Major Asset Classes 2020-2024: Volatile Bitcoin, Resilient Gold, Solid Stock Gains

Major asset classes have seen significant changes over the past five years, driven by global events and economic policies. A visualcapitalist.com analysis, based on Bilello.blog data, shows the annual performance of major asset classes from 2020 to 2024, highlighting their volatility and resilience, respectively, and at the top of the annual returns offered is Bitcoin, with a remarkable growth of 301% in 2020, driven by growing investor interest in cryptocurrencies, in an inflationary context. Despite a significant 65% decline in 2022, the cryptocurrency has rebounded with gains of 156% in 2023 and 121% in 2024, demonstrating its unprecedented volatility and potential for returns.

Gold has shown resilience, especially in 2024, with a 26.7% increase, as investors sought safe haven assets amid falling interest rates and geopolitical tensions. Its performance highlights gold's traditional role as a store of value during times of economic instability and market volatility. In 2020, the price of gold gained 24.8%, in 2021 it fell by 4.2%, in 2022 - by 0.8%, and in 2023 it rose by 12.7%, according to the cited source.

• Solid Performance for the S&P 500

US stocks, as represented by the S&P 500 stock index, have performed strongly in 2021 and 2023, gaining 28.7% and 26.2% respectively. However, in 2022, the index recorded a significant decline of 18.2% - the largest annual decline since 2008. In 2024, the S&P 500 index rose by 24.9%. The cited source states that 2025 was another difficult year for the US stock market, due to the escalation of tariff threats. If the index's performance in the first 73 trading days of a year is taken into account, 2025 is the fifth worst year on record for the S&P 500.

The Nasdaq 100 index rose 48.6% in 2020, 27.4% in 2021, but fell 32.6% in 2022, then rose 54.9% in 2023, and 25.6% in 2024.

The cited source also shows that stocks traded in the EAFE area (Europe, Australasia and the Far East) rose by 7.6% in 2020, by 11.5% in 2021, then fell by 14.4% in 2022. In 2023, they recorded an increase of 18.4%, and in 2024, by 26.7%.

High-yield bonds gained 4.5% in 2020 and 3.8% in 2021, and in 2022 they fell by 11%. Their yields recovered in 2023, when they rose by 11.5%, and in 2024 - by 8%.

The cited source shows a 7.8% decline in 2020 for raw materials, followed by a 41.4% increase in 2021. The trajectory in 2022 highlights a 19.3% advance, followed by a 6.2% decline in 2023 and a 2.2% increase in 2024.