Hi John,

Carl, VP Content, here.

With everything that’s been going on this year, it might’ve been hard to keep track of everything that went on in the markets. So I asked each of the Finimize analysts to remind you about some of the biggest trends – and a few under-the-radar ones – that shaped the year.

Carl Hazeley

“I’ll start with the obvious: the year was dominated by a pandemic that caused lockdowns, shutdowns, and economic disarray. It felt like life was on hold until Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca announced vaccines in November. But while that sounded like great news for those companies’ investors, I wasn’t convinced: between the rock-bottom profits drugmakers usually earn from vaccines and the cost of focusing on them at the expense of other medicines, I figured these pharma firms might actually lose out.”

Check out my Insight: Three Reasons A Coronavirus Vaccine Isn’t Actually Good News For Pharma Investors

Milou Beunk, CFA

“Speaking of the pandemic: major governments have been boosting their economies by cutting taxes, which has made it a lot cheaper to buy real estate. Mix in record-low interest rates and housing shortages, and home prices in the richest countries – which normally fall during economic downturns – actually accelerated this year. And since homes tend to tie up 50% of their owners’ overall wealth, that had me worried there’s a collapse on the horizon – and that it could really hurt.”

Check out Milou’s Insight: Why The World’s Soaring Home Prices Could Be Poised To Tumble

Andrew Rummer

“I was obsessed with bitcoin this year: the cryptocurrency’s price jumped over 200%, shooting past its 2017 high to hit the $23,000 mark. Bitcoin’s most enthusiastic backers have called it a safe haven for investors in times of turmoil, a hedge against inflation, and a future payment method. But when I dug into historical and current trading patterns, I couldn’t see any evidence it’ll serve a useful purpose any time soon…”

Check out Andrew’s Insight: Why Bitcoin’s Reputation As A “Safe-Haven” Investment Is Seriously Flawed

Reda Farran, CFA

“This year, electric vehicle-maker Tesla grabbed the attention of everyone from investing newbies to stock market veterans when its share price rocketed almost 700%, taking the company from niche moonshot to S&P 500-listed giant. And all that hype got me thinking: if the key to the best EV is the best battery, the Holy Grail must be any company that can build a near-mythical “solid-state battery”. So when one firm released data proving they’d done exactly that, it made me sit up and take notice.”

Check out Reda’s Insight: How One Secretive Bill Gates-Backed Company Has Left Tesla Looking Out-Of-Date

Stéphane Renevier, CFA

“You probably don’t need me to tell you that stock and bond prices hit record high after record high towards the end of this year. That made a few investors nervous – not least legendary hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. So Bill did what Bill does best: he replicated the strategy that earned him a 9,500% profit earlier this year and could do so again if things turn sour. And turns out, it’s a strategy you can copy pretty easily too.”

Check out Stéphane’s Insight: What Does Bill Ackman Know That We Don’t?

It’s been an exciting year for all of us at Finimize, and there’s a lot more to come. Keep your eyes peeled: we’ll be back next year with even more analysis to help you become a smarter, more informed investor.

All the best for 2021,

VP Content