2024 in Review: Stock, Bond, and Real Estate Performance
2024 in Review: Stock, Bond, and Real Estate Performance
Equities, fixed income, and real estate often constitute significant portions of investors’ portfolios. With 2024 behind us, this graphic, created in partnership with New York Life Investments, answers the following question: how did each asset class, along with their underlying sectors, perform in the U.S. throughout 2024?
Equities
In 2024, the S&P 500 hit a new record high. Performance, however, varied significantly across sectors.
As generative AI and 5G infrastructure exploded in 2024, the information technology sector soared 35.7% and telecommunications rose 38.9% year-to-date (YTD). Semiconductor producer Nvidia was one of the index’s largest gainers, up over 170% YTD.
| Index | 2024 (% change) |
|---|---|
| Communication Services | 38.9% |
| Information Technology | 35.7% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 29.1% |
| Financials | 28.4% |
| S&P 500 | 23.3% |
| Utilities | 19.6% |
| Industrials | 15.6% |
| Consumer Staples | 12.0% |
| Energy | 2.3% |
| Real Estate | 1.3% |
| Healthcare | 0.9% |
| Materials | -1.8% |
Financials and consumer discretionary also outperformed the benchmark index, which was 23.3% higher in 2024. The S&P 500’s strong performance in 2024 follows in the footsteps of the 24.2% increase it saw in 2023.
On the other end of the spectrum, healthcare and real estate—two of the more defensive sectors—achieved only 0.9% and 1.3% upticks, respectively. Materials fell 1.8% on the year.
Fixed Income
While large-cap equities delivered robust returns in 2024, gains in U.S. fixed income markets were notably more subdued. This was largely due to the fact that Treasury yields moved slightly higher as the Fed successfully navigated a ‘soft landing.’
| Bond Index | 2024 (% change) |
|---|---|
| S&P U.S. Treasury Bill Index | 5.3% |
| S&P 500 Bond Index | 2.3% |
| S&P Municipal Bond Index | 1.9% |
| S&P U.S. Government Bond Index | 1.3% |
Of the Treasury market indexes, the U.S. Treasury Bill Index—which tracks short-term government bonds—performed the highest, earning 5.3% YTD.
Real Estate
With consistently high occupancy rates, real estate sustained its momentum in 2024, delivering a strong performance on top of 2023’s impressive 11.4% growth.
Again, returns varied substantially by sector. Office posted the strongest return, gaining 21.5% (higher than the S&P 500’s run-up). The retail and residential sectors also finished the year in the green.
| Real Estate Sector | 2024 (% change) |
|---|---|
| Office | 21.5% |
| Retail | 14.0% |
| Residential | 12.8% |
| Overall | 4.9% |
| Industrial | -17.8% |
Conversely, a combination of cooling demand and strong supply pushed vacancy rates in industrial real estate higher throughout 2024, causing the sector to struggle.
The Year Ahead
As investors prepare themselves for 2025, attention will now turn towards the forces that will act as either headwinds or tailwinds to these three key asset classes. How will rising geopolitical tensions, Trump’s second term, and the progression of AI—among other developments—impact markets?
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