Wealth managers worldwide may be wishing that 2024 and its outsized returns would last forever. If the market’s current trajectory holds, the S&P 500 will finish with a gain of more than 25 percent for a second straight year.
Alas, time waits for no one, and the ball in Times Square will soon drop, ushering in a brand-new year of investor hopes and dreams. So with the countdown to 2025 in mind, InvestmentNews reached out to some of our favorite financial advisors to find out their top investment choices for the new year.
Sean Beznicki, director of investments at VLP Financial Advisors, names the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (Ticker: IVV) as his top pick for the new year. The potential for additional interest rate cuts and market stabilization may encourage investors to favor diversified equity ETFs that effectively balance growth and value stocks.
“With broader exposure to sectors such as healthcare, financials, and industrials, IVV could outperform tech-heavy alternatives like QQQ, particularly if technology growth slows, or conversely, as general AI becomes increasingly applied across a wide range of industries, enhancing productivity, innovation, and decision-making,” said Beznicki, adding that IVV’s focus on US large-cap companies positions it as a reliable safe haven for global investors seeking stability during periods of uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Don Bennyhoff, founder at Bennyhoff & Co., a fractional CIO for advisors, said his favorite holding for 2025 would be a total US stock market index fund or ETF, such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index fund (Ticker: VTI) or the iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market fund (Ticker: ITOT).
“They’re low cost, highly tax efficient and provide the broadest exposure to the US stock market I can find,” Bennyhoff said. “That means they own growth and value stocks, as well stocks both large and small. I consider it an ‘all-factor’ choice that avoids the volatility of less diversified holdings.”
Moving on, Matt Liebman, CEO of Amplius Wealth Advisors, said his main investment theme heading into next year is what he calls: “The Bull Market in Diversification.”
“The markets have had an extended period where the clear winner was large US growth stocks with an emphasis on technology companies. Our thesis is that the next several years will see a more diverse set of leadership across multiple asset classes, geographies, sectors, and styles,” Liebman said.
To take advantage of this trend, Liebman is partial to global stock market ETFs such as the iShares Global 100 ETF (Ticker: IOO) and the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (Ticker: ACWI).
Vance Howard, CEO and portfolio manager at Howard Capital Management, keeps it simple, saying, “My top stock pick for 2025 is Salesforce (Ticker: CRM) because I believe AI will have a positive impact by adding enhancements to the software and increasing its subscriber base.”
Elsewhere, Chris McMahon, CEO of MFA Wealth, selects the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (Ticler: XLE) as his top investment choice.
“It provides exposure primarily through large-cap energy stocks, including major players like Exxon Mobil (Ticker: XOM) and Chevron (Ticker: CVX) with a low expense ratio of 0.09 percent."
Todd R. Walsh, CEO and chief technical analyst at Alpha Cubed Investments, said he likes the “dividend/value trade generally” due to the Fed’s rate cutting. One name he is particularly fond of heading into 2025 is American Electric Power (Ticker: AEP) due to its 4 percent dividend and attractive valuation.
Longer term, Walsh said he is bullish on ASML (Ticker: ASML), saying their near-monopoly in EUV lithography technology should support a very strong recovery after recent stumbles.
“It may be choppy through Q1 and Q2 with volatility in the tech space generally, but this name should weather the storm and come out the other side a winner for those looking for higher risk,” Walsh said.
Finally, Jim Thorne, chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus, said his favorite play for 2025 is the Fidelity Global Innovators Fund. By focusing on emerging trends and breakthrough technologies with industry-reshaping potential, the fund offers investors a chance to capitalize on global innovation-driven growth,he said.
“With Trump’s policy emphasizing deregulation and innovation, the fund is strategically positioned for potential outperformance. This pro-business climate could particularly benefit innovative companies in sectors like technology, healthcare, and energy, which stand to gain from reduced regulatory burdens and increased support for research and development initiatives,” he said.
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