In 2025, gold (GLD) has been the top-performing asset year-to-date, delivering returns around 21% to 26% through the end of April, outperforming developed international equities (IEFA) at 12%, emerging markets (IEMG) at 4%, and major U.S. stock indices such as the S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ), which posted losses of approximately 4% to 7%. U.S. bonds (AGG) and long-term Treasuries (TLT) showed modest gains of 3% to 4%, while bitcoin (IBIT) returned around 1% to 3.6%. However, gold experienced a recent pullback, declining nearly 3% on May 1 and down about 5.7% from earlier highs. Despite this short-term weakness, gold remains the leading asset class for the year. Other assets such as U.S. small caps (IWM) and oil (USO) have faced notable declines, with small caps down about 11% to 12% and oil falling 16%. Weekly performance data from early May indicate a modest rebound in major U.S. equity indices, with the Nasdaq 100, Russell 2000, and S&P 500 gaining between 2.8% and 3.4%, while gold declined 1.6% during the same period.