Imagine being told on January 1, 2020 that the coming year would be plagued by a highly infectious global pandemic leading to global lockdowns, 14% unemployment at the peak, and over 22 million jobs lost. Very few would have guessed that the S&P 500 would end the year in the black, much less above its average long-run return of 10%. Yet as of writing, the S&P 500 total return index stands at +16.27% year-to-date, defying all expectations. This month we explain why we believe this to be the case and propose allocation strategies for the coming year.