L2 Dividend & Income Quarterly Commentary – Q4 2025

Table of contents

When

January 5, 2026

Who

Matthew Malgari
Dr. Sanjeev Bhojraj
Nathan Przybylo

Q4 2025 STRATEGY PERFORMANCE:

The high dividend, high quality stocks in the strategy rose 3.17% net in the quarter while the Russell 1000 Value ETFs rose 3.82%. The quarter closed out a solid year for L2 Dividend & Income (17.41% vs. 15.68% for the R1000 Value ETF). We are satisfied with the strategy’s returns this quarter and believe the best days for dividend and value investors are yet to come.

MARKET OVERVIEW: QUICK SUMMARY:

Large Cap Value led the way higher in Q4 up 3.82%, Large Cap Core rose 2.48%, and Large Cap Growth rose 1.15%. Midcap, as measured by both the S&P Midcap (SPMD) and the Russell Midcap (IWR) benchmarks rose 1.63% and 0.12% respectively.

This quarter delivered something of a reprieve from an intense period of speculative behavior by market participants, although low-quality stocks continued to outperform their high-quality peers. Our Q3 2025 commentary used ARKK to highlight the extent of this risk-seeking behavior. From January 1st to September 30th, ARKK rose +52% while the Large Core ETF (IWB) rose 14% and Large Value (IWD) returned 11%. We also noted that from April 8th (the low point of the “Liberation Day”-induced market decline) through September 30th, the ARKK ETF rose an incredible 113%, despite its preference for exorbitantly priced stocks of loss-making companies.