This past New Year’s Eve, as the bittersweet Auld Lang Syne played and we counted down the final moments to midnight to close out 2019, it was more than the marking of the end of another fascinating and, in economic and market terms, outstanding year. It also closed the chapter on a decade that brought breathtaking change in such areas as technology, the environment, politics and medicine. It was also a decade that featured one of the most sustained periods of economic and investment market growth in the modern history of mankind.

Ten years to remember

From iPads to self-driving cars, to the Ebola vaccine and nanotechnology, to 3D printers and lab-grown “meat”, groundbreaking innovations and invention were the hallmarks of the now-past decade.

Along with countless innovations, the 2010s brought important changes to the world order, as China’s economic rise continued at a breakneck pace, and the Obama presidency gave way to the Trump administration and the beginning of a reorientation of American politics and foreign and economic policy. Even the European Union faced its greatest test to date, with Britain poised to exit the EU as the decade closed out.

And, after decades of debate and denial, the climate emergency – the term of 2019 according to the Oxford Dictionary – became a front and center social and political issue, undeniable in its importance and impact for both today and in the not-too-distant future.

A decade of wealth-building

After the tumultuous end of the first decade of the 21st century, characterized by the market crash of 2007/2008 and the ensuing Great Recession, 2010 marked the beginning of a sustained recovery in the global economy. While North American and some European nations bounced back sharply in the early part of the decade, others, particularly in the Eurozone, stumbled out of the gates before finding their footing. Despite the rough start, by mid-decade the global economy was enjoying a mostly synchronized period of growth, as jobs, earnings and a recovery in real estate values soon helped battered consumers and businesses to bounce back.

Driven by strong earnings growth and underpinned by historically low interest rates and yields, equities – particularly U.S. equities – and bonds spent an unparalleled decade providing investors with year after year of strong returns, with only 2018 and its gut-wrenching end breaking what had been an almost perfect 10-year record of wealth-building growth. “Disruptor” became the latest buzzword in the second half of the decade, with companies like Netflix, Tesla, Uber, Amazon and Airbnb upending their industries while thrilling their clients with their inspired business models.

Siri, tell me what the future holds?

The 2010s started at a low point and ended on a high one, providing investors with plenty to celebrate as the decade drew to an end. What the 2020s will hold is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely to be full of further innovations, challenges and change. Sticking to your investment plan is sure to help you steer through to your goals – no matter what kind of disrupters pop-up in the decade ahead.