Marks as always leaves the door open just in case he is wrong.
In the memo he discussed a bubble at length.
He also said in the beginning
"All of my observations will be generalities, but I’m hopeful they’ll be relevant nonetheless."
What is the purpose of discussing a bubble in 01/2025 and reminds us about a similar call 25 years?
There is only one conclusion.
He was wrong !!

Congratulations!
I just ran a calculation FWIW: $500 invested on your great granddaughter's birth date and allowed to compound over time would be worth $45,490.28 when she reaches age 65. That assumes a one-time initial deposit, quarterly compounding and a modest 7% annual rate of return. Results may vary. But this gives some idea of the power of compounding over long periods. Go for it!
The calculator linked below also accommodates investing equal sums thru monthly contributions which appears to be your preference,
Calculator

"Energy Emergency."
https://energynow.com/2025/12/us-declares-energy-emergency-as-cold-snap-hits-northeast/

H.R. 3383 was proposed by Representative Ann Wagner (R - MO).
Representative Ann Wagner's Top Contributors, 2023 - 2024
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/ann-wagner/summary?cid=N00033106
Clients Lobbying on H.R.3383: Increasing Investor Opportunities Act
https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/bills/summary?cycle=2025&id=hr3383-119
The Securities & Investment industry donated the second most amount of money (behind "retired")
to Representative Wagner from 2023 to 2024.
The Investment Company Institute, Ameriprise Financial, Franklin Resources,
and the Securities Industry & Financial Markets Assn. (among several others) lobbied on behalf of H.R. 3383.
I'm sure this is all just a mere coincidence!

FD - do yourself a favor and go re-read the memo I linked at the beginning of this discussion only this time put on your thinking and comprehension hats if you have them.
At no point in the memo did Marks call for a bubble. If you can find it in the memo please do share. Here is what he did say:
"As I said at the start of this memo, I’m not an equity investor, and I’m certainly no expert on technology. Thus, I can’t speak authoritatively about whether we’re in a bubble. I just want to lay out the facts as I see them and suggest how you might think about them . . . just as I did 25 years ago."

Is 2025 over already? How long did you have to search for that? Maybe if Mr. Marks knew that the tech billionaires were going to pay for favors he might have hedged his remarks.

2026 is two weeks away, and even that’s irrelevant.
Marks called for a bubble on 1/7/2025. It's already more than 11 months.
Ifs and buts don't count, only actual performance does.
Bottom line: Marks was wrong. If you listened to him, you missed a lot of performance.
I added him to my long list of bad predictions by the "experts."
This is what I posted on my site (link). See the last posts.

On 1-7-2025 Howard Marks published his memo (www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/on-bubble-watch).
If the market doesn’t finish 2025 with at least -20%, Marks will have earned a spot on the "wall of shame."
A decline of 5-15% is "normal.". Bubble prediction calls for a lot more.
Now, we are going to wait.
On 12-15-2025: It's Dec 15, 2025, and the SP500 is up about 17% which is a nice performance.
It's pretty clear that Marks was wrong.

The Santa Claus rally is a stock market phenomenon that typically occurs during the last five trading days
of December and the first two trading days of January. According to Stock Trader's Almanac (STA),
this rally has been good for an average 1.2% gain since 1969 (1.3% since 1950).
STA states: "Santa's failure to show tends to precede bear markets, or times stocks could be purchased
later in the year at much lower prices. We discovered this phenomenon in 1972."
There was a reverse Santa Claus rally in 2024-2025 when the S&P 500 sold off every business day
between Christmas and New Year's Day — a historic first for the index.
Will Santa visit Wall Street this holiday season?
What are your thoughts regarding the Santa Claus rally as a stock market indicator?

“If Santa Claus should fail to call, bears may come to Broad and Wall.”
— Yale Hirsch

Just posted latest ratings and flows to MFO Premium site using Refinitiv data drop through Friday, 12 December 2025.

We used a 529. Illinois has state tax benefits. And we bought a few 10K I-Bonds when the fixed rate was 3%. The I-bonds have education benefits, but income restrictions though, so the 529 worked out better.

529 have improved a lot over the years due to regulatory changes and plan improvements (M* rates them and that may be a reason). Posters who looked at them years ago and didn't like them (then) should take another look.
Now, the education is defined broadly by 529 as almost anything legal/ accredited/ approved beyond high school. So, that may be community colleges, certifications, apprenticeships, 4-yr colleges, graduate schools, even some approved foreign schools.
Actually, limited $amounts are also allowed for K-12 education and student loan payments.
A lifetime max of $35K funds can be transferred to beneficiary's Roth IRA.
If there is money left still, the beneficiary can be changed to a family member.
If the beneficiary has serious disabilities, 529 money can be transferred to 529A or 529 ABLE that can support the kid for lifetime without jeopardizing other government aid.
If all that is exhausted, you can withdraw and pay 10% penalty and tax.

Order filled for 30 shares AVGO today @ $340.11 average cost
Order filled for 50 shares CLX @ 101.52
Order filled for 100 shares MDLZ @ $54.28

Since you are the account owner or custodian, you can rename the beneficiary to another child or grandchild in case your child does not wish to attend college, or wanting to spend it on a new car instead.
They cannot access the 529 fund with you being the custodian. The rules on 529 fund is strict and they are use for qualified education expenses such as tuition, books, and room&board. The rules relax a bit recently to include private schooling (high school level). Upon withdrawal, these 529 fund are tax-free in tax reporting.
We put in about 30% of the total sum and the rest was from capital appreciation through compounding. So get start as early as possible and let time works to fund your college education. If you are so lucky to have few remaining fund, they can be use for post-graduate studies.
Edit:. 529 plans typically start with global stock funds and gradually move to a balanced and end with short term bonds and money market when the child enters college. Many options to choose from these days. As the custodian on the account, you have many flexibility. Important thing to remember, start early and let the market do the work for you. Dollar-cost-average investing works very nicely.

My new list, by no means inclusive:
5* wide moat: MDLZ, CLX, TRI ( 5-star, wide moat and exemplary capital allocation)
4* wide moat: NOC, CL, BMY, AVGO, OTIS, MSFT
3* wide moat: CAT, V, HON, KO, MRK, SYY
Barron's is "overweight" on HON, CAT, TRI, NOC, CL, OTIS, MDLZ, MRK, SYY with a "buy" on KO, V, AVGO & MSFT.
@hank - Good to know info on Barron's. I take M* ratings with a grain of salt. Mainly, just as a starting point. And because I get it free from T Rowe. I am looking for that intersection of stocks that both Barron's and M* consider "overweight or buy", and that I do not already hold in mutual funds. I also prefer a "wide moat" and "exemplary capital allocation".

Great move, @Sven!
Congratulations, @Bobpa.
I'm not at all familiar with how 529s work. What if the young person does not want to attend university? My 2 cents:
https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239696/ishares-msci-world-etf
https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/urth/quote

@DrVenture - Barron's had a positive article on GHC Graham Holdings about 5 or 6 years ago. I bought some and messed with it for a couple years before letting it go. Guess I ended up with a small profit. It finally took off and must have doubled or tripled in short order after I let it go. To a lesser extent I think they've made a decent call on NSGRY within past couple years. I finally gave up on the turkey. Fell from $140 to $80 over maybe 5 pr 6 years. Last look it was around $100.
BTW - I bought RIO on Barron's advice roughly 5-6 years ago and did quite well with it. I found it a better stock for trading in and out of rather than holding. I've been looking for an entry point but haven't bought back in.
M* has extensive stock ratings / reviews. But doesn't hold a candle to Barron's. M* basically crunches the numbers. Barron's goes a lot deeper considering intangibles, competitors, overall industry health and trends.

@Yogibb’s link is a great start to invest for college using 529 plan. Follow the link and get information you need.
Should get their social security number immediately, and the child is the beneficiary and you are the owner of the 529 account. That would be a wonderful way to pass on your legacy to your grand child.
We done exactly that for our kids. 18 years of compounding saved enough to fully fund their 4-year tuition.

Yes, and within that 529 one could choose a total market index fund. Or a growth fund. I'd shy away from the target date or allocation funds, myself. I believe that investing aggressively in a tax-advantaged account, with a long time horizon, is the best approach.
Oh, and congratulations on the new family member!

Board was kind of slow so I tossed the Barron's picks out there. Not my recommendations. I'm with @Crash when it comes to looking for less crowded trades.
Re Barron's - better than a 500 batting average. But some of their picks take years to pan out and may drop a lot farther before turning up. Tries anyone's patience.

d

@hank
I hear that. I bought ADBE not long ago and am still regretting it. But, I imagine it will have its day and I will recoup, or even gain. It only makes up .14% of my portfolio, but still irks me.
Don't hesitate to post "lists", we are all adults here, with few exceptions. lol

There is a related thread, https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/65101/vanguard-unveils-target-date-series-with-annuity-access
Basically, lifetime income options within 401k via TDFs have been allowed by SECURE 1.0 (2019) & further streamlined by SECURE 2.0 (2022).
Vanguard has now joined few others who have done this already - it has taken a long time to implement this.
403b already had this option, so the news is for 401k only.

Look into your state 529. If state incentives aren't offered, you can use any state 529. You can open 529 after granddaughter gets Social Security Number - probably by 3 months.
I track 529 developments at the link below, probably too much info for casual readers, but may be useful if thinking about opening 529.
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/thread/18/college-529