The past year has certainly been a rollercoaster ride for investors to say the least. A year full of twists and turns that very few could have ever predicted wreaked havoc on many portfolios. With that in mind, we took a look at three lessons that we learned during the year that will hopefully help guide some of our investments as we finally leave 2021 behind. 

1. Tech is Here to Stay

In case you weren't already aware, tech is the future. Despite huge tech sell-offs at the end of last year, there's simply no stopping the continued rise of big tech companies. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Meta (NASDAQ: FB) all hit new highs this year and show no real sign of slowing. 

Concerns of a tech bubble burst do exist, but if any industry is placed well to ride out an economic downturn it's the tech industry. It's simply too important to all of our daily lives at this point. From phones to vehicles, healthcare to retail; tech permeates almost all industries and it's certainly here to stay.

2. Diversifying is Important

One big lesson from this year is that absolutely nothing is ever a guarantee in the world of investing. Stay at home stocks soared in the early part of the year, before suddenly dropping as we saw the world try to open up again. Travel stocks saw a nice bump after the U.S. opened its borders in November before tumbling again once the Omicron variant of COVID-19 reared its ugly head.

A diversified portfolio is arguably one of the only ways to navigate and mitigate this widespread market volatility. By spreading your investments across multiple industries, various regions of the world, and even different company sizes you spread your potential for risk out too. 

3. Don't Bet Against Elon

And finally, we learned that Elon Musk just can't seem to fail right now. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has had a year for the ages after finally breaking into the trillion-dollar club. Despite Musk trying his best to derail things through his platform of choice, Twitter, the stock just continues to garner support from its evangelist following.

It's not just a meme stock, however, with ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood having the company as its most held position. This institutional backing goes a long way towards explaining Tesla's enduring success. All eyes however will remain squarely on Elon as we move into 2022, with everyone wondering which controversial tweet will finally be the last straw for investors.