Author: admin

If you own an S&P 500 index fund, artificial intelligence is already a major part of your investment strategy.In recent years, the stock market’s gains have been fueled largely by a small group of tech giants that are aggressively investing in AI.Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Google parent company Alphabet and Amazon — the five biggest names in the S&P 500 — now represent nearly 30% of the entire index. And that concentration is reshaping the way investors experience diversification.More from ETF Strategist:Here’s a look at other stories offering insight on ETFs for investors.”Many people aren’t aware how their retirement portfolio performance…

State Street chief investment strategist Michael Arone (left).Santa Barbara Photography State Street’s chief investment strategist, Michael Arone, says he’s still bullish on the market heading into 2026—just not comfortably so. “I’m uncomfortably bullish,” Arone said last Thursday to a crowded room of wealth managers at the Forbes/SHOOK Top Advisor Summit at the Wynn Las Vegas. “We’re going to get stimulus from the One Big Beautiful Bill—with a big tax refund next season, more rate cuts from the Fed, and continued double-digit earnings growth,” he said. “That’s a powerful combination but the margin for error is small.” With the S&P 500…

After crashing in 2022, the Ark Innovation ETF has tripled in the last three years. Fund manager Wood is confident the gains are here to stay, dismissing fears of a bubble. Among all the growth-minded investors who have seen their portfolios soar through this year’s AI craze, one familiar name has outperformed the rest. Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 87.1% in the last year, outperforming every other ETF and mutual fund tracked by the American Association of Individual Investors as of the end of September aside from single-stock funds. Its gains have been largely fueled by AI-related…

Growing demand for AI infrastructure has helped boost the prospects of the AI data center operator Applied Digital and an AI semiconductor provider, Broadcom.The Washington Post via Getty ImagesIt’s tough to say for sure which growth stocks will be winners without a crystal ball. But investors may wish to consider investing in AI data center operator Applied Digital, AI semiconductor provider Broadcom and the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. These three companies have solid prospects for gains in addition to some better-known companies, such as Nvidia and Palantir. Applied Digital, Broadcom and Lilly have the potential to rise in the short…

Compassionate Eye Foundation/Steven ErricoThe Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate in September, and is now expected to announce two more cuts before the end of the year.In prior rate-cutting cycles, there has been plenty of upside potential for investors to boost earnings and balance risk as the Fed adjusts its policy stance.Still, “all in all this is a much different cutting cycle than what we saw in ’08 and ’09, or during Covid,” said Brian Brady, a certified financial planner and vice president at Obermeyer Wealth Partners, referring to the periods after the 2008 financial crisis and at the start of the…

Fotostorm | E+ | Getty ImagesVisit Studentaid.gov for many servicesAt the Education Department’s Studentaid.gov, student loan borrowers can take many steps on their own, including applying for a new repayment plan or a loan consolidation and requesting debt cancellation, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.Read more CNBC personal finance coverageThose pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness can still submit the form to verify their employment and get a pretty quick count of their qualifying payments, Nierman said. PSLF allows certain not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans scrubbed after 120 payments.But most loan forgiveness is on hold for…

Prasit photo | Moment | Getty ImagesAs the calendar winds down, some investors may be eyeing Roth individual retirement account conversions, depending on long-term goals. Experts say there’s good reason that now is the season for Roth conversions, with some exceptions.The strategy transfers your pretax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA to kickstart future tax-free growth. But the trade-off is you’ll owe upfront taxes on the converted balance.Roth conversions are popular among younger retirees because they can often convert funds in lower income tax brackets than during their working years. Plus, earnings are typically reduced for retirees before claiming…

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 17: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) September 17, 2008 in New York City. Following news late Tuesday of the U.S. government takeover of insurer American International Group (AIG), U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors digested the news. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe generative AI boom grew even bigger this week when Open AI announced its latest multibillion-dollar chip deal, this time with Broadcom – sending its stock up 10%, CNBC reported. The agreement, along with pacts with AMD and Oracle, is one of many that’s pumping money…

In the 1990s, Muhlenkamp Fund’s clever value investing formula made it a star among no load mutual funds. Then the long tech bull market left it in the dust. A new generation is making a comeback. Twenty years ago Wexford, PA-based Muhlenkamp Fund was a perennial star on Forbes annual mutual fund Honor Roll list. Year-after-year it bested the S&P 500 using a low risk investment formula seeking large and small cap companies whose return on equity surpassed their price-earnings ratios and whose revenue growth was at least 10% a year. It owned stocks like Ford, Alaska Airlines and Lockheed…

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon during an executive order signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 31, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty ImagesThe Trump administration has agreed to cancel student debt under programs it had partially blocked, reopening a path to student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers.The outcome is the result of an agreement reached on Friday between the U.S. Department of Education and the American Federation of Teachers, a union.In the agreement, the Trump administration said it will again process student loan forgiveness for…