Resources and Stories for Real People

Two years ago, the concentration of the U.S. stock market in its largest companies looked high compared to recent history. Today, some might say market concentration appears really high. At the end of 2024, the 10 largest companies in the S&P 500® Index made up 37.3% of the index by

Consider your answer to the following question: “Suppose you are given an opportunity to replace your current investment portfolio with a new portfolio. The new portfolio has a 50-50 chance to increase by 50% your standard of living during your lifetime. However, the new portfolio also has a 50-50 chance

International Stocks vs. U.S. Stocks International stocks have not done well recently compared with U.S. stocks. The 2024 return of international stocks (as measured by the MSCI World ex USA Index) was just under 5%, lagging by nearly 20 percentage points the return of U.S. stocks (as measured by the

After a 26% total return from the S&P 500® Index in 2023, few predicted 2024 would deliver another big year of gains for U.S. stocks. But it did. Not only did the S&P 500 post a 25% return for the year, but the index reached 61 new all-time highs. Together,

Consider the numerous decisions we face every day: what to eat for breakfast, what we should wear to work or a restaurant, who we should spend time with, and whether and what to watch on our screens after the day ends. Those are undoubtedly choices that could fall under the

Have you ever written down, at the start of a year, predictions for what will happen in the year ahead? For investors, taking note of your beliefs about the market or economy and then coming back later to inspect can be a good exercise in understanding the difficulties of forecasting.