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One observes, naturally, the inevitable stirrings of competitors. Advanced Micro Devices, a name that rolls off the tongue with considerably less panache, currently occupies a modest seven percent of the market, a growth rate that suggests a tortoise attempting to outpace a thoroughbred. Then there’s Qualcomm, venturing into the lower echelons of AI demand with chips aimed at those who require less… cerebral horsepower. A sensible strategy, perhaps, but akin to offering a thimbleful of champagne at a bacchanal.

But clinging to a single rocket, however shiny, is a bit like navigating the Discworld on the back of a particularly stubborn tortoise. It might get you there, but it’s hardly elegant, is it? I find myself increasingly drawn to the Defiance Drone and Modern Warfare ETF (JEDI +0.92%). Yes, the name sounds like something out of a pulp magazine, but bear with me. It includes Rocket Lab – so you don’t miss out on the upward trajectory – but also casts a wider net. A net woven from the threads of artificial intelligence, automated weaponry, and the general business of keeping things… interesting.²

The basic idea, as far as one can gather, involves these… ‘qubits.’ Apparently, they’re derived from quantum particles, which are, if the physicists are to be believed, simultaneously everywhere and nowhere at once.² This allows quantum computers to perform calculations at speeds that make a supercomputer look like a particularly sluggish abacus. The downside? Currently, these machines are the size of small buildings, cost more than several principalities, are prone to errors, and have about as much practical application for the average consumer as a self-stirring cauldron. But hey, progress isn’t always about immediate usefulness; sometimes it’s just about being able to say you have one.

SCHB, bless its heart, tries to be everything to everyone. It’s the “just hold the whole market” option. A broad sweep, capturing growth and value, large and small. It’s the sort of thing you recommend to your less adventurous clients. The ones who just want to be left alone. VTV, on the other hand, is… pickier. It’s a value devotee. Large-cap, established companies. The kind that reliably… exist. It’s a bit like choosing between a sprawling buffet and a carefully curated tasting menu. Both have their merits. But they appeal to very different appetites.

Energy Transfer, unlike some of its peers, is a complex beast. It not only manages its own assets, but also oversees Sunoco LP (SUN 0.02%) and USA Compression Partners (USAC 0.12%). This arrangement, while generating additional revenue, strikes me as a rather ambitious juggling act. Some might even suggest a distraction – a trifling 15% contribution to adjusted EBITDA. A prudent investor prefers a simpler, more direct narrative.

Both companies seem to have identified the same potential goldmine: markets where people haven’t quite grasped the brilliance of electric cars yet. India and Saudi Arabia, for example. It’s a bit like discovering a planet inhabited solely by people who’ve never tried tea – a massive, untapped market. However, the way they’re approaching these markets is where things get interesting. Tesla, it seems, has opted for the ‘ship it and see’ method, while Lucid is attempting something… more considered. (More considered often involves digging a very large hole and hoping something useful turns up, but let’s not dwell on that.)

Now, that quiet warning feels less like a prediction and more like a reckoning. China’s automotive market is a battlefield, a brutal dance of price wars where fortunes are won and lost with each passing month. And the tremors of that conflict are reaching our shores. The data whispers of a shift, a subtle but insistent movement of competition towards the heart of the American market. It’s a slow creep, like the rising tide, but it carries a weight that could reshape the landscape for years to come.

Observe, if you will, the disparity in expense. Fidelity, ever eager to impress, demands a larger share of the purse – a most extravagant habit! Yet, it boasts a superior return, and a dividend yield that tempts the greedy. However, a closer look reveals a cunning illusion: while the yield rate is higher, the total dividends paid are not, due to the differing scales of these financial players. A shrewd investor seeks not merely the promise of riches, but the substance thereof.