Had you opted instead for the humble S&P 500 index fund, the picture would be rather different. That same $1,000 would have swollen to $2,034—a dazzling, almost miraculous doubling in just five years. Imagine the splendor of that investment at the end of a half-decade: a neat little sum of well-earned money, rather than a sad, drooping chicken egg.
Despite all the hullabaloo, Zoom remains the undisputed heavyweight champion in the ring of online meetings—at least for now. It’s worth noting that even though its stock languishes at a tiny fraction of its 2020 peak (which admittedly, was as artificially inflated as a balloon animal at a comedy festival), it managed to outpace the S&P 500 over the past year, as if to say, “Hey, I’m still here, and I’m still outperforming the big guys.” The foreboding question then becomes: Is this a sign of a dying star or just a late bloom in a galaxy of digital connectivity? Or perhaps, more simply, is this just another arbitrage in the endless dance of market folly?
You see, the biggest takeaway from this whole ordeal isn’t what they’re telling you upfront—it’s buried in the fine print, like those terms and conditions nobody reads but everyone agrees to anyway. And trust me, as someone who has sat through countless earnings calls while silently fuming over poor audio quality, I know how easy it is to miss the important stuff if you’re not paying attention.
The Dow’s thirty blue chips weren’t all glum. A couple managed to break the surface. Two, to be precise. Caterpillar and Nvidia. The ones with a pulse.
Brookfield Renewable is fast becoming the belle of the ball for companies looking to hitch their wagons to clean energy in the coming years. This positions the company just right to keep boosting its earnings and that juicy dividend of over 4%. Now, that’s a dividend that’ll make your wallet sing.
It would be naïve to ignore that Tesla’s current sales have fallen short of management’s hopes. In addition, the removal of the federal EV tax credit—along with rising interest rates that make car buying less affordable—has compounded its challenges. However, for the discerning investor, the company’s true allure is not found in its present sales figures but in its potential to revolutionize transportation through self-driving technology and its bold robotaxi ambitions.
Now, before you whip out your cheque book and invest in this digital canine, let us consider a few pearls of wisdom from the portfolio management playbook—lessons that might prevent you from leaping over a cliff in a fit of unrestrained enthusiasm.
It was in the year of phantom valuations and feverish portfolio appraisals that Nvidia, once a humble peddler of gaming chips and adolescent dreams, became the lodestone of artificial intelligence. Share prices soared to a height that made sensible elders mutter stories about the Dutch tulip panic. The air was thick with possibility and, unavoidably, the metallic tang of risk. Feverish speculation whirled around the company, whose sales ratios—56 times trailing, if you care for such numerics—gleamed with improbable triumph, while the S&P 500 watched on in envious resignation, like an old dog left out of a card game.
Yet, as with all human endeavors, there comes a moment of reckoning. The shares have retreated 13% from their zenith (as of July 31), causing those who profit from such matters to wonder: does this pause portend decline or is it merely the necessary breath before further conquest?
Thus, we turn a cautious eye toward the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD). A rather ungainly name, to be sure, but then, what name is truly *elegant* when describing the relentless machinery of finance? It provides a scent of utility, if nothing else. We shall dissect this instrument, then, and examine whether it might serve as a humble, if unlikely, brick in the construction of a respectable fortune.