MONEY

If you’re thinking about investing in the stock market today, you may be wondering whether it’s a better idea to go with the big names in the “Magnificent Seven” or to simply hold a position in the entire S&P 500.

The Magnificent Seven refers to some of the most prominent growth stocks in the world: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. Investing in these companies has yielded strong returns for investors over the years. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 makes for a more balanced investment overall, as it gives investors broader exposure to the market while still growing over the long term. By having a position in the 500 best stocks rather than just the top seven, there’s much more diversification.

Which option should you go with today, if your focus is on long-term growth?

Image source: Getty Images.

The Magnificent Seven are magnificent, but they could be overdue for a decline

One way you can gain exposure to the Magnificent Seven is by investing in the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS -3.81%). The fund invests in just the Magnificent Seven and, thus, can be an easier option than investing in each stock individually. Since its launch in April 2023, the fund has soundly outperformed the S&P 500, rising by more than 165% while the broader index has achieved gains of around 64%.

Many of the Magnificent Seven have benefited from an uptick in demand due to artificial intelligence (AI) and have been investing heavily in next-gen technologies. However, many investors worry that a bubble has already formed around AI stocks and that spending could slow down, especially if there’s a recession on the horizon. If that happens, then these stocks could be susceptible to significant declines.

While these stocks have been flying high of late, back in 2022, when the market was in turmoil due to rising inflation and as investor sentiment was souring on growth stocks, each of the Magnificent Seven stocks fell by more than 26%. The worst-performing stocks were Meta and Tesla, which lost around 65% of their value. That year, the S&P 500 also fell, but at 19%, it was a more modest decline.

The S&P 500 is more diverse, but that doesn’t mean it’s risk-free

If you want to have exposure to the S&P 500, you can accomplish that by investing in an S&P 500 index fund, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY -2.67%). Its low expense ratio of 0.09% makes it a low-cost, no-nonsense way of tracking the S&P 500. Its focus is to simply mirror the index, and it does a great job of that.

The problem, however, is that while the S&P 500 will give you exposure to more stocks than just the seven best stocks in the world, how those leading stocks do will still have a significant impact on the overall stock market. And the Magnificent Seven, because they are so valuable, are also among the SPDR ETF’s largest holdings.

But even if you were to go with a more balanced exchange-traded fund, such as the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, which has an equal position in all S&P 500 stocks, that may only offer modest protection from a wide-scale sell-off. In 2022, the ETF declined by 13%.

You’re always going to face some risk when investing in the stock market, especially if your focus is on growth stocks, which can be particularly volatile.

What’s the better strategy for growth investors?

If your priority is growth, then going with the Magnificent Seven can still be the best option moving forward. These stocks will undoubtedly have bad years, but that’s the risk that comes with growth stocks. However, given their dominance in tech and AI, the Magnificent Seven still have the potential to vastly outperform the S&P 500 in the long run, and their gains are likely to far outweigh their losses.

Withdrawing $10,000 from your checking or savings account might not be a big deal for some. But no matter why you do it, your bank’s going to let the federal government know about it.

Here’s what happens when you take out $10,000 or more — and why you probably don’t need to worry about it.

Your bank files a report with the government

Here’s the law: Financial institutions must file a report known as a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for any cash withdrawal or deposit over $10,000. The report then goes to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

This is to help prevent money laundering, fraud, and organized crime. The report also includes your name, account details, transaction amount, and how the money was taken out — whether it was cash, check, or some other form.

A CTR is shared with several agencies, including the IRS. That’s not a big deal so long as you’re doing nothing illegal, but it could lead the IRS to take a closer look at your finances.

You might think you can dodge the CTR by withdrawing $5,000 now and $5,000 later. Don’t do it. Your bank could file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) for withdrawals under $10,000 if they think you’re trying to game the system.

Did you know you don’t need to take money out of your savings account to earn a solid return? Right now, top high-yield savings accounts are offering APYs of 3.80% or more, which means you could be earning $380 a year in interest on your $10,000.

For a better place to store your cash, check out our list of the best high-yield savings accounts available today.

The takeaway: Don’t panic, be transparent

Taking $10,000 out of your checking or savings account isn’t illegal or even uncommon. But it also doesn’t happen without the government taking notice.

If you need to take out a large amount of money, do it all at once. If anyone asks what it’s for, be honest. There’s nothing wrong with accessing your cash, but transparency is key.

And if you’re not committing fraud or doing anything else illegal, you won’t have any reason to worry.

Want to earn more on your savings? See our full list of the best high-yield savings accounts to start earning 3.80% APY or higher now.

Even though we’ve been through this before, the U.S. government shutdown can be an unsettling time. Swaths of federal employees are off the job — or still working but not being paid — and it’s unclear how long the deadlock will last.

At the same time, it’s scary for non-government workers, too. We rely on the government for Social Security checks, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, and for much-needed services such as air traffic control.

People will still get their checks and veterans’ benefits, but some services will be delayed. And travelers are already reporting delays and cancelled flights at airports.

Fortunately, the stock market has a history of holding its own during a government shutdown. Keeping your money in the market has traditionally been a smart move. And if you’re worried about making sure you have a steady flow of income, a dividend exchange-traded fund (ETF) like the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG -1.92%) can be a good option.

Image source: Getty Images.

About the Vanguard ETF

First, it’s important to understand why the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF includes the stocks it does. And to do that, you have to understand the principles of the underlying index, which is the Nasdaq US Dividend Achievers Select Index.

This index includes companies that are on the Nasdaq US Broad Dividend Achievers Index, with some important exceptions. First, it excludes the top 25% of companies in the index by dividend yield. That’s to make sure the Nasdaq US Dividend Achievers Select Index doesn’t have unstable companies with dividends that are artificially high because their businesses are unstable.

And second, the fund excludes all master limited partnerships and real estate investment trusts. Lastly, it only includes companies that have increased their dividend annually for at least 10 consecutive years.

The stocks left make up the Nasdaq US Dividend Achievers Select Index, and those names are skewed toward the technology, industrial, and financial sectors, which account for a collective 64% of the fund.

That’s the index that the Vanguard ETF strives to duplicate, so you can find the same breakdown by stock and sector in it. The top 10 holdings are all blue chip names, with no stock having more than a 6% weighting.

Source: Morningstar

Only two of these companies in the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF’s top 10 are in the red after 12 months. That’s the beauty of an ETF: Rather than trying to guess the one or two best stocks to buy, you get an entire bushel of them with the Vanguard ETF.

The other thing I really like about this ETF is that it gives you a good mix of performance and yield. Compared to some other popular dividend ETFs, it provides the best one-year performance, with a gain of 10%. Combine that with a dividend yield of 1.6%, and you get a nice total return from Vanguard Dividend Appreciation.

VIG data by YCharts.

The bottom line

Yes, this can be an unsettling time, and it’s only natural to make sure that you’re investing in a fund that can provide you with some guaranteed quarterly income, especially if you’re worried that you’re going to have to cover a shortfall by another source.

The Vanguard Divided Appreciation ETF provides the best combination of dividend payout and one-year performance. And when you also consider that it has a low expense ratio of only 0.05%, or $5 annually per $10,000 invested, then I’m comfortable parking funds here while waiting for the government to restart.

Today, XRP (XRP -13.05%) is priced at about $3. Depending on your perspective, that number could sound high or low. So is it worth buying the coin before it hits $4, and does it actually have a realistic chance of doing that?

Let’s dive in and figure it out.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why the sub-$4 range is attractive

XRP’s recent price means that getting to $4 is not going to take a moonshot. Considering that the coin is up by 34% this year so far, it might even hit the target before the end of the year if its momentum picks up steam. But let’s zoom out to look at the trends that are likely to power further demand.

On that front, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is the process of representing ownership of assets like stocks, commodities, and real estate in a crypto token managed on a blockchain so that they can be cheaply and quickly transferred or traced. Across public chains, tokenized RWAs are worth $33.5 billion and still climbing, so this is not just a fad anymore.

So where does the XRP Ledger (XRPL) fit? The XRP Ledger’s RWA footprint has been expanding quickly, with roughly $365 million in tokenized assets, up 12% during the 30-day period ended Oct. 8. Its roster of RWAs now includes notable asset platforms and issuers you would recognize from institutional investor circles.

In particular, U.S. Treasuries are the on-chain beachhead for financial institutions, and XRP is starting to have them in spades, with $170 million in value parked today, up by an impressive 26% during the past 30 days alone. And, critically, Ripple’s enterprise-targeted stablecoin, RLUSD (RLUSD -0.04%), launched on the XRPL with regulatory approval in December 2024, giving XRPL a native settlement rail that institutions can actually use alongside those Treasuries. RLUSD’s market cap is more than $791 million today, with its monthly transfer volume at roughly $5.3 billion and rising rapidly month over month.

Those assets make the XRPL a much better place to do business for the financial institutions that are looking to manage their capital and process their transactions on-chain. When paired with Ripple’s good relationships with international banks and currency exchange houses, it’s a strong cocktail of positive forces for further adoption of XRP as a financial tool.

In other words, big pipes for money are being laid right where and how the holders of large volumes of capital prefer to do business. If that process continues — and Ripple is deeply invested in making sure that it does — the sub-$4 window for XRP will feel like an obvious purchase in hindsight.

What could go wrong

XRP is thus worth buying while it’s less than $4. But that does not guarantee it will get there or that its price will subsequently go even higher if it does. A few things need to happen for the coin’s upward march to continue.

First, the XRPL’s systems and capabilities must continue growing, and Ripple’s marketing efforts must keep succeeding broadly. That means getting more RWA issuers opting in, larger portfolios of tokenized treasuries and funds, and deeper integrations that reduce operational drag for the regulatory compliance teams at big banks and asset managers.

Second, RLUSD adoption needs to broaden so that more institutional flows settle on XRPL rather than detouring to other rails where liquidity is deeper. Ripple has been explicit about building toward lending, identity verification, and other features to simplify the process of doing regulatory-compliant tokenization, but it needs to maintain its consistent execution for the chain to continue being successful.

Assuming those tailwinds persist, getting XRP from roughly $3 to $4 and beyond is very doable, particularly in a market cycle where broader crypto risk appetite remains positive.

After a stock skyrockets by around 500% in just 12 months, as Rocket Lab (RKLB -3.21%) has, it’s only natural to wonder if it rose too quickly, and in so doing, has become too overvalued to safely invest in.

The aerospace company has been experiencing tremendous growth in recent years, and investors remain bullish about its potential for even more growth ahead due to its larger new Neutron rocket, which will open up more opportunities for the business in the long run. But with the company’s market cap now hovering around $28 billion, has too much expected growth been priced into the stock? Could shares of Rocket Lab be due for a big decline?

Image source: Getty Images.

Rocket Lab’s stock carries an incredibly high premium

Although Rocket Lab’s business has been growing in recent years, so too have its losses. From 2021 through 2024, its revenue rose from just $62 million to more than $436 million. Its losses didn’t increase at nearly as rapid a pace, but they did rise from $117 million to $190 million.

When a company is in a rapid-growth phase, it’s not usually worried as much about keeping costs in check — the priority is the top line. In that context, short-term losses can be justifiable. But with Rocket Lab, investors are also paying a massive premium; the stock trades at close to 60 times its trailing revenue and 40 times its book value. Paying high multiples for stock can be warranted when there’s low risk and a lot of future growth expected, but Rocket Lab is far from a safe buy given its current levels and its lack of profitability.

Back in 2021, when it first went public, there was plenty of hype around Rocket Lab’s business, but it wasn’t trading at the mammoth premium that it is today.

RKLB PS Ratio data by YCharts.

The company may not be out of growth catalysts just yet

Despite the stock’s high valuation, one factor could still drive it higher: the company’s Neutron rocket. It’s a partially reusable rocket that can carry significantly larger payloads than Rocket Lab’s current Electron rocket. A successful inaugural launch will be a huge milestone for the business, which could lead to even more excitement around this already scorching-hot stock — and unlock more contract opportunities.

That event could, however, also turn into a sell-the-news moment where investors buy up the stock amid the chatter leading up to the launch, and then sell shares right when they might be around their peak, which might happen if and when a successful launch takes place. This is one of the risks with buying speculative stocks — their movements are extremely difficult to predict.

According to analysts, the stock is already heavily overvalued. The consensus 12-month price target of a little more than $42 is 27% lower than the current price. However, a successful Neutron launch could spark a wave of price-target upgrades from analysts.

Rocket Lab is a high-risk, high-potential-reward stock

This week, Rocket Lab’s stock hit a new 52-week high, proving that it’s not running out of steam just yet. And it may hold its momentum as the excitement builds around the upcoming Neutron launch. The closer that gets, the more the stock may rally.

Rocket Lab’s fundamentals, however, don’t support its inflated valuation, and the danger is that with expectations being as high as they are, there is plenty of room for disappointment and for the stock to fall significantly in value. Although it may not have peaked just yet, that doesn’t mean it’s a good buy at its current price. Unless you have a high risk tolerance, you’d probably be better off investing in a more reasonably priced growth stock than Rocket Lab.

On October 10, 2025, DKM Wealth Management, Inc. disclosed a new position in Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, acquiring 7,935 shares for an estimated $4.76 million in Q3 2025.

What happened

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 10, 2025, DKM Wealth Management, Inc. initiated a position in Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ -3.46%), purchasing approximately 7,935 shares in Q3 2025. The estimated transaction value is $4,763,936 in Q3 2025. This brings the fund’s total QQQ position to $4.76 million, with no prior holding reported last quarter.

What else to know

This is a new position for the fund, now accounting for 3.8% of DKM Wealth Management, Inc.’s $124.58 million in reportable U.S. equity assets in Q3 2025.

Top holdings after the filing:

• (NASDAQ:TBLD): $18.72 million (15.0% of AUM) in Q3 2025
• (NYSEMKT:TCAF): $14,341,015 (11.5113% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• (NYSE:SOR): $12.86 million (10.3% of AUM) in Q3 2025
• (NYSEMKT:GRNY): $9.22 million (7.4% of AUM) in Q3 2025
• (NYSEMKT:ITOT): $7,186,455 (5.7685% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 9, 2025, shares of Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 were priced at $610.70, up 23.84% for the year through October 9, 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 by 8.38 percentage points

Company overview

Company snapshot

The investment strategy seeks to track the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index®.

The portfolio is periodically rebalanced to maintain alignment with the index.

The fund is structured as a trust.

Invesco QQQ Trust offers investors targeted exposure to the NASDAQ-100 Index. The fund’s strategy uses periodic rebalancing to closely mirror index composition and weights.

Foolish take

DKM Wealth Management opened a new position in Invesco’s popular QQQ Trust in Q3 2025, to the tune of $4.8 million and over 7,900 shares. Because QQQ tracks the NASDAQ-100, it gives DKM Wealth Management and other investors a more balanced exposure to tech stocks without nearly as much risk as would be present in investing in individual technology companies.

This has pros and cons, since any individual tech holding can suddenly become a hot commodity and its value balloon dramatically in the current market environment. However, by selecting a basket of tech giants, investors can largely avoid the dramatic ups and downs involved with this sector, and are protected from the more serious losses that can also be present here.

QQQ is an ETF that’s frequently and sometimes aggressively traded, more preferred by active traders than its very similar cousin, QQQM.  QQQ also has higher liquidity, which may be preferred by DKM if the fund feels that this is a shorter term investment, rather than a permanent portfolio balancing move. It can certainly be held long term like QQQM typically is, but it has a higher expense ratio and a higher per share price. Don’t expect this to be a long-term move.

Glossary

13F reportable assets: Assets that U.S. institutional investment managers must disclose quarterly to the SEC on Form 13F.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Position: The amount of a particular security or investment held by an investor or fund.
Trust (fund structure): An investment fund organized as a legal trust, often holding assets on behalf of investors.
Periodic rebalancing: Adjusting a portfolio’s holdings at set intervals to maintain target asset allocations or index alignment.
Dividend yield: The annual dividend income from an investment, expressed as a percentage of its current price.
Total return: The investment’s price change plus all dividends and distributions, assuming those payouts are reinvested.
NASDAQ-100 Index®: A stock market index comprising 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange.
Outperforming: Achieving a higher return than a benchmark index or comparable investment over a given period.
Market value: The current total value of a holding, calculated as the share price multiplied by the number of shares owned.

Benson Investment Management Company, Inc. disclosed a new position in International Business Machines (IBM -3.61%) on October 10, 2025, acquiring shares valued at approximately $6.38 million, as reported in its Form 13F filing for the quarter ended September 30, 2025.

What happened

Benson Investment Management Company, Inc. initiated a new equity stake in International Business Machines (IBM -3.61%), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 10, 2025. The fund bought approximately 22,622 shares, with an estimated transaction value of $6.38 million based on average prices for the third quarter of 2025. This marks International Business Machines’ entry as a reportable holding for the fund.

What else to know

The new International Business Machines position represents 2.18% of the firm’s 13F assets under management as of September 30, 2025

Top holdings after the filing:

• GLD: $14.68 million (5.0% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• GOOGL: $14.08 million (4.8% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• MSFT: $12.81 million (4.4% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NVDA: $11.39 million (3.9% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• AMZN: $9.39 million (3.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 9, 2025, shares were priced at $288.23, up 23.02% over the past year and outperforming the S&P 500 by 12.53 percentage points

Company overview

Company snapshot

Provides integrated solutions spanning software, consulting, infrastructure, and financing, including hybrid cloud platforms and enterprise software.

Generates revenue through licensing, subscription, consulting fees, infrastructure sales, and financing arrangements, leveraging a diversified technology and services portfolio.

Serves large enterprises and institutional clients in sectors such as banking, airlines, retail, and regulated industries worldwide.

International Business Machines is a global technology leader with a broad portfolio spanning software, consulting, infrastructure, and financing solutions. The company focuses on hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, and mission-critical IT services to support enterprise digital transformation.

Foolish take

Benson Investment Management Company took the plunge and invested in a new position in IBM during Q3 2025 that was worth over $6 million, representing about 2% of its total portfolio. This puts IBM in Benson’s top 15 holdings, with a larger percentage share than even Apple and Dell.

This could be a bullish signal from Benson about IBM, but it’s also objectively been a strong stock this year, putting up 20% gains year-to-date. The business is solid, with many new partnerships in the works with a variety of industries. Perhaps its strongest position, however, is in the AI space, where IBM has positioned itself as a leader in enterprise AI solutions.

Unlike general purpose generative AI, or public facing LLMs, many of IBM’s AI solutions are targeted to specific clients or industries, especially those that are highly regulated. This helps the company keep a lid on costs, and has generated a considerable backlog for the product, ensuring interest for some time to come.

Benson’s opening a position in IBM during Q3 could represent a strong conviction in the stock, but may also have been an opportunistic move, considering IBM experienced a major drop in share price during the quarter, which it has since recovered from.

Glossary

Form 13F: A quarterly report filed by institutional investment managers disclosing their equity holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.

Reportable holding: A security position that meets the minimum threshold for mandatory disclosure in regulatory filings.

Hybrid cloud: An IT architecture combining private and public cloud services for greater flexibility and efficiency.

Dividend yield: Annual dividends per share divided by the share price, expressed as a percentage.

Outperforming: Achieving a higher return than a specified benchmark or index over a given period.

Quarter ended: The last day of a three-month financial reporting period.

TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Institutional clients: Large organizations, such as banks or pension funds, that invest substantial sums in financial markets.

Stake: The ownership interest or amount of shares held in a company.

Filing: An official document submitted to a regulatory authority, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, to disclose financial or ownership information.

According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, EOS Energy (EOSE -5.60%) cruised to a nearly 10% gain this week. This was the second week in a row the stock managed an outsized gain for its shareholders, with much of the increase coming on the back of a new business partnership it signed.

United with Unico

That tie-up, announced Monday morning, gave EOS a nice lift across the subsequent trading days. EOS and high-performance power electronics manufacturer Unico divulged that they have formalized their collaboration by signing a multiyear partnership arrangement.

Image source: Getty Images.

EOS, which specializes in next-generation battery energy storage systems (BESS), will use Unico’s latest power conversion products in its systems.

In the press release touting the collaboration, EOS’s senior vice president of storage systems engineering Pranesh Rao was quoted as saying that Unico’s technology in EOS’s offerings would provide clients with “one of the safest, most scalable, efficient, and sustainable energy storage options available.”

Good timing

That news came amid generally positive sentiment for the energy storage systems segment. Especially with the precipitous rise of artificial intelligence (AI) functionalities, there is a sharply growing need for energy generation and storage improvements. It seems apparent that EOS, with this partnership, is actively seeking to bolster the technology it can offer in the effort.