worth

Narcotics worth more than $972m seized in two separate operations carried out within 48 hours.

The Pakistani navy, operating as part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), has seized nearly $1bn worth of narcotics from two vessels sailing through the Arabian Sea.

The CMF, the naval network overseeing the operation, said in a statement on Wednesday that last week, the Pakistani navy intercepted the dhows in two separate operations over 48 hours and seized narcotics worth more than $972m.

The crew boarded the first dhow and seized more than 2 tonnes of “crystal methamphetamine (ICE) with an estimated street value of $822,400,000” on October 18, the CMF said in a statement.

“Less than 48 hours later, the crew boarded a second dhow and seized 350 kg of ICE worth $140,000,000, and 50 kg of cocaine worth $10,000,000.”

The CMF did not provide further details on where the vessels originated, but added that they were identified “as having no nationality”.

U.S. Central Command congratulates the Saudi-led Combined Task Force 150 of Combined Maritime Forces for successfully seizing more than $972 million worth of narcotics. Over a 48-hour period, Pakistan Navy Ship Yarmook conducted boarding operations of two dhows in the Arabian…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 21, 2025

The operations were conducted in direct support of a Saudi-led Combined Task Force 150, which said “the success of this focused operation highlights the importance of the multi-national collaboration”.

It was “one of the most successful narcotics seizures for CMF”, said Saudi Arabian navy’s Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of the CMF task force carrying out the operation.

The CMF is a 47-nation naval partnership tasked with inspecting more than 3.2 million square miles (about 829 million hectares) of waters, including some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, to prevent smuggling, the statement added.

In a separate statement, the Pakistani navy said the achievement highlighted its “unwavering commitment to regional maritime security, global peace, and the collective fight against illicit trafficking at sea”.

Joel R Mogy Investment Counsel (JMIC) disclosed in an October 16, 2025, SEC filing that it sold 20,929 Adobe shares during Q3 2025.

This was an estimated $7.51 million trade based on the average price for Q3 2025.

What happened

Joel R Mogy Investment Counsel reported a reduction in its position in Adobe (ADBE 1.30%), selling 20,929 shares during Q3 2025.

The estimated value of the sale, based on the average closing price for Q3 2025, was approximately $7.51 million.

The position now stands at 50,664 shares as of Q3 2025, according to the firm’s SEC Form 13-F filed on October 16, 2025.

What else to know

The fund’s post-sale Adobe stake represents 0.98% of its $1.83 billion reportable U.S. equity AUM as of September 30, 2025, down from 1.60% in the previous period

JMIC’s top holdings after the filing:

1. Nvidia: $257.28 million (14.1% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
2. Alphabet: $158.37 million (8.68% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
3. Apple: $155.49 million (8.52% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
4. Microsoft: $148.56 million (8.14% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
5. Costco Wholesale: $91.43 million (5.0% of AUM)

As of October 15, 2025, Adobe shares were priced at $330.63, marking a one-year decline of 34.9% and underperforming the S&P 500 by 49 percentage points.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Adobe offers software solutions, including Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and a suite of digital experience and publishing tools; primary revenue is generated through recurring subscription services.

It operates a cloud-based, subscription-driven business model, selling directly to enterprises and end users as well as through a global partner network.

The company serves content creators, marketers, enterprises, and creative professionals across industries worldwide.

Adobe Inc. is a leading global software company specializing in creative, document, and digital experience solutions.

Foolish take

Joel R Mogy Investment Counsel (JMIC) had been steadily accumulating shares over the last few years, with the firm having a 2.5% portfolio allocation in Adobe just two years ago.

However, the company has sold shares of Adobe in the last two quarters — and heavily in its latest quarter.

With Adobe’s stock down 52% from its all-time high, it certainly seems as though JMIC is worried about the long-term future of the company.

Adobe has become an artificial intelligence (AI) battleground stock lately. The market seems torn as to whether the AI revolution will empower — or completely disrupt — the company’s creative operations.

For instance, OpenAI recently launched its Sora 2 model that lets users create short video clips from text. It doesn’t take a wild leap to imagine how this could directly hinder Adobe’s video editing and software businesses.

That said, Adobe has grown sales by 11% over the last year and is seeing the professional use cases for its video capabilities remain as robust as ever. Furthermore, the company has its Adobe Firefly unit, which is its own generative AI offering for creators — so it’s not exactly being blindsided by peers like OpenAI.

Trading at just 15 times free cash flow, Adobe could be a tremendous value investment at today’s price, but it looks like JMIC doesn’t want to risk waiting to find out if the company gets disrupted or not.

Glossary

AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of all investments managed by a fund or investment firm.
Form 13-F: A quarterly SEC filing by institutional investment managers disclosing their equity holdings.
Q3: The third quarter of a company’s fiscal year, typically covering July through September.
Reportable U.S. equity assets: U.S. stocks and related securities that must be disclosed in regulatory filings.
Top holdings: The largest individual investments in a fund’s portfolio, usually ranked by market value.
Stake: The ownership interest or number of shares a fund or investor holds in a company.
Subscription-driven business model: A model where customers pay recurring fees for ongoing access to products or services.
Global partner network: A group of companies or organizations worldwide that help distribute or sell a firm’s products.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

BYD (BYDDY -1.09%) produces far more vehicles than Tesla. But you wouldn’t be able to tell based on stock prices alone. The Chinese electric vehicle maker’s market cap is around $990 billion, while U.S.-based Tesla is valued at more than $1.3 trillion.

Part of the valuation gap is explained by BYD’s recent struggles. Shares are down 20% in value since May. Tesla stock, meanwhile, has gained more than 40% in value over that time period. Is this your chance to buy BYD at a rare discount?

There’s no doubt that shares look compelling. But there are two critical factors to consider before jumping in.

1. Warren Buffett changed his mind about BYD

Legendary investor Warren Buffett was one of the first major investors in BYD. He first acquired shares 17 years ago, paying $230 million for a 10% stake in the business. It wasn’t actually Buffett that spotted the opportunity, but rather his longtime business partner, Charlie Munger.

Earlier in its history, BYD was focused on battery technology. Through vertical integration and affordable labor in China, the company was able to keep costs low, leading to major customer wins. It launched its first vehicles in 2003, gradually expanding its portfolio to include two of the most popular EVs in the world. This year, analysts expect the company to produce more EVs than Tesla, making it the number one EV maker worldwide.

Over the last 17 years, Buffett has made more than 2,000% on his original investment. This year, however, he liquidated his entire position. Why? Even though it has massive scale, BYD is still primarily a Chinese company. Around 80% of its sales are domestic, a reality that creates two critical headwinds.

First, the Chinese economy has been gradually slowing. Last year, GDP in the country grew by just 5% — one of the lowest figures in decades. Accordingly, BYD’s domestic sales have struggled in 2025, leading to a sales forecast cut by management.

Second, the Chinese government has a heavy influence on BYD. The company has received significant financial support from the government over the years. But that generosity may be ending. BYD failed an audit this summer, which may force it to repay more than $50 million in subsidies. The Chinese government’s involvement in the auto industry has ramped up this year, with the ultimate results still uncertain.

Buffett hasn’t yet commented on his stake sale. But with rising political uncertainty and a shaky domestic market, it appears as if the Oracle of Omaha has had enough with this long-term position.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. Don’t compare BYD to Tesla

Due to China’s sluggish GDP and falling population growth, it will be difficult for BYD’s sales to maintain historical growth rates over the long term without expanding international sales aggressively. Increasing regulatory oversight may complicate efforts to do so, but BYD is making moves to shift its focus away from China.

A recent deal with Uber Technologies, for instance, attempts to make its vehicles more accessible to drivers in Europe and Latin America. The deal also paves the way for BYD to help power Uber’s robotaxi division in certain parts of the world.

On the surface, now looks like a compelling time to pick up BYD shares. While challenges exist, the company has an impressive manufacturing base, with the ability to sell cars at a price point that few competitors can match at scale. Its recent Uber deal, meanwhile, gives it exposure to the robotaxi market, which could eventually be worth more than $5 trillion globally.

Add in that shares trade at roughly 1 times sales versus Tesla’s valuation of nearly 17 times sales, and it’s not hard to get excited. Here’s the problem: BYD isn’t Tesla. Tesla, for instance, has a leading position in the robotaxi market, making it far more than a simple auto manufacturer. BYD’s position in the market is simply as a supplier to operators like Uber.

Is BYD stock a buy today? Patient investors comfortable with Chinese regulatory uncertainty may think so. But the valuation gap between BYD and Tesla shouldn’t be a motivating factor. These are two very different businesses.

On October 15, 2025, Davenport & Co LLC disclosed a purchase of 155,551 shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) for the period ended Q3 2025, an estimated $47.04 million trade.

What happened

An SEC filing dated October 15, 2025 shows Davenport increased its position in UnitedHealth Group (UNH 0.38%) by 155,551 shares during Q3 2025.

The estimated transaction value, based on the average closing price during the quarter, was approximately $47.04 million.

The post-trade position reached 739,525 shares, with a market value of $255.34 million.

What else to know

Following this buy, UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.36% of Davenport $18.76 billion in 13F reportable assets

The firm’s top holdings after the filing:

1. Brookfield Corp: $583.81 million (3.13% of AUM)
2. Microsoft: $478.54 million (2.56% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
3. Amazon: $451.10 million (2.42% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
4. Markel: $391.43 million (2.1% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
5. Nvidia: $375.98 million (2.01% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30

As of October 14, 2025, shares of UnitedHealth Group were priced at $359.93, down 40.6% over the prior year and underperforming the S&P 500 by 53 percentage points over the same period.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

UnitedHealth Group:

• Offers health benefit plans, pharmacy care services, healthcare management, and data analytics solutions through segments including UnitedHealthcare and Optum.
• Generates revenue primarily from insurance premiums, healthcare services, and pharmacy benefit management, leveraging scale and integrated platforms.
• Serves national and public sector employers, government programs (Medicare, Medicaid), individuals, and healthcare providers across the United States.

UnitedHealth Group is a leading diversified healthcare company with a broad national footprint and an integrated business model spanning insurance, pharmacy benefits, and healthcare services. The company maintains a competitive edge through its extensive provider networks, data-driven solutions, and ability to serve a wide range of customer segments.

Foolish take

Davenport & Company continued to add to their UnitedHealth position, which now accounts for 1.4% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 9th-largest position.

What makes Davenport’s purchases over the last two quarters noteworthy is that they are essentially doubling down on the company right after its stock sold off heavily.

Hampered by ballooning medical costs, changes in leadership, reduced guidance, and mounting regulatory pressure, UnitedHealth’s stock dropped 39% from its highs in just the last six months.

While UnitedHealth has become a battleground stock of sorts lately, it received a major lift after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it took a $1.6 billion stake in the stock in the second quarter of 2025.

That is great company for Davenport to join, as it also adds to its stake in UnitedHealth.

Regardless of the headwinds facing UnitedHealth, the company remains one of the most dominant health insurers in the United States.

Currently trading at just 16 times earnings and 13 times free cash flow, the risk-reward ratio on UnitedHealth Group is very appealing.

Glossary

13F reportable AUM: Assets under management that must be disclosed in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings by institutional investment managers.
Quarterly average price: The average price of a security over a specific quarter, used for estimating transaction values.
Post-trade holdings: The total number of shares or value held in a security after a trade is completed.
Top holdings: The largest investments in a fund or portfolio, ranked by market value.
Pharmacy benefit management: Services that manage prescription drug programs for health plans, employers, and government programs.
Integrated platforms: Systems that combine multiple services or business functions into a unified offering.
Provider networks: Groups of healthcare professionals and facilities contracted to deliver services to insurance plan members.
Medicare: A U.S. federal health insurance program for people aged 65 and older, and certain younger individuals with disabilities.
Medicaid: A joint federal and state program in the U.S. providing health coverage to eligible low-income individuals.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Argent Capital Management LLC pared its holding in Copart (CPRT 1.70%) by 1,262,984 shares during Q3 2025, an estimated $59.52 million trade based on the average price for the quarter, according to an SEC filing dated October 14, 2025.

What happened

According to its Form 13-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 14, 2025 (see filing), the firm reduced its Copart position by 1,262,984 shares during Q3 2025.

The estimated value of the shares sold, calculated using the period’s average closing price, was $59.52 million. The fund reported a remaining position of 162,339 shares at quarter-end.

What else to know

This was a reduction in the Copart stake, which now represents 0.2% of the firm’s 13F reportable assets under management as of Q3 2025.

Argent’s top holdings after the filing:

• Microsoft: $251.95 million (6.9% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Nvidia: $237.98 million (6.5% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Amazon: $213.08 million (5.8% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Alphabet: $194.75 million (5.3% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Mastercard: $126.28 million (3.5% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)

As of October 13, 2025, Copart shares were priced at $44.07, down 20% over the one-year period ending October 13, 2025, underperforming the S&P 500 by 36 percentage points over the same time.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Copart provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services, including virtual bidding, salvage estimation, and end-of-life vehicle processing across North America, Europe, and select international markets.

It operates a digital marketplace facilitating the sale and purchase of vehicles, generating revenue through transaction fees, service charges, and value-added offerings such as vehicle transportation and title processing.

The company serves insurance companies, banks, fleet operators, dealerships, vehicle dismantlers, exporters, and individual buyers seeking to acquire or dispose of vehicles efficiently.

Copart, Inc. provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services internationally, leveraging advanced virtual auction technology to connect sellers and buyers of vehicles across multiple continents. With a scalable digital platform and a comprehensive suite of remarketing and logistics services, Copart enables efficient disposition of vehicles for institutional and individual clients alike.

Foolish take

While Argent Capital Management still holds a few shares of Copart, the firm all but sold out of its position, reducing its portfolio allocation in the stock from 2% to 0.2%.

Since the stock seemed to be a longer-term holding for Argent, this seems mildly worrisome to Copart shareholders — myself included.

Though it’s impossible to know what exactly prompted the firm to nearly liquidate its holdings in the company, Copart’s results have been underwhelming this year, causing its slightly expensive stock to slide 30% from its high.

After growing sales by 15% annually over the last decade, Copart’s revenue growth slid to 13%, 7%, and finally 5% over the previous three quarters.

Ultimately, I’ll have to disagree with Argent on Copart as I believe the company has a wide moat around its operations that will make it hard to disrupt.

That said, Copart still trades at 28 times earnings, even after this year’s drop, so Argent may have simply thought it had grown beyond its valuation as a more mature company.

Glossary

13F reportable AUM: Assets under management that must be disclosed by institutional investment managers in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings.
Form 13-F: A quarterly SEC filing by institutional investment managers listing their U.S. equity holdings.
Quarter (Q3 2025): The third three-month period of a company’s fiscal year, here referring to July–September 2025.
Transaction value: The total dollar amount generated by a specific buy or sell trade.
Stake: The ownership interest or investment a fund or individual holds in a particular company.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Digital marketplace: An online platform where buyers and sellers conduct transactions for goods or services, such as vehicles.
Vehicle remarketing: The process of reselling used or end-of-lease vehicles, often through auctions or specialized platforms.
Salvage estimation: The process of assessing the value of damaged or end-of-life vehicles for resale or parts.
End-of-life vehicle processing: Handling and disposing of vehicles that are no longer operational, often for recycling or parts.
Value-added offerings: Additional services provided beyond basic transactions, such as transportation or title processing, to enhance customer value.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

THIS Christmas snag £365 of beauty must-haves for just £79 – including the fan-favourite ‘glass skin in a bottle’ and the show-stopping ‘Wonder’ serum.

The set brings together 32 carefully curated mix of skincare and beauty essentials, designed to keep your complexion glowing all winter long.

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From hydrating serums to luxurious creams, each product promises a little bit of pampering magic, making it a perfectly indulgent gift for yourself or someone special.

Shoppers are already calling it a bargain not to be missed, with the full retail value adding up to over £365, yet the Christmas set is available for just £79 – a fraction of the price.

What’s included?

For haircare, there is a Hair Syrup Rapunzel Pre-Wash Oil Treatment (50ml, deluxe size), Alfaparf Milano Semi Di Lino Diamond Illuminating Shampoo (75ml, deluxe size), and Alfaparf Milano Semi Di Lino Diamond Illuminating Conditioner (50ml, deluxe size).

You also get an Intense Moisture Hair Mask (300ml, full size), Bondi Boost Heat Protectant Spray (50ml, deluxe size), Incredilox Nourishing Argan Treatment Oil (100ml, full size) and a Brushworks Dry Shampoo (50ml, deluxe size).

Your skin will be pampered with a Madagascar Centella Ampoule (30ml, full size), a Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask (34g, full size), a TIRTIR Milk Skin Toner (50ml, full size), and a Purito Mighty Bamboo Panthenol Cream (100ml, full size).

You can also enjoy a Dr.PawPaw Overnight Lip Mask (10ml, full size), a Geek & Gorgeous Jelly Joker Cleanser (50ml, deluxe size), Grace & Stella Under Eye Mask Set (full size), a Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Fluid SPF50 (15ml, deluxe size), a Clean Skin Club Clean Towels XL Travel Pack (x10, full size) and a Kanzen Anti-Bacterial Cleansing Water (125ml, full size).

The beauty set offers cosmetics such as the Clomana Marshmallow Sponge, a Spectrum Collections Everyday 4 Piece Makeup Brush Set, a Plump It! Volumising Lip Oil (3ml), and a Jecca Blac Glow Drops Highlighting Primer in Rose Pearl (20ml).

Treat yourself to a fresh manicure with the Nails Inc. It’s Topless 1-Step Gel Nail Polish (10ml) and Nails Inc. It’s Topless 1-Step Gel Nail Polish (10ml).

Relax with the bath and body samples, which include the ESPA Bergamot & Jasmine Body Wash (40ml), the ESPA Bergamot & Jasmine Body Lotion (40ml), a Fussy Natural Deodorant Stick and two Truly Beauty Unicorn Fruit & Coco Cloud Gift sets (60ml).

Other goodies include a Shay & Blue Parfum Nashwa Eau De Parfum (10ml), a White Silver Cloud Fluffy Sleep Mask, a Justmylook Spa Headband and three Justmylook Satin Hair Scrunchies.

Customer reviews

Customers loved the set last year, leaving rave reviews and calling it a “blow-away” buy for both the quality and quantity of products included.

Many praise how the items feel luxurious, perform well, and offer a real sense of value, making it one of the most talked-about beauty bargains this festive season.

One customer wrote: “Bought this last year for my daughter and she absolutely loved it!

“The variety and quality of products behind each door was exceptional, in fact she has since purchased some of the items to use throughout the year.

“Great calendar for trying some new products.”

Another added: “I truly enjoyed opening this one. A few different products in it unlike some advents who seems to copy each other. Very happy and especially the price point.”

A third penned: “I have just received my box as a birthday present. Love. Love. Love. What is there not to love?

“The box itself is just gorgeous … the contents are just amazing. It’s going to take some time to go through all the boxes .. can I wait until December …. nnahhhhh Let’s start now. Thank you.”

A fourth said: “WOW in a word! I’ve just received my JML Advent today and it’s absolutely beautiful.

“The box is gorgeous and so well made, each drawer holding the full 25 (not 24 like a classic advent) individual boxes (though I note there are several boxes with multiple items).

“It’s truly a lovely gift for yourself or a loved one (I ordered one for myself and another for my mum). I can’t recommend it enough, honestly.

“The team at JML have clearly put a lot of thought in to both the design of the box and the goodies inside it, not to mention the incredible value for money.

“I’m blown away, truly. Thanks Team JML – this advent is fabulous!!”

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Everyone wants to own quantum computing stocks. Companies like IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) are up hundreds of percent in the last year, with the aforementioned stock now at a market cap of $25 billion while generating less than $100 million in revenue. Quantum computing could drive huge gains in productivity if the technology is ever commercialized, but today, IonQ is a highly speculative company with little to no business model. This makes it an incredibly risky stock to own.

Here are two stocks not betting on a speculative science fiction future, but creating value in the present. Both Remitly Global (RELY -3.13%) and Portillo’s (PTLO -2.76%) will be larger than IonQ in five years’ time. Here’s why you should add them to your portfolio over any quantum computing stock.

Remitly’s disruptive opportunity

Remitly Global has moved in the opposite direction from IonQ in 2025. Shares of the remittance provider are off 42% from highs set earlier in 2025, while IonQ is up 78% year to date (YTD) and just reached a new all-time high.

Investors are nervous about Remitly because of the immigration crackdown in the United States, which may reduce cross-border payments from the United States to Mexico and other Latin American countries. This is Remitly’s core business as a mobile disruptor to the legacy players, such as Western Union. Fears are also rising due to a new tax on remittance payments, although it is just a 1% tax and likely not to greatly impact payment flows.

Despite these worries, Remitly has posted strong growth throughout 2025. Revenue was up 34% year over year last quarter, with 40% growth in send volume. Not only is Remitly completely disregarding immigration fears for remittance demand, but it is also taking a ton of market share from legacy players due to its low fees and easy-to-use mobile application.

What’s more, Remitly is starting to get profitable. On $1.46 billion in trailing revenue, the business generated an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $27 million, with plenty of room to increase its operating leverage over time. Compare that to IonQ with minimal revenue and huge operating losses, and Remitly looks like a company that should have a larger market cap than any quantum computing stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Portillo’s expansion plans

Portillo’s is a restaurant chain that sells Chicago-style street food, such as hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. It has begun to expand to other markets such as Texas and Florida with average success, as some of its restaurant volumes have been hit by a broad slowdown in consumer spending at restaurants in 2024 and 2025.

Despite this, Portillo’s is poised to grow substantially in the years ahead. It is planning to slowly grow its presence in new states around the country, bringing this beloved Chicago brand to a national stage. Last quarter, Portillo’s posted just 3.6% annual revenue growth, but that is due to the fact that its new store openings are going to be weighted to the back half of 2025. With the company planning to have just around 100 restaurant locations at the end of this year, there is still a huge runway for the concept to expand to new metropolitan areas in the United States.

Portillo’s has a market cap of just $464 million today. Investors may look at this market capitalization compared to IonQ and think it is impossible for the restaurant operator to surpass the $25 billion stock within five years. But let’s truly compare the underlying financials to show why IonQ is grossly overvalued at its current price.

Over the last 12 months, Portillo’s generated $65 million in EBIT on $728 million in revenue. IonQ generated just $53 million in revenue and lost $351 million (it has never been profitable). Portillo’s may not surpass a $25 billion market cap in five years, but it will be larger than IonQ because IonQ does not deserve anything close to a $25 billion valuation.

Buy Remitly and Portillo’s. Avoid IonQ and other quantum computing stocks. Your portfolio will thank you five years from now.

Net worth is one of the most important financial numbers to know.

You should monitor your net worth because it changes over time, and it gives you a good idea of how close you are to being financially independent and shows whether you are making progress on your financial goals.

It can also be fun to see how your net worth stacks up to your peers. In particular, you may be curious about what net worth you would need to be among the top 10% of American households. The number is, unsurprisingly, pretty big.

Here’s the amount you would need, along with some details on calculating your net worth — and increasing it.

Image source: Getty Images.

How do you calculate your net worth?

Before diving into the net worth you need to be among the top 10%, it’s helpful to consider how to calculate net worth in the first place.

Net worth is essentially how much wealth you have to your name. To calculate your net worth:

• Start by adding up the value of all your assets. Money in your bank account and savings account counts. So does money in your money market account. If you have CDs, these count as well. Same with investment dollars in a brokerage account. If you own real estate, a car, jewelry, personal items, or anything else of value, it counts toward your net worth.
• Add up all your debt. You’ll also need to add up what you owe. Credit card debts, student loans, payday loans, a mortgage, and any other financial obligations you have will all become part of your debt calculation. You can check your credit report to confirm balances on all your debts if you aren’t sure of the amounts.
• Subtract the amount of your debt from the value of your assets. If your assets are worth $500,000, for example, but you have $350,000 in debt, then you subtract $350,000 from $500,000 to discover that your net worth is $150,000.

If your net worth is negative, that’s pretty common if you’re young. Many people don’t own much, and they borrow for school, so they graduate with a lot of debt.

As you get older, though, your net worth should be growing as you build up money in brokerage accounts and retirement plans.

Are you in the top 10% of American households?

Now that you know how net worth is calculated, you may want to see where you stand.

The best information on this comes from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, which comes out once every three years. Unfortunately, the most recent data is from 2022. Still, we can take a look at that information to get an idea of what the top 10% of earners have in terms of wealth.

Based on this data from the Federal Reserve, the top 10% of American households had a net worth of at least $1,936,900, although the threshold varies by age. For example:

• Among 18 to 29-year-olds, you’d need $281,550 or higher to be in the top 10%
• Between 30 to 39, you’d need $711,400
• Between 40 to 49, you’d need $1,313,700
• Between 50 to 59, you’d need $2,629,060
• Between 60 to 69, you’d need $3,007,400
• At age 70 and over, you’d need $2,862,000

While these are high numbers, the amount is most likely even higher today due to the stellar performance of the stock market and the increase in real estate values in recent years.

While the Federal Reserve should have new data soon, these numbers show that it takes millions to be among the wealthiest Americans in terms of net worth.

Still, regardless of how you compare to your peers, what’s important is that you work on growing your own net worth by paying down debt, investing in your 401(k), IRA, and other accounts, and making smart financial choices that make you more financially secure over time.

Dogecoin (DOGE -17.67%) was never really supposed to be a functional cryptocurrency. It’s a clone of a clone of Bitcoin with a few funny tweaks to the code, intentionally making Dogecoin less secure and less valuable in the long run.

Yet, its adorable dog mascot and support from popular meme lords made Dogecoin one of the most valuable cryptos on the planet. With a $37.6 billion market cap as of Oct. 9, it would be a mid-range member of the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) if it were a stock, comparable to household names like Yum! Brands or Delta Air Lines.

But these things change over time. Five years ago, Dogecoin was only the 43rd-largest name in crypto, with a $328 million market value. About one-third of the coins ranked above it in 2020 have fallen out of the top-100 list, according to CoinMarketCap.

And I think Dogecoin’s days in the spotlight are numbered. Thanks to firmer regulation, the advent of crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the incoming Web3 trend, the top coins of the relatively near future will have to prove their worth with real-world usage. Dogecoin doesn’t have much to offer in that department. By 2030, I expect Chainlink (LINK -15.25%), Avalanche (AVAX -14.17%), and Polkadot (DOT -21.71%) to have passed Dogecoin’s market value.

Sorry Doge, these coins are stealing your lunch. Image source: Getty Images.

Let’s talk about the Web3 revolution

Spoiler alert: I’ll keep coming back to Web3 ideals in these explanations. Cryptocurrencies should go mainstream in that world, where internet users own their data, digital assets, and online identities through blockchain technology rather than relying on big tech companies.

I mean, most people may be unaware of the Web3 changes going on behind the scenes, and the best Web3 apps will surely look and feel like any other application. But the structural changes are still necessary, and that’s why I like this particular trio of future crypto giants.

1. Polkadot connects the crypto universe

On that note, I have to mention Polkadot. It’s the brainchild of the Web3 Foundation, founded by Web3 champion and Ethereum (ETH -6.65%) co-founder Gavin Wood.

Polkadot’s main purpose is to help app developers take full advantage of many other cryptocurrencies and blockchain ledgers. It connects to the other cryptos, easily transferring data between them and simplifying the design of complex crypto apps.

It’s also incredibly fast, which comes in handy when interacting with some of the highest-performance crypto systems available. And thanks to a recent community vote, there is now a hard cap on the number of Polkadot coins that will ever exist — making it as inflation-resistant as Bitcoin.

Polkadot is much smaller than Dogecoin today, with a market cap of just $6.6 billion. That value relationship should flip by 2030.

2. Smart contracts would be pretty dumb without Chainlink

Chainlink is another crucial Web3 component. The leading oracle coin collects real-world data and delivers it to blockchain systems, usually to trigger smart contracts.

Development ecosystems such as Ethereum and Polkadot often rely on Chainlink to collect critical data. Popular data feeds include stock market pricing, foreign exchange rates, weather reports, and sports results. Without these data feeds, the Web3 world would grind to a halt — and Chainlink is the top data provider by far.

Chainlink is currently the 11th-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $15 billion. This figure should trend higher over the next few years as Dogecoin fades.

3. Avalanche brings eco-friendly speed to Web3

Finally, Avalanche is a high-performance alternative to Ethereum. This coin combines quick smart contract execution with an energy-efficient computing back-end, making Avalanche a popular platform for eco-friendly decentralized apps.

And the Avalanche-based app portfolio is growing by leaps and bounds right now. Fresh examples include a global social network for sports fans, a decentralized fine wine database, and digital tickets to the Latin American baseball championships of 2025. These projects all hit the public market in the last two weeks.

Avalanche’s market cap stands at $12.0 billion today, up from $7.7 billion six months ago. Avalanche is a vibrant cryptocurrency with a real shot at Web3 relevance. Sorry, Dogecoin — Avalanche will probably also eclipse you in the next five years.

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.

Sage Capital Advisors, LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation(COST -0.00%), selling 3,424 shares in Q3 2025. The estimated trade value was $3.28 million, based on quarterly average pricing for the period ended September 30, 2025, according to an SEC filing dated October 7, 2025.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 07, 2025, Sage Capital Advisors, LLC sold 3,424 shares of Costco in Q3 2025. The transaction was valued at an estimated $3.28 million. Following the trade, the fund held 6,371 shares valued at $5.90 million as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

The fund’s position in Costco decreased from 2.3937% to 1.4023% of reportable AUM as of 2025-09-30 following the sale.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ:AAPL: $37.26 million (8.9% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ:MSFT: $21.92 million (5.2% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
• NASDAQ:NVDA: $19.31 million (4.6% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
• NASDAQ:GOOGL: $18.69 million (4.4% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
• NASDAQ:AMZN: $16.32 million (3.9% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30

As of October 6, 2025, shares of Costco were priced at $910.94, up 4.3% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 by 13.7 percentage points

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Offers a broad assortment of branded and private-label merchandise, including groceries, appliances, electronics, apparel, and specialty services such as pharmacies, optical centers, and fuel stations.

Operates a membership-based warehouse model

Operates in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia

As of September 2025, the company operated 914 membership warehouses worldwide

Foolish take

Sage Capital Advisors sold off about 34% of its Costco holdings during Q3 2025, totaling about $3.28 million, dropping Costco from about 2.4% of its AUM to about 1.4%. This wasn’t a significant drop in its overall portfolio composition, even if it did represent a pretty significant sell-off of its Costco stock holdings.

Although Costco remains a strong retail company, investors have long worried it has been getting overvalued and has less room to grow in valuation in the near-term. For example, over the last year, Costco share values only increased by 4.3%, significantly underperforming the market. The company also had a very strong Q3, despite a resulting drop in its stock price.

Costco remains a desirable company for many investors, even if institutional investors like Sage Capital Advisors are selling significant shares. This may be a regular part of its portfolio management, and nothing to worry about, or it may have been taking gains at one of the near-$1000 peaks that occurred during the quarter. 

Either way, this looks more like a rebalancing move and less like a statement about Costco.

Glossary

AUM: Assets Under Management – The total market value of investments managed by a fund or firm.
Reportable AUM: The portion of a fund’s assets required to be disclosed in regulatory filings, often U.S. equities.
Top holdings: The largest individual investments in a fund, typically ranked by market value or portfolio percentage.
Membership-based warehouse model: A retail structure where customers pay annual fees to access bulk goods at discounted prices.
Dividend Yield: Annual dividends per share divided by share price, shown as a percentage.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

On October 7, 2025, Moulton Wealth Management, Inc disclosed a new position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH 2.68%), acquiring 8,932 shares valued at approximately $2.92 million.

What happened

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated October 7, 2025, Moulton Wealth Management, Inc disclosed a new position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF, adding 8,932 shares. The estimated transaction value was approximately $2.92 million. The fund reported 45 total positions and $137.49 million in reportable U.S. equity assets.

What else to know

This is a new position; SMH now accounts for 2.1% of the fund’s 13F assets under management.

Top holdings after the filing:

• SPLG: $12.93 million (9.4% of AUM)
• USFR: $10.40 million (7.6% of AUM)
• TFLO: $10.37 million (7.5% of AUM)
• SJNK: $9.82 million (7.1% of AUM)
• FLOT: $9.73 million (7.1% of AUM)

As of October 7, 2025, shares were priced at $337.05, up 35.79% over the past year.

Company overview

Company snapshot

The investment strategy seeks to replicate the performance of the fund’s benchmark index by investing at least 80% of assets in U.S. exchange-listed semiconductor companies.

The portfolio is concentrated in common stocks and depositary receipts of semiconductor companies, including both domestic and foreign issuers.

Fund structure is non-diversified with a passively managed approach.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) provides targeted exposure to the semiconductor sector by tracking a benchmark index of leading U.S.-listed semiconductor companies. The fund’s substantial asset base and focused portfolio offer investors a liquid and efficient vehicle for accessing this critical technology industry.

Foolish take

I’m a longtime bull on the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) for one very simple reason: Semiconductors are a critical component within the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, and AI is the most important technological innovation of this decade.

Therefore, this fund’s core holdings read like a who’s who of top-performing stocks. There’s Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, and many more.

Obviously, many of these stocks have soared to new heights as the AI revolution has picked up steam. Nvidia is now the world’s largest company by market cap; Broadcom is now the 7th-largest American company with a market cap north of $1.6 trillion.

What’s more, organizations are still spending tens of billions on new AI infrastructure investments — much of it coming in the form of purchases of semiconductors.

For example, according to estimates compiled by Yahoo Finance, Nvidia’s annual sales should rise to over $200 billion this year, up from $26 billion in 2022.

All that said, semiconductors have historically been a cyclical industry, and have endured many boom-bust cycles. So investors should remain cautious about how much exposure they may have to the semiconductor industry, given its volatile history.

However, for most growth-oriented investors, semiconductors are now a must-own sector. So for those investors, the Van Eck Semiconductor ETF is one fund to consider for the long term.

Glossary

ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): An investment fund traded on stock exchanges, holding assets like stocks or bonds.

13F assets under management: The value of U.S. equity securities reported by institutional managers in quarterly SEC filings.

New position: The initial purchase of a security or asset not previously held in a portfolio.

Benchmark index: A standard index used to measure the performance of an investment fund or portfolio.

Depositary receipts: Negotiable certificates representing shares in a foreign company, traded on local stock exchanges.

Non-diversified fund: A fund that invests a large portion of assets in a small number of issuers or sectors.

Passively managed: An investment approach that aims to replicate the performance of a benchmark index, not outperform it.

Expense ratio: The annual fee expressed as a percentage of assets, covering a fund’s operating costs.

Asset base: The total value of assets held by a fund or investment vehicle.

Reportable position: A holding that must be disclosed in regulatory filings due to its size or regulatory requirements.

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More than four years after the family of deceased Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs filed a wrongful death suit against the Angels, jury selection will begin Monday in Orange County Superior Court.

Skaggs’ widow Carli Skaggs and parents Debra Hetman and Darrell Skaggs stated in a court filing that they seek at least $210 million in lost earnings and damages. A lawyer for the Angels said in a pretrial hearing that the plaintiffs now seek a judgment of $1 billion, although the lead attorney representing the family said the number is an exaggeration.

The trial is expected to last several weeks. Pretrial discovery included more than 50 depositions and the witness list contains nearly 80 names.

Lawyers for the Skaggs family aim to establish that the Angels were responsible for the death of the 27-year-old left-handed pitcher on July 1, 2019, after he snorted crushed pills that contained fentanyl in a hotel room during a team road trip in Texas.

An autopsy concluded Skaggs accidentally died of asphyxia after aspirating his own vomit while under the influence of fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol.

Angels communications director Eric Kay provided Skaggs with counterfeit oxycodone pills that turned out to be laced with fentanyl and is serving 22 years in federal prison for his role in the death. Skaggs’ lawyers will try to prove that other Angels employees knew Kay was providing opioids to Skaggs.

“The Angels owed Tyler Skaggs a duty to provide a safe place to work and play baseball,” the lawsuit said. “The Angels breached their duty when they allowed Kay, a drug addict, complete access to Tyler. The Angels also breached their duty when they allowed Kay to provide Tyler with dangerous illegal drugs. The Angels should have known Kay was dealing drugs to players. Tyler died as a result of the Angels’ breach of their duties.”

The Skaggs family planned to call numerous current and former Angels players as witnesses, including future Hall of Famers Mike Trout and Albert Pujols as well as pitcher Andrew Heaney — Skaggs’ best friend on the team — in an attempt to show that Skaggs was a fully functioning major league pitcher and not an addict.

Pretrial filings and hearings indicated that the Angels were attempting to show that Skaggs was a longtime drug user who acquired pills from sources other than Kay. Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, testified during Kay’s 2022 criminal trial that her son admitted he had an “issue” with oxycodone as far back as 2013.

Hetman said her son quit “cold turkey” but she testified the addiction remained enough of a concern that Skaggs wasn’t prescribed opioids after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2014.

Judge H. Shaina Colover dashed a key Angels defense strategy when she ruled that Kay’s criminal conviction could not be disputed during the civil trial. Angels attorney Todd Theodora contended that new evidence indicated Skaggs died of a “cardiac arrhythmia, second to the fact that Tyler had 10 to 15 drinks in him, coupled with the oxycodone, for which Angels baseball is not responsible.”

Theodora said that if the Angels could prove Kay was not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, neither Kay nor the team would be culpable in Skaggs’ death. Colover, however, ruled that Kay’s “conviction, based on applicable law and facts, was final.” Kay’s appeal was denied in federal court in November 2023.

Pretrial depositions of Angels players and support personnel provided a rare glimpse into the rowdy, often profane culture of a major league clubhouse.

Angels clubhouse attendants testified that Kay participated in stunts such as purposely taking an 85-mph fastball off his knee in the batting cage, having a pitcher throw a football at his face from short range, eating a bug and eating pimples off the back of Trout.

Tim Mead, the Angels longtime vice president of communication and Kay’s supervisor, acknowledged as much in his deposition, saying, “If you try to describe a clubhouse or a locker room in professional sports, or even college, and probably even the military in terms, and try to equate it to how we see — how this law firm is run or a corporation is run, you know, unfortunately, there’s not lot of comparison…. There’s a lot of fun, there’s a lot of release.”

And a lot of painkillers. Former Angels players Matt Harvey, C.J. Cron, Mike Morin and Cam Bedrosian testified at Kay’s trial that he distributed blue 30 milligram oxycodone pills to them at Angel Stadium. Skaggs, testimony revealed, was a particularly frequent customer.

Testimony established that Kay was also a longtime user of oxycodone and that the Angels knew it. In a filing, the Skaggs family showed evidence that Angels team physician Craig Milhouse prescribed Kay Hydrocodone 15 times from 2009 to 2012. The Skaggs family also plans to call Trout, who according to the deposition of former Angels clubhouse attendant Kris Constanti, offered to pay for Kay’s drug rehabilitation in 2018.

Skaggs was a top prospect coming out of Santa Monica High in 2009, and the Angels made him their first-round draft pick. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks a year later and made his major league debut with them in 2012.

Traded back to the Angels in 2014, Skaggs made the starting rotation, where he remained when not battling injuries until his death. His numbers were rather ordinary, a 28-38 win-loss record with a 4.41 earned-run average in 96 career starts, but his lawyers pointed to his youth and the escalating salaries given to starting pitchers in asking for a jury award of at least $210 million and as much as $785 million.

Skaggs earned $9.2 million — including $3.7 million in 2019 — and would have become a free agent after the 2020 season. Effective starting pitchers at a similar age and comparable performance can command multi-year contracts of $100 million or more.

Skaggs’ death prompted MLB to begin testing for opioids and cocaine in 2020, but only players who do not cooperate with their treatment plans are subject to discipline. Marijuana was removed from the list of drugs of abuse and is treated the same as alcohol.

MLB emergency medical procedures now require that naloxone be stored in clubhouses, weight rooms, dugouts and umpire dressing rooms at all ballparks. Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, is an antidote for opioid poisoning.

It’s a little hard to imagine now, but not so long ago, Target (TGT -0.54%) was a much-loved stock. The ubiquitous retailer seemed to be making all the right moves, with improving fundamentals reflecting a successful strategy.

That was then, this is now. Target’s share price has cratered by 34% so far this year while other retail favorites — Walmart and Costco Wholesale, to name two — have retained their luster. Target is the very definition of the beaten-down stock these days, but I don’t think it’s going to stay that way for long.

A perfect storm of negativity

Target’s woes are the result of several negative factors converging to hurt the fundamentals.

The current administration’s trade policy has seen tariffs come and go, at times unpredictably; this isn’t good for a retailer like Target that imports regularly. The supply chain issues that were a feature, not a bug, of the early 2020s weren’t managed all that well by the company; meanwhile, it had to contend with persistent inflation that kept many consumer wallets shut.

Image source: Getty Images.

Target’s recent performance has been disappointing, at least on the surface. In its second quarter, the results of which were published near the end of August, the company’s net sales slumped by nearly 1% year over year to just over $25 billion. That was on the back of a nearly 2% drop in comparable-store sales.

Net income as measured by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) fell more precipitously, diving by 22% to $935 million. This wasn’t the only recent quarter to feature top- or bottom-line declines.

Retail is a tough industry, though, stuffed as it is with much competition and low margins. Prior to its current doldrums, Target was an outperformer, if anything, and that memory is making the recent slides look more dire than they might otherwise appear.

Besides, there are numerous reasons to be positive about the company’s future if you know where to look. One is its well-managed same-day delivery service, where it has effectively copied a page from the Amazon playbook. Its take from same-day delivery increased a robust 25% in the second quarter, contributing to a more than 4% increase in overall digital sales.

And new-ish premium programs such as the Roundel advertising service and third-party sellers marketplace Target Plus have been posting double-digit gains of late.

A turnaround is in the works. Yes, analysts tracking the stock are collectively modeling slides over full-year 2025 for both revenue (projected to fall 1.4% against the 2024 figure) and per-share profitability (by 17%). However, they’re anticipating a comeback in 2026, with the annual top line inching up by nearly 2%, and a rise in headline earnings per share by a relief-inducing 9%.

A generous member of dividend royalty

What makes Target even more appealing as a turnaround-to-be story is that its quarterly dividend, generous during the good times, is especially rich now. It yields more than 5% on the current sunken share price, putting it firmly in high-yield dividend territory. It also beats the pants off the average dividend yield of S&P 500 component stocks, which sits at less than 1.2%.

What’s more, unlike other beaten-down companies, the payout looks sustainable. In its most recently reported quarter, free cash flow (FCF) approached $4.5 billion, far more than enough to fund the slightly over $2 billion in dividends it doled out during the period. It even had sufficient monies for activities like share buybacks and debt retirement.

Target’s shareholder payout is clearly important to the company, so much so that it has declared dividend raises annually for 54 years running, making it a Dividend King. That’s one of the longest dividend-raise streaks going for any company of any size, and it’s beaten by only a handful of publicly traded businesses.

So ultimately what we have here is a stock that feels extremely oversold and is cheap not only in price, but in key fundamentals (its forward P/E, for example, is less than 12). It’s also a monster of an income generator these days, with that 5%-plus yield. Target continues to be a bargain, in my view, and is absolutely tempting as a buy.

IF your heart races at the thrill of a massive bargain, prepare yourself. 

Shoppers are in a frenzy over a chain of retail outlets where you can snag Amazon customer returns and overstock for an unbelievable fraction of the price. 

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TikTok user ‘meganmariac’ posted a video of her haul from one of these locations, often referred to as a Trade Outlet. 

Her video, which showed aisles filled with discounted goods, quickly racked up 180,000 views in less than 24 hours. 

Meganmariac explained that she was initially on the hunt for a few personal bits, but the sheer volume of discounted goods – especially in the kids’ and tech sections – was impossible to ignore. 

A toy originally priced at £30 was just £5, while an iPad case (RRP around £20) was a ludicrous £3. 

You can find entire sections dedicated to children’s books, games, and paint-by-numbers sets for as little as £2, making these stores an absolute cheat code for Christmas and birthday gifting.

She also grabbed a £45 wireless camera for just £5, and a fancy smartwatch that would normally cost around £90 was only £20. 

Even health and beauty items, like a box of Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid serums retailing for around £33, were down to a mere £6. 

Her ultimate haul of an iPad case, a screen protector, and some adorable croc charms came to roughly a tenner.

The Golden Rule

If you’re expecting a curated retail experience, think again.

“It’s really overwhelming. It’s so busy here,” Meganmariac admitted.

This is the liquidation zone: the home of customer returns, minor packaging damage, and overstock. 

Many of the best items are still sealed in plain brown delivery boxes, which means shoppers have to check the tiny labels to be sure of what the item is. 

Where to find them?

While there are many places that sell liquidation stock, the specific “Trade Outlet” chain meganmariac visited has become famous for its Amazon-heavy returns. 

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If you’re based in the North West of England, you’re strategically placed for a bargain dash.

The chain has several locations, including major sites near Chester Gates (often situated opposite a Costco), Liverpool, and Trafford Park.

GOOGLE has always excelled when it comes to smartphone cameras – but the latest effort might have gone too far.

When I tried out the new Google Pixel 10 Pro XL’s star feature I gasped and said “Good God”.

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I showed friends some of the results and they were stunned – if a little disturbed – by what the device’s mega zoom was capable of.

My colleague Sean Keach has already tried the smaller Pixel 10 Pro and has given his verdict on the identical camera features on there too.

But is it all worth it?

As The Sun’s main Android smartphone reviewer I’ve been putting the Pixel 10 Pro XL through its paces and here’s what I found…

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Look and feel

Google has stuck to a pretty consistent, solid look on the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

As ever with annual upgrades, you may even struggle to tell the difference between last year’s Pixel 9 Pro XL which I also reviewed.

I love the mat glass back and the shiny G logo, it just gives off such a confident premium vibe.

The camera bar is pretty much the same as last year too and I’m still undecided about the bulkiness of it, even though it’s quite tidy and neat.

But given the sorts of photos it takes, all that kit has to be packed in somewhere.

The display has had a noticeable upgrade this year, which is brighter and bursting with crisp detail too.

However, the Pixel 10 Pro XL hasn’t been taking a techy dose of Ozempic like Samsung and iPhone this year with thinner models – it weighs 232g, up a bit on last year.

I absolutely adore the new colours this year too, with Moonstone (the one I’m reviewing) Jade, Porcelain and Obsidian.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Performance and features

Google continues to use its own Tensor chip in Pixel smartphones and this year’s Tensor G5 kit is said to be about 35 per cent faster.

It certainly operates smoothly and without any hiccups in my testing – but this chip isn’t as powerful as the Snapdragon chip found in most other top end smartphones around.

The handset runs on Android 16, the latest version of the operating system and it’s my absolute favourite around – which should be a given seeing as Google owns Android.

A lot of the features are centred on AI once again and most are photography based, which I’ll go into later.

But there are some other tools such as Voice Translate, which translates calls in real-time and sounds like each speaker’s own voice.

Having tried it with my partner in French, it was somewhat eerie to hear.

And it’s all done on device, so no sensitive call conversations are sent off to the cloud.

Google is also among the best for offering quick and fast Android upgrades for years to come, with a commitment to seven operating system versions and seven years of security upgrades.

Who offers free updates longest?

The longer you receive updates, the longer you can safely continue using your smartphone – with the latest features thrown in too for free.

Samsung
Samsung offers at least seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates on most of its smartphones, even its latest cheaper FE model.

OnePlus
At the launch of the OnePlus 13, OnePlus committed to at least four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.

Xiaomi
Xiaomi offers four years off Android updates and five years security updates.

Google
For the Pixel 10 series, Google said that devices would receive at least seven years of support.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Battery

You can easily get a good day’s worth of use out of the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL with a good mix of browsing, messaging and Netflix as I tend to test it on.

But it’s not the best battery around – I got more out of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

There is fast charging though, that’ll get you from zero to full in about an hour and a half with a compatible plug charger.

Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Camera

The camera on the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is where things get really juicy.

You have a treasure trove of powerful lenses paired up with AI power to enhance everything.

There’s a 50-megapixel main camera, 48-megapixel ultrawide and 48-megapixel 5x telephoto, as well as a 42-megapixel selfie snapper.

The photos I get on a Pixel are always super impressive with incredible detail and popping with vibrant colour.

It exudes beauty inside and out, and makes taking stunning photos effortless

This year’s shocker is the Pro Res Zoom which can get extremely detailed shots from a remarkable distance, seeing things my naked eye cannot.

It can go up to an eye-watering 100x.

Anything above 30x onward uses an AI model on the phone to recreate bits lost from digital zoom, so it does raise questions about how real the results are.

Whatever way you look at it, the images are highly convincing, as you’ll see from the snaps I took from the same position below with no zoom, a 10x zoom, a 50x zoom and a 100x zoom.

One thing to note: when using the zoom faces are automatically blurred.

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Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Price

One bit of good news about the price is it hasn’t increased from last year’s models.

So the Pixel 10 Pro XL starts at £1,199.

If that’s a bit steep for you, you might want to consider the Pixel 10 Pro instead which has much of the same in a smaller physical form from £999 instead.

There’s also a freebie worth £190 included with all the Pro models.

You get access to Gemini Pro for a whole year, which is Google’s more powerful and fast AI system, capable of extra skills such as Veo 3 Fast for text-to-video generation.

All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.

Always do your own research before making any purchase.

The star has been a familiar face on TV for many years, but in recent times he has also become a best-selling author

Richard Osman has long been a familiar face on the telly, known for his roles in popular shows like Pointless, Two Tribes and House of Games.

However, these days he’s also making waves in the literary world with his murder mystery novels. The TV star‘s series kicked off in 2020 with The Thursday Murder Club, which tells the tale of a group of pensioners who turn their hand to solving local crimes.

The book was a hit, with readers gripped by the adventures of elderly detectives Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim. A staggering 45,000 copies were snapped up in just three days, catapulting the book onto bestseller lists.

Three more stories quickly followed, with the fifth instalment, The Impossible Fortune, hitting shelves this week, reports the Manchester Evening News.

This summer, Richard’s debut novel was even adapted into a film, featuring a star-studded cast including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie, under the direction of filmmaker Chris Columbus.

The film was a success for Netflix, racking up millions of views and topping the streaming giant’s most-watched films list in the UK.

While it boosted viewing figures, it’s also likely to have given the 54-year-old star’s bank account a healthy boost.

So, what is Richard Osman’s net worth?

It’s believed that Richard’s wealth primarily comes from his television work, production credits on various programmes, and book deals.

Estimates suggest his net worth sits somewhere between £3 million and £4 million.

The star and his wife, Ingrid, reside in Chiswick, an expensive corner of London where properties can easily cost millions. Occasionally, fans catch a glimpse of the luxurious home when Richard shares snippets from his life on Instagram.

Yet despite his substantial bank balance, the star doesn’t appear to be one for flaunting his wealth.

Richard, who has two children with his first wife, recently discussed money on his The Rest is Entertainment podcast whilst commenting on reports that Jeff Bezos’s multi-day wedding to Lauren Sanchez this summer cost over £30 million.

During a conversation about wealth with podcast co-host Marina Hyde, Richard revealed he’d handle things differently if he possessed the Amazon founder’s riches.

“You know what I am going to do? Nothing,” he said. “I am going to stay in and watch Below Deck. I’m going to look after the people that I love, I’m going to have my mates around… I’m going to do nothing.”

Richard Osman will be a guest on Saturday Kitchen Live, which airs at 10am on BBC One on Saturday September 27.

If you want to invest in the stock market with little time and effort, a good strategy can be to simply “buy” the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.50%). This benchmark index includes 500 of the biggest U.S. companies, and it’s a popular choice for many investors.

While you cannot invest in the S&P 500 directly, index funds that track its performance are widely available. Below, I’ll look at what kind of returns the index has historically averaged and how it has performed recently to build out a forecast of what a $20,000 investment in the S&P 500 might be worth after 20 years.

Image source: Getty Images.

The S&P 500 boasts a 10% annual return, but can that continue?

If you look at nearly a century of historical data, the S&P 500 has enjoyed an annualized growth rate of about 10% (including dividends). For 2025, it’s up 14% as of this writing, and that’s with the index already coming off strong years when its total return was more than 25% in both 2023 and 2024. The index has effectively been punching well above its weight for a while, which is why some analysts and investors worry the market may be in a bubble, and a slowdown may be coming.

For that reason, it’s important to brace for lower, more modest gains in the future. New investors may have become accustomed to these elevated returns, but the reality is there have been no shortage of years when the index’s returns have been in the single digits or even negative.

The good news is that regardless of what happens in any single year, over the long term, the S&P 500 is likely to rise in value. That’s why tracking it with an exchange-traded fund (ETF) such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY -0.49%) can be a winning strategy.

What could a $20,000 investment in the S&P 500 be worth in the future?

I’m not going to try to predict the exact rate of return the S&P 500 will deliver over the next two decades. But I can show you what a $20,000 investment in the SPDR ETF may be worth at various points over the next 20 years based on a range of growth rates.

Data source: Clculations by author.

Even at 8%, the value of your position can more than quadruple after 20 years to about $93,000. And you shouldn’t expect 11% or 12% annualized returns going forward, especially given the S&P 500’s hot streak in recent years. However, I included those bullish growth rates to illustrate how significant the gap in the final investment value can be, even when the difference is only a few percentage points.

This highlights why it’s important to go with a low-cost fund such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, where the expense ratio is only 0.09%. It’s crucial to keep those fees as low as possible so you can maximize your returns.