The Motley Fool

MARCH 26, 2025

Large Cap Growth Index delivered an even better gain of 32% last year, thanks to its much larger holdings in soaring stocks like Nvidia , Meta Platforms , and Amazon. Wake up with Breakfast news in your inbox every market day. Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Growth ETF right now?

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Rate cuts have usually been a positive catalyst for the stock market, though there have been exceptions to that rule. How the Federal Reserve influences interest rates The federal funds rate is a benchmark that influences other interest rates throughout the economy. In that sense, rate cuts can be good news for the stock market.

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The Motley Fool

MARCH 19, 2025

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is one of the largest and most popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the stock market. It tracks the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) market index with minimal fees and laser-like precision. What makes the Vanguard Developed Markets fund tick? First things first.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

The stock market continues to soar, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) reaching a new peak in late January and surging by more than 20% over the past year, as of this writing. Buffett explained that despite all of the volatility, he was continuing to invest in stocks. Image source: The Motley Fool.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 5, 2024

Warren Buffett has never claimed to be able to predict what the stock market would do over the near term. In a 2008 op-ed for The New York Times , he wrote, "I can't predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven't the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month, or a year, from now."

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The Motley Fool

MARCH 13, 2025

For many, or most, of us, it's smart to aim for average returns, because they're rather powerful and they can be simple to achieve -- by socking money away in one or more low-fee, broad-market index funds such as one that tracks the S&P 500. Wake up with Breakfast news in your inbox every market day. year to date.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 29, 2024

The stock market is having a good year despite headwinds from sticky inflation and high interest rates. Stocks could move higher. However, the stock market could be headed for trouble, at least temporarily, because the S&P 500 usually declines in September. stock market. Embrace the rally."

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Thankfully, it has cooled significantly since then, which allowed the Fed to reduce the federal funds rate in September, for the first time since March 2020. The Fed started increasing the federal funds rate in March 2022, and by the last hike in August 2023, it was at a two-decade high of 5.33%. That drove prices higher.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Here's why tomorrow could be a big day for the stock market. Traders expect the federal funds rate to fall to a target range of 2.75% to 3% by December 2025. The jobs report tomorrow could potentially change the whole trajectory of the forward curve and how the market perceives the future path of the Fed.

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Stock Market Stock Market Portfolios Investors 246

The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

Unlike most of the time prior to 2000, now you need 20-year holding periods to ensure you're achieving the sorts of reliable returns you'd expect -- and need -- from the stock market. After all, when those dividends are reinvested, the net returns on the right dividend stocks can rival those of some popular growth stocks.

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The Motley Fool

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

In September, the Federal Reserve started a new rate-cutting cycle, something the stock market has seen only five other times in the last three decades. Specifically, after raising the federal funds rate to a two-decade high to fight severe post-pandemic inflation, policymakers finally pivoted to interest rate cuts on Sept.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Macroeconomic fundamentals and corporate earnings drive the stock market over long periods of time, but momentum plays an important role over shorter periods. companies that cover approximately 80% of domestic equities by market capitalization. stock market. History says the U.S.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

Despite a few hiccups, the S&P 500 bull market isn't slowing down. The stock index most often used to reference the U.S. large-cap stock market has climbed over 20% through 2024 as of this writing. But not every company has participated equally in the current market rally. According to data gathered by J.P.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

companies, has produced a total return of just 33% since the start of the bull market. But the stock market just did something that suggests the tide may be turning. The dominance of large-cap stocks in the current rally could shift to small-cap stocks, and we saw an early glimpse of it in July. in December 2000.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

Between March 2022 and July 2023, policymakers raised the federal funds rate to its highest level since 2001. The federal funds rate is a benchmark that impacts other interest rates across the economy, like credit card and loan rates. In other words, this particular stock market forecasting tool has been 82% accurate since 1984.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

The market expects the committee to cut the benchmark federal funds rate for the first time since 2020, setting in motion a sequence of events that will lower other interest rates and encourage economic growth. stock market. First, no stock market indicator is perfect. 17 and Sept.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

Don't try to time the S&P One smart lesson to learn is that timing the market is a losing battle. Just because a stock or index looks "expensive" doesn't mean it can't go up any further, or that a crash or pullback is imminent. Dollar-cost averaging sets you up for long-term success regardless of what the stock market is doing.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024

When the rate deviates too far from that target, the Fed adjusts the federal funds rate (overnight interest rates) to influence economic activity. If history is any guide, such a cut could foreshadow a big move in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) stock market index, but maybe not in the direction one would expect.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

The index fund is most heavily weighted toward electric utilities (61%) and multi-utility companies (25%), but also provides exposure to independent power producers (6%), gas utilities (5%), and water utilities (3%). Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard World Fund - Vanguard Utilities ETF right now? Here are the important details.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 14, 2024

The last couple of years have been strong for the stock market, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) surging by just over 70% since late 2022, as of this writing. However, no bull market can last forever, and the market will inevitably take a turn for the worse. Just over 30% of U.S.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Professional fund managers are extremely smart, highly educated, hard-working, and ultra-competitive. If you can perform in the top 2% of all professional fund managers on Wall Street, you're sure to find yourself with a very handsome payday at some point. All you have to do is buy a broad-based index fund and hold it for years.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 21, 2024

This boring index fund has beaten the S&P 500 over its lifetime! Read on to discover how this simple index fund can be the simple millionaire-making investment you'll want in your portfolio. Beating the S&P 500 doesn't get more simple than this You don't need to be a stock-picking wizard to outperform the S&P 500 index.

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The Motley Fool

NOVEMBER 3, 2024

But one indicator suggests the recent trend of the biggest companies getting bigger at a pace that far exceeds the rest of the market could be coming to an end soon. And there's a great way you can invest to take advantage of the next leg up in the stock market. Image source: Getty Images. That should be a big warning sign.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 15, 2024

Professional fund managers tend to be highly educated, hard-working, and extremely smart. But it doesn't take a highly complex trading plan to come out ahead of 98% of professional mutual fund managers over the long run. If you want to beat the professionals, your best bet is to buy a broad-based index fund and just hold onto it.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

While rising tides have given investors plenty of reason to smile, it's also made the stock market historically pricey. Wake up with Breakfast news in your inbox every market day. during the current bull market. Start Your Mornings Smarter! Sign Up For Free Image source: Getty Images. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

On the other hand, since most Americans don't check all three of those boxes, there's no need to buy individual stocks to build serious wealth over time. In fact, you might be surprised at what you can potentially achieve with some basic index funds, steady contributions, and a few decades to let your investments grow. stock market.

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The Motley Fool

MARCH 26, 2025

In fact, Berkshire sold the only two index funds in its portfolio, both of which tracked the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Warren Buffett sold his S&P 500 index funds, but he hasn't lost confidence in U.S. stock market.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 9, 2024

The company has been so successful that earlier this year it launched its first-ever dividend, saying it is in the financial position to reward shareholders and fund growth. And net income came in at more than $13 billion. Now, what's the next step for Meta? Potentially becoming a winner in the hot growth area of artificial intelligence (AI).

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Stock Market Stock Market Prospects Shareholders 245

The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 17, 2024

Economists, analysts, and market watchers are constantly examining different types of economic data to find patterns that could indicate a change in the stock market. Not long ago, the yield curve did something for the first time in 793 days, or more than 26 months, that could signal a big move for the stock market.

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 29, 2024

Professional fund managers are in charge of investing billions of dollars for investors. It doesn't take an advanced degree or special insider knowledge to do better than the vast majority of actively-managed mutual funds. There are a couple of factors that lead to such dismal results for active funds as a group.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

Becoming a professional fund manager isn't easy, but it turns out that beating the returns of some of the best fund managers in the world is. It's a quirk of stock market mechanics that makes a simple investment strategy far better than the average actively managed mutual fund. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

There's a far better way to go about it and the first step begins with focusing on the right type of investment; in this case, a single Vanguard index fund. The Vanguard Balanced Index Fund is the foundation you need to learn What should I have done? This fund effectively buys two other mutual funds, one that tracks the entire U.S.

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The Motley Fool

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can provide you with many excellent options for the long term, and you don't have to feel locked in and focus strictly on growth stocks or just dividend stocks. The fund includes stocks that have excellent track records of increasing their dividend payments over the years.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

Investing consistently over many years is the key to building a healthy retirement fund, and the longer you give your money to grow, the less you'll need to save each month to see significant progress. But the overall stock market has earned an average rate of return of 10% per year over the past 50 years.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

A 13F allows investors to see which stocks Wall Street's most-prominent and successful asset managers purchased and sold during the previous quarter. Although the data is potentially stale for active hedge funds, it offers a glimpse into which stocks, industries, sectors, and trends are piquing the interest of top money managers.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

This bull market is now nearly two years old, with no real indications that it is slowing down. central bank last week lowered the federal funds rate by 50 basis points (0.5 percentage points), sparking a rally in the stock market: The S&P 500 jumped by 1.7%

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The Motley Fool

JANUARY 16, 2025

However, one transaction stands out as altering which stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) Berkshire Hathaway owns. Though the reinsurance operations were the crown jewel of this buyout, General Re also owned a specialty investment fund known as New England Asset Management (NEAM).

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