Defensive-minded investors looking for income will often gravitate toward high-dividend, low-volatility stocks. These are companies that offer above-average payouts relative to a benchmark like the S&P 500, while also exhibiting lower beta, a measure of how sensitive a stock is to broader market movements. Specifically, investors can review the underlying index methodology of passive ETFs to understand exactly how holdings are…
Investors recognized artificial intelligence’s (AI) potential to transform industries, supercharging many tech stocks in recent years. That enthusiasm shifted to alarm in 2026. AI’s transformational potential includes agentic AI that can independently execute tasks previously handled by software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, leading to a massive sell-off in SaaS stocks. This “SaaSpocalypse” extended to the cybersecurity sector after AI giant Anthropic released artificial intelligence…
If AI can generate content, write code, analyze data, and automate workflows at near-zero marginal cost, it’s easy to imagine a world where abundance becomes the norm. But that narrative overlooks something fundamental. AI doesn’t run on ideas. It runs on infrastructure. Behind every AI model is a massive physical system—data centers consuming enormous amounts of electricity, chips that take…
Retirement is often portrayed as a point in time where you switch off work and begin enjoying a life of leisure filled with your favorite pursuits. And while there can be some truth in that, reality is a bit more complicated. I’m here to shatter some prevalent retirement myths while offering a realistic appraisal of what retirement really is all…
A lot of traders are doing the same thing right now. They’re watching headlines, second-guessing everything, and missing the actual opportunity in front of them. Mike Rykse walks through how to tune that noise out, focus on price, and stay in the market with defined risk instead of trading scared. Watch the video here. Coach Brian, NetPicks
Different types of stocks shine in different market environments. The biggest winners in today’s market are, unsurprisingly, energy stocks. Iran’s disruption of traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz has changed the game for investors. No one knows what will happen next. Perhaps a peaceful resolution to the military conflict with Iran will be reached. Maybe the crisis will be prolonged…
The war in Iran has gotten most of the attention on Wall Street lately, and for good reason. Oil prices are surging and nobody seems to know how or when it will end. For that reason, it may be time to start thinking about ways to recession proof your investment portfolio. Even if the war ends tomorrow, that doesn’t mean…
Though many stocks have been struggling in 2026, several up-and-coming stocks have shrugged off market uncertainty to put up significant gains. Thanks to a focus on unique business lines, these picks have all managed to double since Jan. 1 even as the S&P 500 has been in a tailspin. What’s more, these stocks aren’t volatile microcaps that have spiked on…
Investors should be familiar with the fact that the stock market is arguably the best means of building significant wealth. It won’t happen overnight, and it requires patience and discipline. But the rewards are worth it. In the past decade, the S&P 500 index generated a total return of 283% (as of March 19). There are many companies, Amazon (AMZN) being a great example, that…
My primary strategy for enhancing portfolio yields is by identifying trades with the best risk-adjusted option premiums. But many investors never take advantage of these opportunities because they assume options are inherently risky. In this case, the truth is the opposite. When used correctly, a simple options overlay can actually reduce risk while dramatically increasing the income your portfolio generates.…