A Nationwide Retirement Institute survey of more than 2,000 individual investors, conducted in August and September, found nearly three-quarters of Gen Z investors under 30 had switched or were considering switching portfolios ahead of the midterms, more than four times the 17% of baby boomers. About 24% of Gen Z respondents moved money into more conservative investments, versus 13% of boomers. Advisers and strategists warn that emotionally driven moves could cause young investors to miss long-term gains, since the S&P 500 has posted positive returns in the 12 months after every midterm election since 1950, averaging 15%. Nationwide's Mark Hackett said boomers, who lived through the dot-com bust and the financial crisis, learned markets tend to recover, a lesson younger investors may not have learned.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on wealthmanagement.com ↗
Keywords
midterm electionspersonal financeS&P 500
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- Could Investing $200 Per Month in VOO Make You a Millionaire? Here's What History Says.
The article examines whether investing $200 a month in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) could build a $1 million net worth, starting from a $0 balance. Using the S&P 500's long-term historical annual return of around 10% as a benchmark, the goal would take just under four decades, or 38 years. Total contributions over 38 years would be $91,200, and more than 90% of the final balance would come from capital growth. The author stresses that time does the heavy lifting, and that increasing monthly contributions or adding an initial investment could push the balance even higher.
- 44% of Americans are missing out on the best wealth-building tool of all — are you? Here’s how to fix that
According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, only 56% of Americans participated in the stock market in 2025, down from 58% in 2022. The article argues that stocks are a powerful wealth-building tool because of compounding: the S&P 500 has historically averaged annual returns of around 10% since 1957, while savings accounts have typically yielded under 1%. For example, investing $300 a month over a 35-year career could grow to roughly $1 million at a 10% average return, versus about $220,000 at 3%. To overcome barriers of money or knowledge, it highlights automated investing app Acorns, which rounds up everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the difference in a diversified ETF portfolio.
- If I Only Had $1,000 to Invest, I'd Buy This 1 ETF and Wouldn't Touch It for 20 Years
The author says that with $1,000 to invest, he would buy the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and hold it for 20 years. The S&P 500 has delivered an annualized total return of 11.2% over the last two decades, as of Oct. 13. The fund has $1.7 trillion in assets, tracks about 500 large, profitable U.S. companies, and yields about 1% in dividends. Its top 10 positions make up 38% of the portfolio, with Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft accounting for 21% of assets. Its expense ratio is just 0.03%, or $0.30 on a $1,000 investment, while higher-fee active funds have often lagged the benchmark. The article stresses patience and a long time horizon, arguing that holding for 20 years is almost guaranteed to make money.
- This Unstoppable Vanguard ETF Could Turn $500 Per Month Into $1 Million Over the Long Term
The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG) tracks an index of 151 high-growth stocks from the S&P 500, with 53% of its assets in information technology and four of its top five holdings in that sector. The article says Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Broadcom have posted a median return of 300% since the start of 2023, while Advanced Micro Devices and Micron rose 800% and 1,780%. The ETF has delivered a compound annual return of 16.9% since 2010, versus 14.1% for the S&P 500, and 28.4% a year over the last three years. The author estimates that at a 14.1% annual return, $500 invested monthly could reach $1 million in just under 23 years, and believes the ETF will keep beating the S&P 500 over the long term.
- Midterms Are a Clearing Event for Risk, Says Citadel's Rubner
Scott Rubner, head of equity and equity derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities, argues that the US midterm elections are serving as a clearing event for risk and that this could be when AI can outperform again. Institutional investors are delevering under rules tied to price or volatility levels, while retail investors bought semiconductors, neo clouds and memory stocks at the largest pace in 16 weeks. The momentum factor, up 70% year-to-date through the end of June, has turned negative, and AI winners versus AI laggards, which had gained over 100%, have also turned negative. With 38% of S&P 500 stocks down 20% from their highs, the index is only 150 bps below its peak, which Rubner describes as a rotation rather than a flush. Q3 earnings growth is expected at 27% year-on-year, while the S&P 500's 12-month forward P/E has fallen from 23 times to 18 times.
- Should You Wait Until After the Midterm Elections to Buy the S & P 500 ?
The author advises against holding cash to wait for the midterm election results, as past cycles suggest waiting usually brings no advantage. Across 19 midterm elections since 1950, the S&P 500 was higher a year after each vote than on Election Day, rising around 15% on average by the author's count. In the two weeks before each vote, the index rose in 14 of 19 cycles, averaging about 1.4%; investors who bought two weeks early were still up a year later in all 19 cycles, averaging around 17% versus about 15% for those who waited until Election Day. The S&P 500 currently sits about 2% below its record close of 7,818.93 earlier this month, though it is still up around 12% in 2026.
Related markets
Latest news
- What Happened to $1,000 Invested in Microsoft Before Its Cloud and AI Boom?
According to the article, $1,000 invested in Microsoft 10 years ago would now be worth $10,023.10 (a 902.31% total return), versus $3,606.80 in the S&P 500 over the same period. The 5-year lead is much narrower ($1,800 vs. $1,705.90), while over the past year Microsoft trailed the index ($1,043.30 vs. $1,161.60) as capex grew faster than revenue. Fiscal 2026 revenue reached $331.84 billion (up 17.79%), but capex rose 79.62% to $115.95 billion, pushing free cash flow down 6.46%. The article says the outlook hinges on whether Azure, which grew 43% last quarter, keeps outpacing the spending behind it.
- Investment summit: German government strikes AI deal with Nvidia
At the Invest in Germany summit in Berlin, the federal government reportedly struck an AI cooperation deal with Nvidia, with a federal contribution to the partnership. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said it pained him to see Germany fall behind, yet he still believes in the country, and around a dozen German firms including Siemens and Audi are expected to join the project. Chancellor Merz urged companies to open their industrial data for AI to safeguard competitiveness in sectors like automotive. Amazon plans to invest around 16 billion euros in Germany in 2027, including 4.8 billion euros for AWS mainly in the Frankfurt am Main region. The IMF now forecasts 1.3 percent growth for Germany in 2026, up from 0.7 percent previously.
- Stocks try for back-to-back gains — plus, Qnity gets iPhone business from Apple
U.S. stocks were higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq poised for back-to-back gains, as most major companies beat estimates and raised full-year guidance, though market reactions were mixed. Apple expanded its partnership with Qnity Electronics under its American Manufacturing Program, with Qnity producing advanced films for the variable aperture camera system in the iPhone 18 Pro; Qnity joined the program in March. Jim Cramer's Club calls the news incrementally positive but is not buying more shares, placing greater emphasis on Qnity's fast-growing data center business than on consumer electronics. Capital One reports after the bell, while Netflix, SpaceX and United Airlines also report Tuesday evening, and Meta reports Wednesday evening.
- Housing is flashing warning signs just as the Fed weighs more interest rate hikes
The U.S. housing market weakened further in September even as price pressures persisted, complicating the Federal Reserve's decisions on whether to raise interest rates. The 30-year mortgage rate was above 7% for most of September and ended the month around 7.6%, and could rise further if the Fed hikes short-term rates as expected. The National Association of Realtors' pending sales index fell 7.3% for the month and was 11.3% lower than a year earlier, an all-time low in records dating to 2001. Privately owned housing starts dropped 5.2% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, far worse than the expected 0.4% decline, while Goldman Sachs expects affordability pressures to dominate the housing market in 2027.
- Skydance Rises 5% as Steep Post-Merger Slide Pauses; Disney Gains 2%, Netflix Slips
Skydance shares rose 5% to $7.15 as the steep slide since its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition closed on October 6 paused, while Disney gained 2% to $111.41 and Netflix slipped 0.62% to $69.42. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF was up just 0.1% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust rose 0.4%, so the Skydance move looks company-specific. The article notes Skydance now houses Paramount+, Pluto TV, Paramount Pictures, the CBS network and the Warner Bros. Discovery studios, making integration of film, TV and streaming operations the next key test. A single up day, however, leaves most of the post-merger decline in place.
- Where Will VGT Be in 20 Years? Here's What History Suggests.
The article examines what could happen to investors in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) if it keeps its 15.03% annualized return over the next 20 years, based on its 22-year track record since January 2004. In this example, a $10,000 investment would grow to $164,521 after 20 years, and investing $500 a month would reach $616,852. The article stresses that there are no guarantees, that the tech sector could face a major sell-off or long bear market, and that VGT might underperform the S&P 500 at some point.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.