The ten largest holdings in the S&P 500 now account for nearly 38% of a traditional index fund's assets. After another brutal technology selloff, investors are discovering that owning 500 companies doesn't necessarily mean their money is evenly diversified. An overlooked alternative has quietly outperformed over the past year, but its advantages come with trade-offs that deserve serious consideration. There is something wonderfully misleading about the phrase "diversified index fund." Most investors hear those words and imagine their money spread reasonably evenly across hundreds of American businesses. They picture a little exposure to technology, some healthcare, a few industrial companies, financial institutions, consumer products, and perhaps an energy company or two. What they probably don't imagine is that nearly 38 cents of every dollar invested in one of America's most popular index funds is concentrated in just ten stock positions. Yet that is pre...
Why Berkshire Hathaway's Enormous Cash Reserves Say More About Market Valuations, Investor Psychology, and Financial Discipline Than Another Predictable Doomsday Headline November 8, 2026 | Investing Commentary I've reached the point where I can practically predict the headlines before the financial media publishes them. Warren Buffett accumulates cash, and suddenly Wall Street is supposedly trembling. The stock market climbs, and we're told investors are dangerously euphoric. The market declines, and the same people who warned us about excessive optimism begin explaining why civilization might be approaching its final trading session. Apparently, there's no market condition that can't be transformed into an impending catastrophe, provided someone has a sufficiently dramatic headline and a deadline to meet. The latest example arrived courtesy of a November 7 article from The Motley Fool, announcing that Warren Buffett and Greg Abel had sent shockwaves through Wall S...