• November 25, 2024

Top 3 reasons why people were moving to the South last year: NAR

While the 30-year fixed mortgage rates tick closer to 7% in November, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Migration Trends report found 46% of US homebuyers to have migrated to the South last year. "That's really where they're finding more affordability opportunities, but also some of the strongest job markets. So they're really poised for long-term growth, as well," NAR Director of Business & Consumer Research Matt Christopherson tells Brad Smith on Wealth. Christopherson elaborates further on the report tracking 2023 patterns, which saw homebuyers placing a higher priority on living closer to family and friends: "People are really looking for ways to be able to get into this market and compete. They're also looking for lower and more favorable tax rates, especially to combat insurance costs that are really rising in the housing space. And a lot of that occurs in the South." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • November 25, 2024

Top S&P 500 performers year-to-date: Vistra, Nvidia, Palantir

With 2025 quickly approaching, Wealth! Host Brad Smith takes a look at the best and worst performers of the S&P 500 since the start of 2024. The top-performing stocks in the index include Vistra (VST), Nvidia (NVDA), and Palantir (PLTR). On the other end, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Moderna (MRNA), and Dollar Tree (DLTR) are among the worst performers. Sector-wise, financials (XLF), communication services (XLC), and utilities (XLU) led the pack while real estate XLRE (XLRE), materials (XLB), and healthcare (^IXV) were among the laggards. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • November 24, 2024

This Is the Best-Performing Vanguard ETF This Year. Will It Be a Winner in 2025?

Through Nov. 21, the S&P 500 is up 24.7% year to date, led by big tech stocks like the "Magnificent Seven" as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be the dominant narrative on the stock market. Given that, you might expect the top-performing Vanguard exchange-traded fund (ETF) to hail from the tech sector. After all, Nvidia stock has roughly tripled this year, but the Nasdaq Composite is only slightly outperforming the S&P 500 with a gain of 26.4% and the popular Nasdaq-100 has underperformed the broad-market index with a return of 23.3%.