These Four Words Will Kill Your Retirement - These Stocks Will Save It

Let’s face it, we’re headline watchers. All of us.

It’s human nature.

We’re inquisitive. We want to see what’s going on.

We watch headlines to see what the White House will do next. To see when (or if) the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. To see if the New York Jets have finally found a quarterback … or if the Baltimore Orioles have finally found a starter who doesn’t serve up gopher balls.

We want to see if it’ll be sunny or rainy tomorrow. To discover what movies might be fun to see. To hear the latest about our favorite celebrities (Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce still a “thing”?).

And to see what the stock market did … today.

On their face, none of these are bad topics to search out. In fact, as a guy who spent 22 years as a reporter, I believe an informed public is a great thing: It’s the core of our democracy, and it helps us make better decisions.

At least … most of the time.

The stock market is one major exception. Folks see the headlines, and feel either greed or fear — and make really bad decisions.

Exhibit A for my bad-decision assertion: the headline and story I shared above.

Retail investors watched the headlines:

• About Trump Administration tariffs.

• About all the uncertainty those tariffs spawned.

• And about the two-day, $6.6 trillion stock-market pummeling that resulted in early April (the worst two-day wipeout in years).

Those everyday investors watched those developments … saw those headlines … and reacted.

Poorly.

“Trading in retirement accounts” is a four-word combination that makes my head explode. But investors saw those headlines, experienced raw, heart-racing fear, and this was the result: During the second quarter, they dumped stock-related investments from their 401(k) accounts — at the highest rate in five years — and headed for “safe haven” alternatives.

But those “safe havens” weren’t so safe after all.

Making the “Right” Moves

Those folks honestly believed this was a “logical response.” It was actually an impulsive reaction.

While Wealth Killers fled the markets, Wealth Builders like us flipped the script and “Accumulated.”

As I told you folks on April 9, I bought stocks the day before — I even shared my list with you.

So let’s use that April 8 date as our second-quarter baseline.

Since April 8, the S&P 500 has soared 27.6%.

Take a look at the stocks I grabbed — and the gains they’ve delivered through to the after-market moves last night:

Here are the four quick takeaways:

1. Every one of those “Accumulate” picks gained.

2. Most surpassed the admittedly impressive 27.6% rebound of the S&P 500.

3. They absolutely creamed those so-called “safe haven” yields of U.S. Treasuries (4.93% for the 30-year), corporate bonds (4% for AAA to 7.8% for BBB) or municipals (about 5% for 30-years).

4. And, as grand as those “Accumulate” stock gains were for us (and for those of you who acted, too), they’re “gravy” — we tell people to buy stocks for three, five, seven or 10-year runs. So near-term wins like this are a “bonus.”

Key Lessons — And “What’s Next”

There are a couple of key lessons here:

• Wealth Builders invest. Wealth Killers trade.

• Wealth Killers react. Wealth Builders act — with a long view.

• “Risk” isn’t just about losses from investments dropping in price; risk also includes “opportunity loss” — gains missed by not taking action … or by taking the wrong action.

• And when you embrace too short a view, you risk getting left behind.

But you need to remember: The stock market is a “What-Comes-Next” mechanism.

And as we told you in our midyear outlook forecast, we see potential for risk, volatility, inflation and a stumble with the economy and with stocks.

That brings us full circle — to the start of this report.

If stocks and the economy stumble, the same Wealth Killers that dumped out of their 401(k)s will read those nasty headlines and double down on their second-quarter mistake.

And Wealth Builders like you can double down on your Accumulate stocks — by continuing to follow our top storylines.

Here are some “Storyline Cliff’s Notes” — and some stocks — to get your research started. I’ve massaged these to account for the bumpy flight we could have between now and New Year’s Eve. But all of these are great companies; so even if we experience clear blue skies, they’re companies worth owning for long stretches.

Here are those stories … and stocks.

The “DraftKings Mindset” 

As we saw in the second quarter, retail investors are morphing into retail traders. Unfortunately, outright gambling recklessness has infected the financial markets — one I’ve dubbed the “DraftKings Mindset.” 

One long-term beneficiary will be CBOE Global Markets $CBOE ( ▼ 0.74% ), inventor of the “Fear Gauge,” more formally known as the VIX. Here's the “kicker”: If we get the big volatility spike I just mentioned, CBOE will be a short-term beneficiary, too. Get the full lowdown in the report below.

The Long-Term Commodity Supply Shortfall

It’s a story we’ve been talking about since launching SPC in early 2024: Demand for “critical materials” like nickel, copper, silver and others keeps zooming. But look out to the decade’s end — and beyond — and supplies fall way short of demand.

Another one to consider: Titanium, which is crucial to defense, electric vehicles, medical devices and 3D printing. A stock to consider: IperionX Ltd. $IPX ( ▲ 0.5% ). The Charlotte-based Iperion owns the Titan Project, a Tennessee mine that produces titanium, zircon, high-grade silica and other critical materials.

The company is developing low-carbon, fully recyclable titanium technologies. And its Titanium Production Facility (TPF) at the Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus will be key to this. The company’s 100% ownership of its reserves gives it control over supply.

The New Stagflation Wave 

Until the 1970s (1973-75/1979-82), economists believed inflation and unemployment were inversely related — meaning stagflation was impossible.

But oil shocks and policy miscues proved them wrong. I lived through it — it wasn’t fun. Inflation is working its way through the economy. A messy housing market, tough earnings comparisons, tariff shocks, job-market challenges, a pricey stock market and an economic cycle that’s grown long of tooth pose major headwinds.

Stocks to research include chipmaker Broadcom Inc. $AVGO ( ▲ 1.06% ) (which I have talked up repeatedly); private-equity king Blackstone Inc. $BX ( ▲ 0.06% ), whose alternative assets, private credit and infrastructure investments should do well in low-growth/high-inflation stretches; Costco Wholesale Corp. $COST ( ▲ 0.06% ), which will win thanks to its membership model and sticky demand; utility Southern Co. $SO ( ▲ 0.95% ), which has a predictable cash flow and a diversified energy base (including nuclear); Big Pharma leader AbbVie Inc. $ABBV ( ▲ 1.43% ), a company I’ve followed for years; and energy player Williams Cos. $WMB ( ▲ 2.4% ), a company we recently analyzed in detail for our SPC Premium paid subscribers.

Deglobalization Beneficiaries

One company I especially like here is MercadoLibre Inc. $MELI ( ▲ 1.31% ). If you combined Amazon.com Inc. $AMZN ( ▼ 0.77% )  with PayPal Inc. $PYPL ( ▼ 8.66% )  and Meta Inc.  $META ( ▼ 2.46% )  and Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL ( ▲ 1.65% )  — and you planted it in Latin America — you’d have MELI.

MercadoLibre is reinvesting in growth but is still growing earnings at an annual clip of 20% to 25%, a pace that will double its bottom line in 2.9 years to 3.6 years.

And since stock prices tend to follow profits, you might be looking at a stock that could double in less than four. Some estimates have profits growing at paces as high as 35% — which could double your money in a bit more than two.

The New Cold War 

The Trump Administration earlier this year proposed America’s first-ever $1 trillion defense budget. And global defense spending is on the march.

I don’t expect it to change. New technologies and new battlefields – like cyberspace and outer space — have already created big windfalls for our SPC Premium subscribers. And I’m preparing a report on two that we’ll be sharing tomorrow.

I’ll grant you this: The next pullback probably won’t hand folks the snapback windfalls we’ve seen after that early April mauling. But that’s okay. If you’re playing the long game, it means (by definition) you’re practicing patience. But you still do want to “flip the script” and buy when others are selling. Show poise in the face of panic — as many of you did back in April — and you will ultimately emerge as a winner.

And never put yourself in a spot where you’re using the terms “trading” and “retirement account” or “401(k)” in the same breath.

What you can do instead is join SPC Premium today to access our highest-conviction investment ideas. Our team here is tops — the best in financial publishing.

And the best is yet to come — for us … and for you.

See you Friday.