Stock Movers: ConocoPhilips, AMD, Meta
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Morgan Stanley exec: 3 ways staying with your company can compound your workplace benefits
We all have heard the key rule for saving and investing which is 'the earlier, the better,' whether for a dream vacation or planning for retirement. A similar principle applies to workplace benefits: Harnessing the power of compounding can help you reach your financial goals more quickly. The total rewards your company offers go beyond your salary—your compensation can include everything from healthcare to equity compensation. Remaining at a role longer-term can be more than just a milestone: Tenure may unlock certain features in your workplace benefits, or simply allow workplace investment accounts such as 401(k)s to build and have a greater impact on your overall financial trajectory. Let's walk through the power of vesting schedules, classic compounding interest, and how this all comes together in your workplace benefits. 1. Shift your perspective—some workplace benefits are investments that compound over time While your salary is important, your workplace benefits play a crucial role your overall earnings—they can even be an investment. In fact, our research shows that 90% of employees believe that workplace benefits are essential to meet financial goals.1 For example, your 401(k) contributions grow tax free, and can be invested in a range of funds and assets to fit your risk tolerance and time to retirement. If your employer offers a match, they'll contribute a dollar-for-dollar amount up to a certain limit—augmenting your initial investment. Over time, you also earn interest on those investments in your 401(k) account – resulting in compounded earnings. Equity compensation can also be viewed as an investment. The value of your equity awards is directly tied to the company's performance and stock price. If the company experiences growth, the value of the equity held by employees will likely increase (and vice versa). So, depending on market conditions, company stock has the potential to outpace standard bonuses. Plus, awards may be eligible to earn dividends or dividend equivalents, which can accrue over time. You also have the potential to earn proceeds or diversify your holdings by selling any company stock during open trading windows—just be mindful of tax consequences as well as your overall financial strategy. 2. Check if your workplace benefits are tied to vesting schedules Each financial benefit that you enroll in has its own unique structure and comes with its own set of guidelines. Some may require you to fulfill a certain period of employment before you are entitled to the full balance (or become 'fully vested'). For example, with retirement accounts like 401(k)s, while your own contributions are always yours, you may need to remain at your job for a certain number of years to be able to take home any employer matching contributions. This is usually determined through 'cliff vesting' (100% after required years, and none before) or 'graded vesting' (keep a certain percentage each year). Similarly, equity compensation, if you are eligible, offers the potential for you to share in the success of your company. Oftentimes, equity awards follow vesting schedules before you gain ownership of the shares awarded, sometimes tied to performance or time served. Once stock options have vested, after you leave your job, you might typically have 90 days to exercise, meaning you can purchase the shares at the predetermined price. After that, your shares will go back into your company's employee option pool. One popular vesting schedule for equity is over four years, with a one-year cliff: Meaning, equity compensation begins vesting once the recipient has been with the company for one year, and after that year, a portion of their equity compensation will vest each month until the equity is fully vested at four years. Even so, potential growth starts on the award's grant date—not the date of vesting. So, depending on market conditions, the financial value can be growing even while you wait to vest. 3. Evaluate how your benefits fit into your overall financial picture No matter where you are in your career, it's important to understand the role that your workplace benefits play in your overall financial picture. Review your savings, understand the terms of your benefits and have a plan for rolling over or managing any investment-related benefits. Also, consider the impact on any additional benefits: Our research shows that 9 in 10 employers are now offering financial wellness benefits.1 If you're enrolled in a student loan repayment plan, you may be expected to repay some or all the assistance if you don't meet a certain length of employment. And the sandwich generation, caring for aging parents and growing children simultaneously,2 may be enrolled in employer-sponsored childcare and eldercare stipends. Investing can be complex. If you need help navigating the financial aspects of your workplace benefits. It may be helpful to reference your employer's educational content, or even potentially connect with a financial coach or advisor. No matter your workplace benefits enrollments, your overall compensation should be able to support your financial goals. Make sure you understand the full picture of what you get from your company, what it's worth, and how it can build over time to help you reach your goals. Investing—even through workplace accounts—can be complex. It may be helpful to reference your employer's educational content, or even potentially connect with a financial coach or advisor. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. It does not provide individually tailored investment advice. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ('Morgan Stanley') recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Employee stock plan solutions are offered by E*TRADE Financial Corporate Services, Inc., Solium Capital LLC, Solium Plan Managers LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ('MSSB'), which are part of Morgan Stanley at Work. Morgan Stanley at Work services and stock plan accounts are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley at Work stock plan accounts were previously referred to as Shareworks, StockPlan Connect or E*TRADE stock plan accounts, as applicable. In connection with stock plan solutions offered by Morgan Stanley at Work, securities products and services are offered by MSSB, Member SIPC. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley is a registered trademark of MSSB. All entities are separate but affiliated subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley. When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, 'Morgan Stanley') provide 'investment advice' regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account ('Retirement Account'), Morgan Stanley is a 'fiduciary' as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ('ERISA'), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the 'Code'), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide 'investment advice', Morgan Stanley will not be considered a 'fiduciary' under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley's role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit The laws, regulations, and rulings addressed by the products, services, and publications offered by Morgan Stanley and its affiliates are subject to various interpretations and frequent change. Morgan Stanley and its affiliates do not warrant these products, services, and publications against different interpretations or subsequent changes of laws, regulations, and rulings. Morgan Stanley and its affiliates do not provide legal, accounting, or tax advice. Always consult your own legal, accounting, and tax advisors. This material may provide the addresses of, or contain hyperlinks to, websites. Except to the extent to which the material refers to website material of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the firm has not reviewed the linked site. Equally, except to the extent to which the material refers to website material of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the firm takes no responsibility for, and makes no representations or warranties whatsoever as to, the data and information contained therein. Such address or hyperlink (including addresses or hyperlinks to website material of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management) is provided solely for your convenience and information and the content of the linked site does not in any way form part of this document. Accessing such website or following such link through the material or the website of the firm shall be at your own risk and we shall have no liability arising out of, or in connection with, any such referenced website. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. © 2025 Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Silicon Valley talent keeps getting recycled, so this CEO uses a ‘moneyball' approach for uncovering hidden AI geniuses in the new era
The AI talent war among major tech companies is escalating, with firms like Meta offering extravagant $100 million signing bonuses to attract top researchers from competitors like OpenAI. But HelloSky has emerged to diversify the recruitment pool, using AI-driven data to map candidates' real-world impact and uncover hidden talent beyond traditional Silicon Valley networks. As AI becomes more ubiquitous, the need for the top-tier talent at tech firms becomes even more important—and it's starting a war among Big Tech, which is simultaneously churning through layoffs and poaching people from each other with eye-popping pay packages. Meta, for example, is dishing out $100 million signing bonuses to woo top OpenAI researchers. Others are scrambling to retain staff with massive bonuses and noncompete agreements. With such a seemingly small pool of researchers with the savvy to usher in new waves of AI developments, it's no wonder salaries have gotten so high. That's why one tech executive said companies will need to stop 'recycling' candidates from the same old Silicon Valley and Big Tech talent pools to make innovation happen. 'There's different biases and filters about people's pedigree or where they came from. But if you could truly map all of that and just give credit for some people that maybe went through alternate pathways [then you can] truly stack rank,' Alex Bates, founder and CEO of AI executive recruiting platform HelloSky, told Fortune. (In April, HelloSky announced the close of a $5.5 million oversubscribed seed round from investors like Caldwell Partners, Karmel Capital, True, Hunt Scanlon Ventures as well as prominent angel investors from Google and Cisco Systems). That's why Bates developed HelloSky, which consolidates candidate, company, talent, investor, and assessment data into a single GenAI-powered platform to help companies find candidates they might not have otherwise. Many tech companies pull from previous job descriptions and resume submissions to poach top talent, explained Bates, who also authored Augmented Mind about the relationship between humans and AI. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg even reportedly maintains a literal list of all the top talent he wants to poach for his Superintelligence Labs and has been heavily involved in his own company's recruiting strategies. But the AI talent wars will make it more difficult than ever to fill seats with experienced candidates. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently lamented about how few candidates AI-focused companies have to pull from. 'The bet, the hope is they know how to discover the remaining ideas to get to superintelligence—that there are going to be a handful of algorithmic ideas and, you know, medium-sized handful of people who can figure them out,' Altman recently told CNBC. The 'moneyball' for finding top talent Bates refers to his platform as 'moneyball' for unearthing top talent—essentially a 'complete map' of real domain experts who may not be well-networked in Silicon Valley. Using AI, HelloSky can tag different candidates, map connections, and find people who may not have as much of a social media or job board presence, but have the necessary experience to succeed in high-level jobs. The platform scours not just resumes, but actual code contributions, peer-reviewed research, and even trending open-source projects, prioritizing measurable impact over flashy degrees. That way, companies can find candidates who have demonstrated outsized results in small, scrappy teams or other niche communities, similar to how the Oakland A's Billy Beane joined forces with Ivy League grad Peter Brand to reinvent traditional baseball scouting, which was depicted in the book and movie Moneyball. It's a 'big unlock for everything from hiring people, partnering, acquiring whatever, just everyone interested in this space,' Bates said. 'There's a lot of hidden talent globally.' HelloSky can also sense when certain candidates 'embellish' their experience on job platforms or fill in the gaps for people whose online presence is sparse. 'Maybe they said they had a billion-dollar IPO, but [really] they left two years before the IPO. We can surface that,' Bates said. 'But also we can give credit to people that maybe didn't brag sufficiently.' This helps companies find their 'diamond in the rough,' he added. Bates also predicts search firms and internal recruiters will start forcing assessments more on candidates to ensure they're the right fit for the job. 'If you can really target well and not waste so much time talking to the wrong people, then you can go much deeper into these next-gen behavioral assessment frameworks,' he said. 'I think that'll be the wave of the future.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Warren Buffett Is Selling Apple and Bank of America Stock and Piling Into an Embattled Healthcare Stock Down 46% This Year
Key Points Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway's team of investors continued a recent trend in trimming down their positions in Apple and Bank of America. Apple is Berkshire's top holding, while Bank of America is the large conglomerate's third-largest holding. Berkshire's biggest buy in the quarter involved a beaten-down health insurance stock. 10 stocks we like better than UnitedHealth Group › Each quarter, investors anxiously await Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway filing its 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, divulging what stocks Berkshire held at the end of the quarter, and, therefore, what stocks the company bought and sold in any given quarter. Investors are always looking for a glimpse into the genius of Buffett and his team of investors, especially with Buffett set to step down as CEO of the company at the end of the year. While Berkshire has been quiet in recent quarters, the large conglomerate made some notable moves in the second quarter. Berkshire recently sold some shares in two of its largest positions, while piling into an embattled healthcare stock that has struggled immensely this year. Trimming Apple and Bank of America In the second quarter, Berkshire continued to trim its largest position, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and its third-largest holding, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). In the quarter, Berkshire sold 7% of its stake in Apple and 4% of its stake in Bank of America. Over the past year, Berkshire has reduced its stake in Apple by 30% and Bank of America by 41%. While the bull market has raged for more than 2.5 years, Berkshire has plodded along conservatively, hoarding hundreds of billions of dollars in cash and cash equivalents, selling more stocks than it buys, and even turning away from share repurchases more recently. Given stretched valuations and the stock market's big run, many investors simply think Buffett and his team are not seeing compelling opportunities. There's also talk that Berkshire is staying conservative to prepare for the big transition that will see Buffett step down as CEO but retain his role as chairman of the board of directors. Longtime Berkshire veteran Greg Abel is set to step into Buffett's big shoes. Berkshire's stock got off to a terrific start this year but has floundered since the transition was announced. Apple has been dealing with tariff-related issues all year. Buffett and Berkshire may have foreseen this once President Donald Trump won the election, leading them to pare back their position. If Berkshire is concerned about the economy, perhaps paring back some of their bank holdings makes sense as well, as banks are typically cyclical. Playing contrarian on this healthcare giant In the second quarter, Berkshire initiated a $1.57 billion position in the nation's largest healthcare insurer, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). UnitedHealth's stock has been crushed this year and is down about 46%. However, after the news came out about Berkshire buying the stock, shares increased close to 9.5% in after-hours trading. UnitedHealth has dealt with a flurry of issues this year, including higher medical insurance costs, which is a common trend across the sector. In the second quarter, management at UnitedHealth revised its prior full-year outlook down to $16 adjusted earnings per share, significantly below Wall Street's consensus estimates coming into the year. The main culprit is medical costs, which management thinks will come in $6.5 billion higher than previously expected. The sector has struggled in the face of an aging population, higher utilization of and more expensive services, higher drug prices, and inflation. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is probing UnitedHealth in a criminal investigation over the way it charges customers in its Medicare Advantage program. The Wall Street Journal has previously reported on suspicious billing practices that allegedly increase payouts to the company. In a statement in late July, UnitedHealth said it is cooperating with the DOJ but has "full confidence in its practices and is committed to working cooperatively with the Department throughout this process." At their core, Buffett and his team are value investors, meaning they look for stocks with a market value below a company's perceived intrinsic value. While UnitedHealth has struggled and is forecasting a significant earnings decline this year, management is still projecting double-digit revenue growth in 2025. Furthermore, the company's balance sheet seems to be on solid footing. Sure, the company has high debt, but through the first six months of the year, earnings from operations of about $14.3 billion are still more than 7 times debt interest expense. Additionally, UnitedHealth's dividend yield is now roughly 3.25%, while the company's trailing free-cash-flow yield is above 10%, showing the company can easily cover the dividend for the foreseeable future. In fact, UnitedHealth recently increased its quarterly dividend by 5%. Ultimately, UnitedHealth trades at a lower-than-usual forward price-to-earnings ratio, despite expectations of much lower earnings this year, and at less than 1 times revenue. Buffett and his team value strong moats, so with UnitedHealth still controlling market share in the healthcare insurance industry, they likely see an attractive risk-reward proposition. Should you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group right now? Before you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and UnitedHealth Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,106,071!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Warren Buffett Is Selling Apple and Bank of America Stock and Piling Into an Embattled Healthcare Stock Down 46% This Year was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
