Latest news with #RobAustin
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
The New Ethos: Where Gamesmanship Ends And Character Begins
Houston, TX, USA - February 8, 2015: Monopoly Board Game - car on Park Place with hotel Success stories are told in the language of domination—of markets, rivals, and time. But stories of grit and perseverance turn out to be half-baked. After decades of worshipping at the altar of productivity and winning at all costs, a new ethos is emerging that elevates character alongside competence for competitive advantage. The new ethos embraces a more complete view of character and challenges its misconceptions. For example, it challenges the myth that people with character operate with 'one hand tied behind their back,' or that character can't be developed, as Bill Furlong, Rob Austin, and I explain in our MIT Sloan article 'Make Leader Character Your Edge.' The new ethos requires a shift from treating business as a game to be played, based on competence alone, to one that relies on character as the foundation for competitive advantage, as captured in Table 1. Table 1 - Old Versus New Ethos The Toxic Side of the Game The metaphor of business as a game—complete with winners, losers, scoreboards, and trophies—has shaped everything from how leaders manage teams to how decisions are made in the boardroom. However, this mindset can easily spiral into toxicity. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder When success is measured only by profits and quarterly performance, wins and losses, bad behavior is often excused, even celebrated. The casualties of a 'win-at-any-cost' mentality are well documented, from financial fraud to toxic work cultures. Think of the implosions at Enron, Theranos, or, more recently, FTX. These weren't just failures in strategy—they were failures of character, as my colleagues and I documented in our 'Leadership on Trial' research, which examined the failures of leadership revealed in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Treating business as a game based on competence alone created a gravitational pull that has been difficult to shift. Individual mindsets, organizational priorities and practices, and broader regulation and oversight systems have become hard-wired around it, and even justify the game. We are all complicit. When we treat what we do as a game, we justify actions as 'just part of the game', 'it's business, it's not personal,' and we become desensitized to the harm. Shifting the gravitational pull of the current system starts with an undeniable logic that will motivate and shape the transformation. The undeniable logic is that the competence-oriented gamification of business and society, relying on a cost-benefit consequentialist rationale, is failing virtually every measure. Short-termism has fueled crises like the 2008 financial collapse and scandals at Enron and Boeing, where near-term gain outweighed safety or transparency. Meanwhile, workplace burnout and mental health declines reflect how human well-being is often sacrificed for productivity, as revealed in Gallup polls and OECD reports. Environmental degradation, driven by externalizing ecological costs, is documented in IPCC reports, while the UN draws attention to income inequality that threatens economic growth and democracy. Philosophers like Michael Sandel (author of Democracy's Discontent and What Money Can't Buy) argue that market-driven reasoning undermines moral and civic values, advocating for frameworks prioritizing justice, dignity, and capability over sheer utility. Alternative approaches are imperative, with trust in capitalism eroding as revealed by the Edelman Trust Barometer. A New Ethos Based on Character To shift the gravitational pull from the consequentialist cost-benefit paradigm requires a new foundation that defines and measures success differently. Rather than relying on the logic of cost-benefit analysis to determine the merits of decisions and actions, a virtue ethics paradigm has us examining who we are first. As Forbes writer Jonathan Westover describes in his article 'Approaches to Organizational and Leadership Ethics In a Complex World,' virtue ethics focuses on the person's character, meaning that the test of sound judgment is not one anchored in costs and benefits alone, but rather a test of character. Character, anchored in virtue ethics, is one of the most ancient areas of study, dating back to Confucius, Aristotle, and Plato. There has been significant efforts in recent years including the works of Alasdair MacIntyre in 'After Virtue,' Fred Kiel, in 'Return on Character,' Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson's research volume 'Character Strengths and Virtues,' David Brooks in 'The Road to Character,' General James Anderson and Dave Anderson's book 'Becoming a Leader of Character,' 'Cultivating Virtue in the University' by Michael Lamb, Jonathan Brant and Edward Brooks, and my books 'Developing Leadership Character' with Gerard Seijts and Jeffrey Gandz, and 'The Character Compass' with Gerard Seijts and Bill Furlong. General Stanley McChrystal's recent book, 'On Character: Choices That Define a Life,' has received considerable press. While these books have given character profile and helped people see its value, most people believe they have character covered by having 'good values.' So, what does character look like in a corporate context? It's not a glossy mission statement or a set of aspirational values. The hard work of developing character underpins the realization of aspirational values, which manifests as courage in the face of hard decisions. It's humility when leaders admit mistakes, empathy in how employees are treated, and accountability when things go wrong. Patagonia has modeled this ethos for years. Its environmental activism isn't marketing—it's identity, as Forbes contributor Doug Sundheim describes: 'Much of its success can be traced back to Chouinard's uncompromising leadership since Day One. Whereas many companies espouse a set of values only to sacrifice them under the pressure of quarterly returns, Patagonia has religiously stuck to theirs for the last half century, come what may. Quality, integrity, sustainability, and justice were never negotiable.' Unfortunately, too many people focus on the values of Patagonia, whereas the basis of the competitive advantage arises from the character of the leaders and their capacity to infuse that strength of character in others. Character is not subjective. In 'Cracking the Code: Leader Character Development for Competitive Advantage,' Corey Crossan, Bill Furlong, and I put to rest misconceptions about character. We clearly articulate what it is, how it can be assessed and developed, and how it can be embedded in an organization. In my Forbes article 'From Good to Great: 10 Ways to Elevate Your Character Quotient,' we offer 10 questions that provide a strategic assessment of what it takes to embrace character leadership fully. These foundational approaches underpin seeing and embracing character as a new ethos. A high character quotient gives individuals confidence that they know what needs to be done to embrace character as a new imperative. A low quotient suggests gaps that reveal significant blind spots. If you do not understand how imbalances of character compromise judgment, and you cannot observe and identify character imbalances in yourself or others, it is easy to fall into the trap of using cost-benefit analysis to evaluate success. You tend to overlook the dysfunctional behaviors of leaders with imbalanced character, focusing only on either selective results or some justification of their actions. A tell-tale sign is when we dismiss someone's arrogance, disrespect, and abusive behavior because we fail to see and understand that these behaviors are evidence of character imbalances that will inevitably compromise judgment. Shifting the Gravitation Pull Starts with Us Part of shifting the gravitational pull to character resides in our capacity to diagnose the strength of character in ourselves and others, identify the imbalances that compromise judgment, and actively work to mitigate them. In our workshops, once people are exposed to the leader character framework with its 11 dimensions and 62 supporting behaviors, they can start to observe and identify strengths and weaknesses in the character of others. They begin to see that the imbalance in character dimensions, such as the high drive, courage, and transcendence of Steve Jobs, coupled with low temperance and humility, compromises judgment. With that understanding, they are better equipped to move beyond a superficial assessment of leadership based on results, to one that can diagnose the strength of character that underpins judgment. There are often three profound moments in our workshops. The first is when people begin to see that character reveals itself in micro-moments and decision-making episodes, not just a general account of whether someone was successful. The second is when they grasp that observable behaviors such as being disrespectful, condescending, and arrogant are the manifestations of character imbalances that compromise judgment. Often, these were deemed a matter of style or personality. With the lens of character they are seen as the bell-weather of compromised judgment, not only in the leader who disregards insight from others, but in how the leader fosters a toxic culture that undermines judgment more broadly. The third moment is when they come to grips with the understanding that a person would never weaken a strength like courage or drive, but instead character development focuses on strengthening weakness like temperance and humility, as in the case of Jobs, to ensure strengths don't manifest as excess vices. Strengthening humility does not need to sacrifice courage. Also, unlike personality, which is a set of semi-stable traits, character can be developed, providing a great deal of inspiration and aspiration, particularly because it benefits well-being and sustained excellence, both personally and professionally. One of the tricky aspects of character is that it is easier to identify imbalances in others than in ourselves. We tend to judge ourselves on our good intentions and others on their behaviors, and suffer from a chronic over-estimation of our self-awareness. Tasha Eurich's research reveals that 85% of people believe they are self-aware, while only 10% are. To close the gap, there are assessments such as the Leader Character Insight Assessment offered through Sigma Assessment Systems and the VIA Character Strengths survey offered through VIA. In terms of developing character, Corey Crossan and I created the Virtuosity mobile app to embed the science of character and the science of habit development in technology that guides individual character development. The famous 1970 cartoon by Walt Kelly, portraying that 'we have met the enemy, and it is us,' is spot-on for character. Until we understand character, identify imbalances in ourselves and others, and actively work on developing character, we will continue to misdiagnose the factors that compromise judgment, leading to the many ills facing individuals, organizations, and society. Strengthening the individual foundations of character is necessary but insufficient, as there is a need for course correction in the broader systems embodying old ways of thinking. Cultivating Character in Organizations and Oversight If character is the new ethos, cultivating it must go beyond surface-level virtue signaling. It must be systematically and sincerely embedded into the organization's DNA. As Forbes contributor Glenn Llopis writes, 'A leader's character is what earns the right to lead others.' It's not charisma or cleverness—it's the moral gravity that holds an enterprise together. Pam Boney, a contributor to the Forbes Coaches Council, put it bluntly: 'Before a company can realize any objectives, it needs a supportive culture—and that culture must be grounded in character.' In my recent Forbes article 'Seeing How Character Eats Culture For Breakfast,' based on collaborations with Corey Crossan and Bill Furlong, I offer a practical approach to helping organizations understand how culture reflects the character of its members. This practical and revolutionary approach helps individuals and organizations see that the culture they seek is anchored in character, yet the culture they often experience reflects the imbalances of character of its members, particularly leaders. The remedy is to start with leader character development to transform the organizational culture. From the vantage point of actively developing character, it is easy to see how policies and practices often work against character and reinforce old and outdated mindsets. For example, in an MIT Sloan Management Review article, 'Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting,' I describe that we tend to hire on competence and fire people because of character. Human Resource practices such as recruiting, hiring, performance management, promotion, and succession management need to shift the gravitational pull to elevate character alongside competence. Simply put, wherever competence resides, character belongs. Another key leverage point for shifting the ethos is oversight, whether that be by Boards of Directors, Trade Associations, or regulators. The same prescriptions exist. Members need to develop their character; from that vantage point, they can see ways to help shift the ethos. For example, boards of directors are responsible for selecting CEOs but have often neglected implementing an evidence-based approach to assess character. Few would understand how to assess the quality of judgment and decision-making of the organization based on character. Although regulators continue to struggle with misconduct in organizations, few have turned to character to influence change. Notable exceptions are the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the U.K., one of the first regulators to pick up on our 'Leadership on Trial' research and share it with their constituents. Also, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI) in Canada noted in a January 31, 2024, guideline that integrity is achieved by 'ensuring people are of good character.' Character in an AI World While AI and automation evolve, companies shaping the future will be led by humans whose character-based judgment will become even more important. In my recent Forbes article on 'Why Artificial Intelligence Needs Character-Based Leadership,' I make the case for how character-based judgment harnesses the power of AI. There is no replacement for character. Business is not a game. It is time for a new ethos with character as the foundation.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The market pummeled 401(k) accounts last week. Panic selling ensued.
Last week's tariff-induced market selloff ripped through 401(k) accounts, and over the weekend millions of savers and retirees took matters into their own hands. People pulled vast sums of 401(k) money from large US equity funds and target date funds and shifted to more conservative stable value, bond, and money market funds, according to Alight Solutions' 401(k) Index. Trading activity on Monday was almost 10 times an average day's volume, with investors fleeing stocks for the safety of fixed income funds, Rob Austin, head of thought leadership at Alight Solutions, told Yahoo Finance. It was the highest daily trading level since March 2020 when the pandemic hit. Why the Monday meltdown? Historically, when stock markets have large losses on Fridays, very high trading activity in 401(k) plans follows on Monday, Austin said. People react to the news by tweaking their portfolios over the weekend, but those changes don't get executed until the market reopens. 'The high volume isn't surprising as people tend to sell during market drops and buy back after rebounds, which leads to selling low and buying high,' he said. 'Saving for retirement is a marathon, not a sprint and a long-term approach to investing is generally wiser, even if it means enduring occasional downturns.' Tell that to stressed-out investors and savers. They were all over the map. 'Engagement with the markets was high among Schwab's retail clients last week,' Alex Coffey, senior trading and derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, told Yahoo Finance. More clients bought equities than sold, Coffey said. But in terms of dollar amounts, clients were net sellers — meaning the amount of money behind selling transactions was bigger. In terms of individual names, there weren't many surprises. Nvidia was the most-bought stock, followed by Amazon, Apple, and Tesla. 'We also saw a lot of buying in index-tracking ETFs, perhaps as a volatility-driven alternative to investing in individual stocks where risk can be higher,' Coffey said. Lindsay Theodore, a certified financial planner at T. Rowe Price, said not all her clients reacted the same way. 'Some see the volatility as an opportunity to redeploy cash that had been sitting on the sideline,' she said. 'Others are worried and seeking validation that they're in the right investments and on the right track.' You can remind people again and again to sit on their hands instead of making big moves to jettison their stock holdings during economic turmoil and stock market volatility, but human nature often takes over. At TIAA, retirement participant calls and online account logins jumped nearly 30% since April 3 as retirement savers sought answers. 'Stay anchored' was the advice from Niladri 'Neel' Mukherjee, chief investment officer at TIAA Wealth Management. His advice: Stay diversified across equities, bonds and cash holdings according to your risk profile. Raise some cash if you need it for immediate purposes. However, he urged investors to balance the need to remain invested in equities for growth during retirement years. Maintaining a long-term perspective is critical even in retirement. That's the tried and true advice we always hear, and I am an advocate for that approach myself. Yet any time the markets flip out it seems inadequate, and this sudden downward shift feels different. Fidelity was unable to share up-to-date figures on outflows and inflows from 401(k) and IRA accounts since Thursday, but I did get some calming predictions that could soothe rattled nerves. "Market volatility may remain in the short term, but our outlook for US stocks remains positive," said Mike Scarsciotti, a certified financial planner in Fidelity's Capital Markets Strategy Group. A safe haven in the meantime: intermediate-term bonds, which can 'act as portfolio shock absorbers," he said. It's tough not to get twitchy and want to do something to take control of your retirement account when things take a turn for the worse. 'A dramatic emotional action like panicking and going all to cash and all to bonds is not a strategy,' Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning at Charles Schwab, told Yahoo Finance. 'We have seen increased calls with questions and concerns this week and increased angst,' he said. 'The tendency as an investor is to say, yes, I want to take cover.' A better response is to take 'ownership of your financial life,' Williams said. That doesn't mean 'set and forget it' or not pay attention. Have an investment plan based on how many years you have until you really need those funds in retirement. 'It can be very simple, but having a plan is an active move,' Williams said. Be aware of your emotions and concerns when there's uncertainty, he added, and create a plan you can stick to. That means if your time horizon is more than three or four years, you stick with the plan even through the turmoil, Williams said, 'continuing to save, continuing to invest, and rebalancing your portfolio once a year.' 'All of our studies show that people who have a financial plan tend to feel more confident or are looking for opportunities in a down market like this more than they are panicking or making emotional decisions that may end up not helping them in the long term,' he said. When you see in big red letters that your stocks are losing money, it's hard to not react, Benedict Guttman-Kenney, an assistant professor of finance at Rice University, told me. The common thinking: The stock market's falling, I want to get out before it falls further and I lose more money. 'But a fantastic way to lose money is to sell in a panic,' Guttman-Kenney said. 'It is a bit cheesy, but when I think of this behavior, I remember the Beatles' hit 'Let it Be.' That's what most people need to do, and it's very hard.' A valuable nugget to consider: If you're saving automatically in your employer-sponsored retirement plan, or you're making automatic contributions to a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA and are years from retirement, you're always investing in your retirement accounts regardless of whether markets are up or down. That evens out your returns over the long haul as you roll through the changing tides. Moreover, many retirement savers these days have their funds set aside in target-date retirement funds which automatically shift when the markets go haywire.'Target-date funds are a great solution for many retirees, especially 401(k) plan accounts," Schwab's Williams said. 'If you want a default solution, that's the right place to start. It will help you stay the course through dips and downturns like this because they rebalance your portfolio periodically.' And heed this message from Guttman-Kenney: 'The stock price movements over an hour, a day, a week, a month — those really shouldn't be affecting those long-run decisions,' he said. 'Do whatever kind of self-control mechanism works for you. Take a walk if that helps.' Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work" and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Sign in to access your portfolio
Wall Street Journal
04-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
401(k) Savers Held Tight During Thursday's Market Rout
Thursday's steep selloff in stocks surprisingly didn't prompt a flurry of trading activity in 401(k)s. Trades yesterday amounted to 0.01% of assets in a subset of 401(k) plans administered by record-keeper Alight Solutions. Alight tracks two million investors with $264 billion in assets. The few who did react shifted a net $26 million from target-date and stock funds into investments including fixed income. That equates to an average trading day, which is 'really odd, because we usually see people trade in higher volumes when the market drops that much,' said Rob Austin, director of research at Alight, which serves over 200 large plans. The S&P 500 fell nearly 5% on Thursday.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)The Best Robinhood Stock to Buy According to Analysts?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stands against other best Robinhood stocks to buy according to analysts. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has announced quarterly retail investor pulse survey results. The majority of investors' views were bullish. Investors began the year on the bullish (58%) note, in line with last quarter (59%). Furthermore, the results also revealed that around 2 out of 3 investors (64%) saw the market rising by the end of the quarter. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's survey revealed that inflation has been the top worry for investors' portfolios at 45%, almost in line with the last quarter at 46%, with market volatility at 24% coming out to be the second. Notably, the concerns related to the new administration declined 13 percentage points since the last quarter. Furthermore, around 3 out of 5 (59%) of investors see that the broader US economy remains healthy. Chris Larkin, Managing Director, Head of Trading and Investing, E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, stated that with any new administration taking power, the potential policy changes can bring uncertainty in the broader markets. That being said, investors are optimistic and resilient amid a soft start to the new year. READ ALSO: and . Retail outflows from the US equities increased to ~$4 billion over the previous 2 weeks due to the uncertainties related to tariffs and increased economic concerns, which resulted in a strong pullback in the S&P 500, reported CNBC, while quoting data from Barclays. Rob Austin, director of research at Alight Solutions, says that if people tried to buy the dip, there would have been evidence hinting at the increased buying of the large-cap equities. On the contrary, people are selling large-cap equities. Austin believes that this seems to be a bit of a reactionary trading activity. CNBC, while highlighting the comments made by Venu Krishna (Barclays head of U.S. equity strategy), reported that there remains sufficient capacity for the retail investors to further disengage from the broader equity market. Notably, Barclays' proprietary euphoria indicator exhibited that the sentiments are down to the levels that were seen around the time of the US election back in November, but remain elevated by historic standards. The increased sell-off came as American households remained more sensitive than ever to the significant volatility in the broader equity markets. To list the 8 Best Robinhood Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we sifted through several online rankings to shortlist the stocks trending on Robinhood. We also took help from the Robinhood Investor Index. Next, we chose the ones that analysts see significant upside to. Finally, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their average upside potential, as of March 17. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A customer entering an internet retail store, illustrating the convenience of online shopping. Moody's Ratings changed Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s outlook to positive from stable, reflecting the company's continued improvement in operational performance as it managed to generate significant FCF in a bid to support acceleration in capital spending while also maintaining low leverage and increased cash balances. Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has a powerful global brand, which remains synonymous with online retail, and possesses the strength and profitability of Amazon Web Services, which is the market segment leader in the cloud computing market. Moody's believes that the company remains well-placed to support the increased capital investment with internal cash flow as it ramps up its capital spending on AWS and its generative Artificial Intelligence investments. Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s investments in AI technology can fuel strong growth and efficiency improvements throughout its various business segments. In e-commerce, AI could enhance personalization, improve demand forecasting, and can also optimize logistics, resulting in better customer experiences and lower costs. Furthermore, for AWS, AI innovations can result in the development of new, high-value cloud services, bringing in more enterprise customers as well as premium pricing. Also, in advertising, AI-powered tools can result in improved ad targeting and effectiveness. Diamond Hill Capital, an investment management company, released its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said: 'Among our top individual contributors in Q4 were General Motors and Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Internet retail and cloud infrastructure company Amazon continues taking share in non-discretionary categories. Retail margins also increased in the quarter, particularly international margins. Amazon Web Services' (AWS) revenue growth accelerated in the quarter, and, despite increased AI-related capital expenditures, margins improved to all-time highs.' Overall, AMZN ranks 1st on our list of best Robinhood stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)The Best Robinhood Stock to Buy According to Analysts?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stands against other best Robinhood stocks to buy according to analysts. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has announced quarterly retail investor pulse survey results. The majority of investors' views were bullish. Investors began the year on the bullish (58%) note, in line with last quarter (59%). Furthermore, the results also revealed that around 2 out of 3 investors (64%) saw the market rising by the end of the quarter. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's survey revealed that inflation has been the top worry for investors' portfolios at 45%, almost in line with the last quarter at 46%, with market volatility at 24% coming out to be the second. Notably, the concerns related to the new administration declined 13 percentage points since the last quarter. Furthermore, around 3 out of 5 (59%) of investors see that the broader US economy remains healthy. Chris Larkin, Managing Director, Head of Trading and Investing, E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, stated that with any new administration taking power, the potential policy changes can bring uncertainty in the broader markets. That being said, investors are optimistic and resilient amid a soft start to the new year. READ ALSO: and . Retail outflows from the US equities increased to ~$4 billion over the previous 2 weeks due to the uncertainties related to tariffs and increased economic concerns, which resulted in a strong pullback in the S&P 500, reported CNBC, while quoting data from Barclays. Rob Austin, director of research at Alight Solutions, says that if people tried to buy the dip, there would have been evidence hinting at the increased buying of the large-cap equities. On the contrary, people are selling large-cap equities. Austin believes that this seems to be a bit of a reactionary trading activity. CNBC, while highlighting the comments made by Venu Krishna (Barclays head of U.S. equity strategy), reported that there remains sufficient capacity for the retail investors to further disengage from the broader equity market. Notably, Barclays' proprietary euphoria indicator exhibited that the sentiments are down to the levels that were seen around the time of the US election back in November, but remain elevated by historic standards. The increased sell-off came as American households remained more sensitive than ever to the significant volatility in the broader equity markets. To list the 8 Best Robinhood Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we sifted through several online rankings to shortlist the stocks trending on Robinhood. We also took help from the Robinhood Investor Index. Next, we chose the ones that analysts see significant upside to. Finally, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their average upside potential, as of March 17. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). Analyst Doug Anmuth from J.P. Morgan maintained a 'Buy' rating on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s stock with a price objective of $725.00. The analyst's rating is backed by a combination of factors that include the company's healthy financial performance and strategic long-term investments. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s significant investments in capital expenditures and infrastructure can act as strategic advantages that can yield benefits over time. For FY 2025, the company expects its capital expenditures to be $60 billion – $65 billion. Furthermore, the company's focus on advancements in artificial intelligence and the Metaverse remains in line with the critical technological trends, which can fuel future growth. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s strong focus on enhancing user experience and its healthy competitive position in the digital advertising space strengthens its prospects. The AI-driven services can result in new revenue streams in the enterprise market. The services can span from AI-powered customer service solutions to advanced analytics tools for businesses, enabling diversification of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)'s revenue over and above traditional advertising. Rowan Street Capital, an investment management company, released the Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said: 'Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META): Investment Initiated: April 2018: Internal Rate of Return (IRR*): 22% *IRR represents the annualized rate of return on an investment, accounting for the timing and magnitude of cash flows over the holding period. Overall, META ranks 3rd on our list of best Robinhood stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than META but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio
