Latest news with #iSharesETF
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Can Be Risky, but This Might Be a Great Way to Do It
Key Points Volatility is the price we pay for the opportunity to earn higher returns in the stock market compared to risk-free assets like cash. Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have generally delivered spectacular returns over the last couple of years, but it isn't always smooth sailing. The iShares Future AI and Technology ETF holds 48 different AI stocks, and it might be a great option for investors seeking exposure to the sector. 10 stocks we like better than iShares Future AI & Tech ETF › Investors can earn a reliable, practically risk-free annual return of up to 5% by purchasing U.S. government bonds, or they can invest in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index, which has delivered a compound annual return of 10.5% since its inception in 1957. But volatility is the price we pay for higher returns in the stock market, so investors will have to stomach regular sell-offs along the way, which sometimes exceed 20%. Those risks are substantially higher when investing in hyper-growth areas like artificial intelligence (AI). AI software powerhouse Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) offers a great example -- its stock has surged by a whopping 480% over the past 12 months, but it suffered a nerve-racking plunge of 40% between February and April this year, which would have spooked even the most seasoned investors. Buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF) can be a great way to invest in a basket of high-growth AI stocks, while smoothing out some of that extreme volatility. The iShares Future AI and Technology ETF (NYSEMKT: ARTY) holds 48 different AI stocks, including many of the industry's leaders, so it can insulate investors from sharp losses if one or two names underperform. Read on to learn more. Palantir, Nvidia, and Alphabet are just some of the AI leaders in this ETF The iShares Future AI and Technology ETF focuses on the entire AI value chain, investing in companies all over the world that develop the infrastructure, software, and services powering this tech boom. The below table displays 10 of the most notable AI names in the ETF's 48-stock portfolio, ordered by their weightings: Stock iShares ETF Portfolio Weighting Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) 5.66% Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) 5.04% Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) 4.82% Palantir Technologies 3.29% Alphabet Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) 3.01% Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) 3.00% Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) 2.94% Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) 2.85% Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) 2.51% Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) 0.64% Data source: iShares. Portfolio weightings are accurate as of July 25, 2025, and are subject to change. The AI revolution really gathered momentum at the start of 2023, when OpenAI's ChatGPT application surged in popularity by giving people a glimpse into this technology's potential. Since then, the above stocks have delivered a blistering average return of 522%, and a median return of 185%, so investors who haven't owned a slice of the AI boom have almost certainly underperformed the broader market: AMD, Nvidia, and Broadcom are three top suppliers of the data center chips, networking equipment, and components required to develop AI. Nvidia is the clear leader of that pack because the performance of its graphics processing units (GPUs) is unmatched, and demand for those chips continues to exceed supply. In fact, Nvidia has become the world's largest company on the back of the AI revolution, with its market capitalization recently topping $4.3 trillion. Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon are some of the biggest buyers of the data center hardware I just highlighted. They each operate cloud platforms where they sell state-of-the-art computing capacity to AI developers, in addition to ready-made large language models (LLMs), which are the core ingredients for creating AI software. Then there is Palantir, which is a true AI software giant. Its AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) platform helps businesses and governments deploy AI into their operations, whereas its Gotham and Foundry platforms help them extract valuable insights from their data. The more than 20-fold increase in Palantir stock since the start of 2023 has catapulted it to a very high -- and potentially unsustainable -- valuation, but that hasn't stopped one Wall Street analyst from predicting more upside. A great addition to a diversified portfolio The performance of the iShares Future AI and Technology ETF is completely dependent on the success of AI and AI-adjacent technologies, so investors shouldn't put all of their eggs in one basket even though it's less risky than buying one or two AI stocks. Instead, they should buy it as part of a diversified portfolio of other funds or individual stocks. Moreover, the ETF was established in 2018 with a broad focus on robotics and AI, but it was completely reconstructed on Aug. 12 last year to focus on AI specifically. Therefore, it doesn't have much of a track record for investors to analyze, but it has delivered a massive return of 40% since the changes were made. That's more than double the 19.5% return produced by the S&P 500 over the same period. That strong performance does come at a cost, because the iShares ETF has an expense ratio of 0.47%. It means a $10,000 investment will incur an annual fee of $47, which doesn't sound high at face value, but a traditional index fund issued by a company like Vanguard typically comes with an expense ratio of just 0.03%. This cost won't matter much if the iShares ETF continues to deliver blistering returns, but it's something to consider. One thing is for sure: The iShares ETF currently holds every AI stock an investor could want, so it will make a great addition to a diversified portfolio, especially one that doesn't already have exposure to this revolutionary sector of the market. Should you buy stock in iShares Future AI & Tech ETF right now? Before you buy stock in iShares Future AI & Tech ETF, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and iShares Future AI & Tech ETF 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 $630,291!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,075,791!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,039% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% 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 July 29, 2025 Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Palantir Technologies, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Can Be Risky, but This Might Be a Great Way to Do It was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia and Palantir Could Help This Unstoppable ETF Turn $1,000 Per Month Into $1 Million Over the Long Term
Nvidia and Palantir have been two of the best performing artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in the world over the last few years. The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF offers exposure to Nvidia and Palantir with a healthy splash of diversification. The iShares ETF has a stellar track record when it comes to beating the S&P 500, and it could turn $1,000 per month into $1 million from here. 10 stocks we like better than iShares Trust - iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF › The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSEMKT: IGM) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that offers investors exposure to a diverse portfolio of 283 stocks from the technology and technology-related industries. Its top 10 holdings feature some of the most dominant names in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, including Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR), which have obliterated the broader market over the last five years: Performances like those have helped the iShares ETF beat the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index every year, on average, since its inception in 2001. Going forward, here's how the ETF could turn $1,000 per month into $1 million over the long term. While the iShares ETF holds sizable positions in some of the world's biggest AI companies, its exposure to tech-adjacent companies ensures its eggs aren't entirely in one basket. For example, social media giant Meta Platforms and streaming powerhouse Netflix are in the communications services sector, and both had very strong businesses before AI came along. They are among the top positions in the ETF. Nevertheless, the iShares ETF is quite top-heavy. Despite holding 283 stocks, its top 10 positions represent 56.7% of the total value of its portfolio: Stock iShares ETF Portfolio Weighting 1. Microsoft 9.22% 2. Nvidia 9.15% 3. Meta Platforms 8.56% 4. Alphabet 7.71% 5. Apple 6.82% 6. Broadcom 5.05% 7. Netflix 3.77% 8. Oracle 2.47% 9. Palantir Technologies 2.07% 10. Cisco Systems 1.89% Data source: iShares. Portfolio weightings are accurate as of June 18, 2025, and are subject to change. As I mentioned at the top, Nvidia and Palantir have been two of the best-performing AI stocks in the world over the last few years. Nvidia continues to experience surging demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs) for the data center, which are the most powerful in the world for developing AI models. The latest 'reasoning' models consume up to 1,000 times more computing capacity than traditional large language models (LLMs), which should support sales of Nvidia's Blackwell and Blackwell Ultra chips for the foreseeable future. Palantir, on the other hand, is an AI software juggernaut. Its platforms, like Gotham, Foundry, and AIP, help organizations and governments analyze large volumes of data to make more informed operational decisions. The company's revenue grew by 29% last year, but Wall Street's consensus estimate (provided by Yahoo! Finance) suggests that the growth rate could accelerate to 35% in 2025. One analyst -- Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities -- thinks Palantir's market capitalization could triple to $1 trillion over the next few years. But investors should be wary of the company's high valuation, which is why owning it in an ETF might be a safer strategy than buying the stock outright. But there are a number of other extremely high-quality stocks among the other 273 holdings in the iShares ETF that aren't solely focused on AI. Besides Meta and Netflix, which I mentioned earlier, they include cybersecurity giants Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike, small business software provider Intuit, e-commerce powerhouse Shopify, and cloud observability specialist Datadog. The iShares ETF has delivered a compound annual return of 10.4% since it was established in 2001, comfortably beating the S&P 500, which delivered an average annual return of 8.3% over the same period. However, the ETF generated an accelerated yearly gain of 18.7% over the last 10 years, thanks to the rapid adoption of technologies like cloud computing, enterprise software, and now AI. Here's how long it could take to turn a consistent monthly investment of $1,000 into $1 million based on three different average annual returns: Monthly Investment Compound Annual Return Balance After 10 Years Balance After 20 Years Balance After 30 Years $1,000 10.4% $212,420 $807,901 $2,485,112 $1,000 14.5% (midpoint) $271,224 $1,413,253 $6,239,726 $1,000 18.7% $352,624 $2,601,403 $16,983,247 Calculations by author. The iShares ETF is unlikely to continue returning 18.7% per year over the long run because the law of large numbers will eventually become a roadblock to growth for some of its biggest holdings. For example, there are 2.35 billion active Apple devices worldwide, so the iPhone maker is running out of consumers in its target market (those with the financial means to buy its products and those of an appropriate age to own them). Similarly, over 3.4 billion people use one of Meta Platforms' social networks every day, and there are only 8.2 billion people on Earth. However, per the above table, the iShares ETF could still turn $1,000 per month into $1 million in less than 30 years, even if its annual return reverts back to its long-term average of 10.4%. With that said, I think the ETF could deliver above-average returns for the foreseeable future, considering the sheer momentum in the AI space right now. But even if AI companies lose steam or if the technology fails to live up to expectations, the ETF's diversification could come into play and support its returns. Before you buy stock in iShares Trust - iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and iShares Trust - iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF 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 $676,023!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $883,692!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 793% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Cisco Systems, Datadog, Intuit, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, Palantir Technologies, and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Palo Alto Networks and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Nvidia and Palantir Could Help This Unstoppable ETF Turn $1,000 Per Month Into $1 Million Over the Long Term was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
The Star
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Institutional investors juggle bitcoin ETF holdings, US filings show
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/ File Photo (Reuters) -A number of high-profile asset managers cut their stakes in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds amid a 12% drop in the cryptocurrency's price in the first quarter of 2025, according to recent regulatory filings. This marks a shift from previous quarters when asset managers had typically increased their holdings in spot bitcoin ETFs, as shown in previous quarterly 13-F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Spot bitcoin ETFs, which made their market debut in January 2024, now paint a more complex picture. Hedge funds trimmed their holdings while some financial advisory firms and wealth funds boosted or rebalanced their positions. "What we witnessed in the first quarter was the collapse of the premium that people were paying for bitcoin futures, which had set up a very lucrative basis trade," said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Manager. Hedge funds seeking to profit from the spread between spot and futures prices could capture annualized yields in the region of 15%, Hougan said. "But that premium collapsed and reached its nadir around the end of March," he said. "So I'm not surprised to see hedge funds trim their holdings." Millennium Management LLC cut its holdings of iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF by 41% to 17.6 million shares and exited its position in the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF. It increased its stake in only two ETFs, boosting its holdings of the ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust. Jersey-based Brevan Howard trimmed its stake in the iShares ETF by 15.6%. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, one of the earliest institutional investors to make a significant allocation to spot bitcoin ETFs in the first quarter of 2024, sold its entire six million share position in the iShares Bitcoin Trust in the first three months of this year. Meanwhile, Brown University made its first foray into cryptocurrency ETF ownership during the same period, acquiring a stake in the same ETF, worth $4.9 million at the end of March. Neither the state pension fund nor representatives from Brown University responded to requests for comment on their moves. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala sovereign wealth fund added to its holdings of the iShares ETF in the first quarter, bringing its total position to 8,726,972 shares, valued at $408.5 million. "What will be most important for me is whether, when all the data is finally in and we can analyze it, more investment advisory firms are stepping in," said Hougan. "That wave of adoption may be a slow-moving train, but it has forward momentum." (Reporting by Suzanne McGee; editing by Diane Craft)
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Institutional investors juggle bitcoin ETF holdings, US filings show
By Suzanne McGee (Reuters) -A number of high-profile asset managers cut their stakes in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds amid a 12% drop in the cryptocurrency's price in the first quarter of 2025, according to recent regulatory filings. This marks a shift from previous quarters when asset managers had typically increased their holdings in spot bitcoin ETFs, as shown in previous quarterly 13-F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Spot bitcoin ETFs, which made their market debut in January 2024, now paint a more complex picture. Hedge funds trimmed their holdings while some financial advisory firms and wealth funds boosted or rebalanced their positions. "What we witnessed in the first quarter was the collapse of the premium that people were paying for bitcoin futures, which had set up a very lucrative basis trade," said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Manager. Hedge funds seeking to profit from the spread between spot and futures prices could capture annualized yields in the region of 15%, Hougan said. "But that premium collapsed and reached its nadir around the end of March," he said. "So I'm not surprised to see hedge funds trim their holdings." Millennium Management LLC cut its holdings of iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF by 41% to 17.6 million shares and exited its position in the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF. It increased its stake in only two ETFs, boosting its holdings of the ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust. Jersey-based Brevan Howard trimmed its stake in the iShares ETF by 15.6%. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, one of the earliest institutional investors to make a significant allocation to spot bitcoin ETFs in the first quarter of 2024, sold its entire six million share position in the iShares Bitcoin Trust in the first three months of this year. Meanwhile, Brown University made its first foray into cryptocurrency ETF ownership during the same period, acquiring a stake in the same ETF, worth $4.9 million at the end of March. Neither the state pension fund nor representatives from Brown University responded to requests for comment on their moves. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala sovereign wealth fund added to its holdings of the iShares ETF in the first quarter, bringing its total position to 8,726,972 shares, valued at $408.5 million. "What will be most important for me is whether, when all the data is finally in and we can analyze it, more investment advisory firms are stepping in," said Hougan. "That wave of adoption may be a slow-moving train, but it has forward momentum." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
01-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Jensen Huang Predicts Annual Data Center Spending Will Hit $1 Trillion by 2028. Here's the Ultimate Semiconductor ETF to Buy Right Now.
Semiconductors are the beating heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Graphics processing units (GPUs), AI accelerators, high-bandwidth memory, and networking equipment fill modern data centers, delivering the computing capacity developers need to create advanced AI software. Data center spending is growing each year, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang predicts it will top $1 trillion annually by 2028 as tech giants and start-ups alike battle for AI supremacy. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » The iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX) holds 30 different stocks that could be massive winners if Huang is right. It's currently down 16% in 2025 amid the broader market sell off that was triggered by simmering global trade tensions, but here's why investors might want to look past the short-term noise and buy it now. Every top semiconductor stock packed into one ETF The iShares Semiconductor ETF was established in 2001, so it has helped investors navigate numerous hardware booms driven by technologies like the internet, the smartphone, enterprise software, and cloud computing. Most suppliers of chips and components are now focusing on AI, because that's where the demand has shifted. The top five holdings in the iShares ETF feature some of the biggest hardware names in the AI space, and they represent 37.9% of the total value of the portfolio: Stock iShares ETF Portfolio Weighting 1. Broadcom 8.69% 2. Nvidia 8.01% 3. Texas Instruments 7.49% 4. Advanced Micro Devices 6.97% 5. Qualcomm 6.81% Data source: iShares. Portfolio weightings are accurate as of April 25, 2025, and are subject to change. Broadcom makes AI accelerators for three unnamed hyperscale customers which can be customized to suit their needs, so they are a great alternative to traditional GPUs from suppliers like Nvidia. Broadcom thinks it could capture up to $90 billion in annual revenue from those three customers alone by fiscal 2027. Beyond chips, the company sells data center switches and networking equipment to facilitate rapid processing speeds, which is also critical for AI developers. Despite growing competitive threats, Nvidia's data center GPUs are still the benchmark in AI hardware. The company recently unveiled its Blackwell Ultra GB300 GPU, which delivers a 50-fold performance bump in certain configurations compared to its old Hopper-based H100. The Blackwell Ultra architecture was designed for "reasoning" AI models, which require up to 100 times more computing power than traditional large language models, according to Jensen Huang. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is an emerging powerhouse in the data center space. It has its own lineup of AI GPUs, and its latest MI355X is built on a new architecture called CDNA (Compute DNA) 4, which was designed to rival Nvidia's original Blackwell architecture. However, those chips won't ship to customers in high volumes until midyear, so Nvidia still has a significant first-mover advantage. But it's not all about the data center, because AMD is also a top supplier of AI chips for personal computers, which could be a big growth market in the future. Outside of the above stocks, the iShares ETF holds a number of other prominent AI hardware names. They include Micron Technology, which supplies memory and storage chips, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which fabricates most of the GPUs designed by Nvidia and AMD. The iShares ETF has a long track record of success President Donald Trump imposed a broad 10% tariff on all imported goods from America's trading partners in early April, in addition to a series of higher "reciprocal tariffs" on specific countries. However, semiconductors are exempt from the reciprocal levies, mainly because leading the AI race is a matter of national security for the U.S. Nevertheless, trade tensions could drive an economic slowdown, which might affect demand for chips in the short term as data center operators reevaluate their budgets. Data by YCharts. But here's the good news: The iShares Semiconductor ETF has delivered a compound annual return of 10.4% since it was established in 2001, beating the average annual gain of 7.8% in the S&P 500 over the same period. Plus, the ETF has delivered an accelerated annual return of 20.9% over the last 10 years specifically, thanks to the broad adoption of technologies like enterprise software, cloud computing, and now AI. The point is the iShares ETF has weathered a number of economic shocks during its 24-year history -- including President Trump's last tariff saga in 2018 -- while still delivering strong returns. If data center spending does grow to an annual rate of $1 trillion by 2028 as Jensen Huang predicts, then those returns are likely to continue (if not accelerate further). As a result, this might be a great time to buy the iShares ETF, especially considering its year-to-date dip of 16%. Should you invest $1,000 in iShares Trust - iShares Semiconductor ETF right now? Before you buy stock in iShares Trust - iShares Semiconductor ETF, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and iShares Trust - iShares Semiconductor ETF 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 $607,048!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,193!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is880% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to161%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 April 28, 2025
