Fox Business’s Claman Countdown turned to AlphaCore Wealth Advisory CEO and Founder Dick Pfister, CAIA, LIVE on Friday, June 30. Appearing in the Countdown Closer segment to give the last word at the end of the hour, Pfister gave viewers an inside look at market segments that he believes shows the most promise for investors looking to protect their portfolios against volatility while also making solid returns in the second half of 2023.
First, with the top 23 U.S. banks passing the Federal Reserve’s annual health check, which gauges whether they can survive an economic storm, host Cheryl Casone asked Pfister which financial institutions might be a good investment for portfolios – even after the Spring banking scare.
“There have obviously been some banks that folded,” says Pfister. “At the same time, there has been some beneficiaries. One of those is J.P Morgan.” While this stock may not be as high as some of the big mega-cap tech names that have been dominating the market, he explains J.P Morgan is up for the year thanks to the banking crisis, and he does not believe this upward run will stop anytime soon.
Another area that Pfister believes looks promising for investors as we move further into 2023 is the tech sector. Despite a rocky 2022, the artificial intelligence boom has caused tech to experience a strong bull run throughout the first half of the year, with little indications of slowing.
“Last year’s losers are this year’s winners. Seven stocks in the S&P 500 are controlling 90 percent of the returns so far this year – and the big theme is A.I.,” says Pfister. “What’s interesting about now is that you have this wide dispersion between the best performers and the worst performers. That gives investors a lot of opportunity.”
Even if you haven’t caught the NVIDIAs or Amazons of the world, Pfister says there are still plenty of opportunities for investors to catch the upside of this market, and this is largely due to the current wide dispersion amongst stocks. “Dispersion leads to more active management. We like the active traders that have been shunned for the last 10 years,” he explains. As a result, Pfister believes active managers that can go long or short will be able to help investors create a portfolio that has assets that can complement longer index plays.
In addition to potential investment opportunities, Pfister also offered valuable insights to viewers on a wide range of financial topics, including the importance of alternatives during times of volatility, the likelihood of future rate hikes and whether a recession may occur soon. As always, if you have any questions about our current market outlook or how to prepare your portfolio, please do not hesitate to contact us.