Investing in public equities is an activity that allows everyone to generate wealth.
This has been a smart move in the past decade, as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has produced a total return of 322% since early August 2016 (as of Aug. 5)
Before rushing in, though, it’s important to understand what makes today’s environment unique. Here’s one thing all long-term investors need to know about the stock market right now. You are partly correct if you guessed that the stock market is driven disproportionately by technology stocks.
This trend has been going on for quite some time. The more specific view, however, is that companies in the middle of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom represent a sizable portion of the equity market. The top companies in the S&P 500 are involved in AI in some way, most notably as hyperscalers or chip sellers.