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How a stock market crash could help set you up for lifelong financial freedom

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How a stock market crash could help set you up for lifelong financial freedom

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A stock market crash might seem like an intimidating prospect. But for those who are prepared, it can be an opportunity to make life-changing investments. 

Historically, the best returns come from buying shares when prices are low. So while it’s impossible to know when the next crash is coming, investors should probably be on the lookout. 

Equity returns

There’s no magic formula that can tell you exactly when is the best time to buy shares. But that doesn’t mean investors shouldn’t try to make the most of the information that is available to them.

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Data from JP Morgan Chase shows a strong negative correlation between valuations and returns. Put simply, returns have been best when the S&P 500 has traded at lower price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios.

Source: JP Morgan Guide to the Markets Q1 2026

The correlation isn’t perfect – especially over a short timeframe. But it becomes much stronger over a five-year period and this is something investors should pay attention to.

At the start of the year, the S&P 500 was trading at a level corresponding to an average five-year return of around 3%. But if the multiple falls 20%, that historic figure doubles.

What to do?

This might make it look as though the best thing to do is to wait until a better buying opportunity presents itself. But I don’t think that’s a particularly good idea.

The S&P 500 as a whole might be historically expensive, but this isn’t true of stocks around the world. UK shares, for example, are actually trading at unusually low levels at the moment. 

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Source: JP Morgan Guide to the Markets – UK Q1 2026

It’s also worth noting that it isn’t even true of every stock within the S&P 500. A lot are actually trading at historically low multiples right now.

The best opportunities might come from taking advantage of low prices. But investors don’t have to sit around and wait for a stock market crash.

Looking for opportunities

One example from my portfolio is Gamma Communications (LSE:GAMA). At a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13, the stock is trading at a level well below where it’s been in the past.

The reason I own it, though, isn’t just because it’s historically cheap. I think the company is in a really nice position to benefit from the UK’s upcoming shift away from copper phone lines.

There’s a danger the UK might delay switching off its copper network (it’s happened once before) and this wouldn’t be a good thing for Gamma. And that’s the main risk with the stock right now.

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Sooner or later, though, businesses are going to have to move to cloud communications – which is the firm’s speciality. So even if it doesn’t come this year, I think the long-term picture looks good. 

Financial freedom

Achieving financial freedom involves two things. The first is being able to put money aside and the second is finding ways to earn a good return on that capital. 

When it comes to the second, the record of history is very clear. The best returns from the stock market come from buying when valuation levels are unusually low.

Given this, a stock market crash can present life-changing opportunities. But I don’t think investors have to wait for something dramatic to happen to find stocks to buy.

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Finance

Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help

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Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help

A girl from a disadvantaged rural family in central China topped this year’s gaokao, attracting numerous live-streamers eager to finance her education, which she declined.

The home of 18-year-old secondary school graduate Han Yaping in a Henan province village was recently bustling with live-streamers.

This attention came after Han achieved an impressive score of 699 out of 750 in the gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam.

She has received offers from China’s two leading universities, Tsinghua University and Peking University.

Han’s accomplishment is particularly remarkable given her family’s impoverished circumstances.

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Her mother suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine, preventing her from working. Her father, who earns a living through farming and odd jobs, serves as the family’s sole provider. Han also has a younger sister.

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Finance

UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review

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UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a landmark review on Monday that proposes recommendations to regulate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial decisions made by consumers.

The review, titled the Mills Review, anticipates that both consumers and firms will start delegating “more financial decision-making to AI systems,” including for agreements, initiating transactions, and executing decisions “within agreed parameters.” One of the key findings of the review outlined that while AI can help bridge advice gaps and “support growth,” there remain risks “associated with fraud, cyber security, and consumer harm.” Conducting the review, Sheldon Mills highlighted that “AI can also amplify risks: bias, discrimination, exclusion, opaque decision-making (particularly when multiple AI models interact), misleading or hallucinatory advice and erosion of consumer trust.”

The review stated that presently, one in five adults in the UK are “already open to AI making decisions for them,” particularly when decisions feel “complex or high stakes.” It found that roughly 26 percent of the population “trust general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for financial advice” with little awareness that such platforms provide no “formal routes to recourse” or protections.

Overall, the Mills Review identified four areas that it anticipates will be impacted by AI in the financial sector: “the transformation of firms,” “new consumer journeys,” “a reshaped competition landscape,” and “amplified financial crime and cyber risk.” The FCA projected the shift in how consumers and firms consult AI to take place by 2030.

The Mills Review put forth seven “priority” recommendations to be considered by the FCA Board. It recommended that any transitions to autonomous AI models be monitored and that regulatory frameworks and perimeters be adapted and secured. The review called for the strengthening of “system-wide coordination and oversight,” the scaling up of the FCA’s AI Lab to enable it to support AI models and innovation for agentic finance, and an “AI-enabled agentic supervisory model” to be built and adopted.   Finally, it recommended that a trusted “public-interest AI-enabled financial capability service” be developed.

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The FCA announced, in the press release, that it will launch an AI “good and poor practice publication” in late 2026.

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Finance

Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position

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Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approved a one-year audit contract capped at $131,750 plus $225 per hour during a virtual meeting Monday, along with a new finance director job description.

The contract is with Mauldin & Jenkins Certified Public Accountants, an Atlanta-based firm, and covers the 2025-26 fiscal year and the restatement of the 2024-25 fiscal year and ancillary services through FY 2029-2030. The work is set to be completed by Nov. 15.

The board approved the contract in a 5-0 vote.

Audit contract details

Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch said the cost is already accounted for in the district’s budget.

“And is actually less than we expected given our current situation — we were thrilled with the bid,” Koch said.

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Koch said she believes this is Mauldin & Jenkins’ first school district audit in Kentucky, but that the firm works with school districts of more than 100,000 students throughout the Southeast.

“Quite frankly when I spoke to the folks at KDE they were thrilled because we’re running kind of short of auditors who want to do school district audits — so all around I think this was a win-win for everyone,” Koch said.

New finance director position

The board also approved a new job description for the position of Director of Finance. Acting Superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford said the title will replace two associate director positions.

“Which will not only save the school district money but it’s also going to streamline our work and align internal controls to make room for a more efficient unit,” Bradford said.

Koch said the position will be posted as soon as possible following the board’s approval.

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Closed session

The board went into closed session for more than an hour to discuss pending investigations that could lead to employee discipline. When the board returned, it took no action and adjourned the meeting.

Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.

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