Finance
The S&P 500 looks risky, but I’m still buying this stock
Image source: Getty Images
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s advice for most investors has been to buy a low-cost fund that tracks the S&P 500. But that looks like a risky proposition to me right now.
The index is heavily concentrated around a few very similar companies. And the rest of the US economy doesn’t give me much encouragement either.
Concentration
Overall, the S&P 500’s done very well in recent years. But not every company’s done equally well — a handful of strong performers have offset much weaker results elsewhere.
For example, Microsoft’s revenues grew by around 15% in 2025, while Kraft Heinz saw a 2.5% decline in sales. For the index as a whole though, the net effect’s positive.
Microsoft’s sales increased by $36bn, while the drop at Kraft Heinz was less than $1bn. In other words, growth at bigger firms offsets a lot of smaller businesses going backwards.
The trouble is, it also creates risk. If at business like Microsoft falters for any reason, I don’t think there are going to be enough Kraft Heinz-like firms to offset this.
The US economy
Something similar is true of the US economy. Consumer spending – which accounts for around 70% of US GDP – looks resilient, but there’s more going on beneath the surface.
In reality, the overall resilience is being driven by strong contributions from the most well-off in society. And just like the index, this has the power to cover a lot of weakness elsewhere.
A a result, the same risk emerges. If anything causes the wealthiest households in the US to rethink their consumption levels, this is unlikely to be offset by increased spending elsewhere.
As a result, I’m wary of the idea that investing in an S&P 500 fund is a good idea right now. But I do think there are potential opportunities within the index.
Insurance
One stock I’ve been buying recently is Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO). The stock’s 37% off its 52-week highs, but I think there are some strong signs for the underlying business.
The insurance broker’s been dealing with two major issues recently: a weak market for insurers and integration costs after a large acquisition weighs on margins.
Both are genuine challenges, but I expect they will prove to be temporary. So I think the two of them combining to push the stock to unusually low levels could be a huge opportunity.
Brown & Brown aims to combine the advantages of local knowledge with the economic benefits of scale. In an industry I think will be durable, that’s a powerful combination.
Investing strategy
One of the things I want from my Stocks and Shares ISA is diversification. And that’s why I’m unwilling to just ignore US stocks even when the S&P 500 as a whole looks risky.
I think Brown & Brown could be set to benefit from a double boost. A more helpful market for insurers could push sales higher while lower integration costs cause margins to expand.
The company’s long-term competitive position also looks strong to me. That’s why it’s still on my ‘to-buy’ list as I look for stocks to scoop up during a tricky time for the S&P 500 and the US economy.
Finance
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.
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.
Finance
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.
The FCA announced, in the press release, that it will launch an AI “good and poor practice publication” in late 2026.
Finance
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.
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.
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.
-
Tennessee5 minutes agoA Tennessee woman was heard screaming, ‘he’s got a gun.’ Now her husband is pleading guilty to her murder.
-
Texas8 minutes agoUS immigration officer shoots and kills man in Texas
-
Utah13 minutes agoChicago man guilty of trafficking 25 lbs of cocaine through Utah with gun, $14k in cash
-
Vermont20 minutes agoVermont Superior Court mourns Judge Dickson Corbett – Valley News
-
Virginia23 minutes agoSpotted lanternflies take flight early in Virginia due to warm temperatures
-
Washington28 minutes agoJudge tosses Trump Media’s $3.8 billion defamation suit against The Washington Post | CNN Business
-
Wisconsin35 minutes agoUPDATE: Wisconsin woman breaks record, swims entirety of Lake Winnebago
-
West Virginia38 minutes agoMorrisey appoints Shane Stack to House District 4 seat – WV MetroNews