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The consumer price index rose 3% on an annual basis in September 2025.
Economists said the Trump administration’s tariff agenda could raise consumer prices more in the months ahead.
Without any other economic data, the report provides a look at the state of the U.S. economy ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

Source: Getty Images

Inflation edged higher in September amid a jump in gasoline prices and other essentials such as electricity, while President Donald Trump’s tariffs put pressure on prices for physical goods such as clothing and furniture, economists said.
The consumer price index, a key inflation barometer, rose 3% in September from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That’s an increase from 2.9% in August but below economists’ expectations.

“Core” commodities — which exclude volatile food and energy prices — also rose 3% in September from a year earlier.
“Inflation is uncomfortably high and is set to accelerate further in the coming months,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.
The CPI tracks how quickly prices rise or fall for a basket of consumer goods and services, from coffee and bananas to club memberships and concert tickets.
The ongoing government shutdown delayed the release of CPI data to Friday from Oct. 15. Without any other economic data, the report provides a look at the state of the U.S. economy ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The CPI release also enabled the Social Security Administration to announce the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment, which affects about 75 million people.

Food prices, shelter costs, clothing and airfares all increased in September.

Gasoline prices notched the biggest gain, jumping 4.1% from the previous month.

‘The 3% mark’

As it stands, inflation is still well above the Fed’s 2% target and remains “sticky around this 3% level,” said Mike Pugliese, senior economist at Wells Fargo Economics.
Inflation rose rapidly in 2021-22, then slowed, Pugliese said, but “in the past 12 months it’s just gotten stuck.”
From a psychological perspective, “the 3% mark is a line in the sand,” said Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate. “It continues to be concerning to see inflation rise.”

The tariff effect

“The higher tariffs are adding to inflation, as evidenced by higher prices for beef and coffee, household furnishings, appliances and apparel,” Zandi said. A large share of these goods is imported from overseas.
Still, longer-term inflation expectations are somewhat muted and will likely fall by the second half of next year, Pugliese said, “particularly as the one-time hit to higher prices due to tariffs fades.”
Tariffs are a tax on imports from foreign nations, paid by U.S. entities that import the good or service. Businesses often bear some of the cost and pass it on to consumers through higher prices.
The size and extent of the tariff hit is still uncertain, economists say. But consumers could experience an overall average effective tariff rate of about 15% as trade negotiations play out, according to Zandi. That’s up from where it stands now at around 10%.
An Oct. 17 analysis by the Budget Lab at Yale found that the current tariff policies in effect are expected to cost each household $1,800, on average, in 2025.
“The pass-through has been delayed, in part because of the state of tariffs is all over the place and businesses want to wait and see where tariffs land before they raise prices,” Zandi said. “Companies don’t want to get caught up in the political buzzsaw, but that pass-through will occur.”

September’s inflation information, which was scheduled to be released Oct. 15, was delayed due to the government shutdown and comes amid a lack of other economic data.
Bureau of Labor Statistics workers were called back to release the consumer price index report because it is used to index Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, which were announced Friday.
The inflation report is also key for Fed policymakers, with all other data collections and releases suspended during the shutdown.

The central bank is expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point at its upcoming policy meeting next week, even though that could risk keeping inflation elevated, economists said.
“When you are in this data desert that we are in, you are going to argue for continuing on the path you are on, and that would suggest a rate cut,” Zandi said. “With no data, I think they stick to script.”
Trump has been highly critical of Fed policy, repeatedly saying that rates should be sharply lower. Additional BLS data could bolster the argument for further cuts, Bankrate’s Kates said, particularly if the monthly jobs report had shown more softening.
“It is a little bit backwards to tie the Fed’s hands when the data almost assuredly supports the position the administration wants,” Kates said.
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Taylor Swift (L) and Travis Kelce are seen in the Meatpacking District on Dec. 28, 2024 in New York City.
TheStewartofNY | GC Images | Getty Images

Company: Six Flags Entertainment (FUN)
Business: Six Flags Entertainment is a regional amusement-resort operator with approximately 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company provides memorable experiences to millions of guests every year with coasters, themed rides, thrilling water parks, resorts and a portfolio of intellectual property such as Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Peanuts. The company’s parks include Hurricane Harbor Phoenix, California’s Great America, Knott’s Berry Farm, Knott’s Soak City Waterpark, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags White Water, Cedar Point Shores Waterpark, Six Flags Great America, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Hurricane Harbor Splashtown, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and others.
Stock Market Value: $2.60 billion ($25.63 per share) 

Stock chart icon

Six Flags Entertainment stock year to date

Activist: Jana Partners

Ownership: ~9%
Average Cost: n/a 
Activist Commentary: Jana is a very experienced activist investor founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. They made their name taking deeply researched activist positions with well-conceived plans for long-term value. Rosenstein called his activist strategy “V cubed.” The three “Vs” were: (i) Value: buying at the right price; (ii) Votes: knowing whether you have the votes before commencing a proxy fight; and (iii) Variety of ways to win: having more than one strategy to enhance value and exit an investment. Since 2008, they have gradually shifted that strategy to one which we characterize as the three “Ss” (i) Stock price – buying at the right price; (ii) Strategic activism – sale of company or spinoff of a business; and (iii) Star advisors/nominees – aligning with top industry executives to advise them and take board seats if necessary.
What’s happening
On Oct. 21, Jana announced that it had partnered with Travis Kelce, Glenn Murphy and Dave Habiger in an investment in Six Flags Entertainment and plans to engage with the company’s board and management regarding opportunities to enhance shareholder value and improve the guest experience.
Behind the scenes
Six Flags Entertainment is a regional amusement-resort operator with approximately 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In November 2023, Six Flags announced that it would be merging with Cedar Fair. While this news received backlash from some investors, most notably from activist Land & Buildings, the merger was completed in July 2024. At the time, this merger seemed like an opportunity to combine Six Flags’ regional dominance in amusement parks, strong licensing arrangements (such as its lifetime IP agreement with Warner Brothers) and modern tech and pricing backbone with Cedar Fair’s operational discipline, best-in-class park experience and high customer satisfaction rate to generate synergies and elevate Six Flags’ asset value.

However, this arrangement has not really gone as planned. In the second quarter, Six Flags faced severe weather conditions during their typical peak May to June season, which resulted in substantial EBITDA and attendance misses. Moreover, the company entered this period highly levered from the merger, and these misses only amplified the company’s balance sheet problems in the eyes of investors. This sent Six Flags’ share price down over 58% from the completion of the Cedar Fair merger to the day prior to Jana’s announcement.
Stock action like this on otherwise strong businesses that is due to an idiosyncratic event like weather that is not likely to recur generally gets the attention of good value investors. However, Six Flags does have other issues, namely poor operational execution, integrating the Cedar Fair merger and identifying a new CEO, as CEO Richard Zimmerman has announced he is stepping down from his role at the end of 2025.
Jana Partners is now the fifth activist investor in this stock. Other include Sachem Head (4.82%), H Partners (4.59%), Dendur (4.38%) and Land & Buildings (n/a). All of those other activists, except L&B, have received board representation.
Jana, as it often does, is coming in with an All-Star team: Glenn Murphy, executive chairman of Petco and former chairman and CEO of the Gap; Dave Habiger, chairman of Reddit; and NFL Superstar Travis Kelce. The investment group holds a roughly 9% economic interest and plans to engage Six Flags’ board and management team to explore ways to enhance shareholder value and improve the guest experience.
Much of Jana’s campaign echoes the qualms already raised by the other activists in the stock, including the company’s potential to unlock value by reinvigorating the business as a standalone company with a new CEO and/or monetizing the real estate, or even selling the entire company. Regardless of which plan is pursued, the company must immediately start down the road of fixing its operational issues.
Operationally, Six Flags has forfeited a substantial opportunity by failing to integrate its consumer-facing technology. More than a year post-merger, Six Flags still operates over 10 different apps, and even basic transactions like purchasing a season pass on the website have been unreliable, so modernizing and streamlining this technology could go a long way.
The company also needs to reexamine its operating strategy during inclement weather and adopt a more disciplined capex framework. For example, despite this poor weather during the second quarter, Six Flags still kept its parks open on more days during this quarter than the same period last year, resulting in significant and unnecessary losses.
Jana also believes Six Flags has the opportunity to leverage its existing real estate to implement year-round and inclement weatherproof experiences, such as indoor skydiving and trampoline parks.

Kelce cool factor

Next, the company needs to reinvigorate its advertising and marketing. Six Flags is one of the most recognizable entertainment brands, but its advertising has been stale, abandoning regional marketing efforts while also missing the opportunity to leverage its national scale. While the new CEO will likely have good ideas in this area, having access to Travis Kelce, one of the most popular and liked celebrities in the world across all demographics is a valuable potential marketing asset. (For example, look what Sydney Sweeney has already done for American Eagle with just one ad.)
Kelce has not signed on as a brand ambassador or in any capacity other than as a shareholder, but he is a true fan of amusement parks like Six Flags, has already added advertising value to the company just by talking about it on his podcast and there is always a potential to do more with him either informally or through some sort of an agreement. Brand revitalization catalyzed by Kelce’s active involvement provides a meaningful opportunity to lift attendance and engagement at Six Flags.
JANA’s partnership with Mr. Kelce is unprecedented in two respects: 1) it pairs an activist and a world-famous celebrity that has personally invested in the company and is using their star power to boost the company’s brand from the outside in a highly authentic manner, and 2) it brings a perfectly tailored solution to rejuvenate the company’s branding and marketing, reaffirming its cool factor and resolving any concern about Six Flag’s brand relevance that has weighed on the company’s multiple.
Finally, and probably most importantly, the ongoing CEO process presents a golden opportunity to recruit a world class operator capable of executing upon these initiatives. In the world of shareholder activism, there are not many better opportunities for value creation than the activist having a say in identifying a new CEO for a great but struggling business.
With multiple activists participating in this process, we would expect the new CEO to be a first-rate operator with strong views on creating value for shareholders. Moreover, a reconstituted board over the past several years and the addition of Kelce as a potential formal or informal brand ambassador may increase the quality of the candidate pool.
That all being said, a CEO vacancy is also often the perfect time to explore strategic alternatives, and Jana is still urging the company to evaluate a potential sale of underperforming parks and/or the entire company.
Should Six Flags position itself for a sale, there would likely be both private equity and strategic interest. Apollo, for example, attempted to acquire Cedar Fair back in 2010 before their merger fell through due to lack of investor support, and Blackstone already owns Great Wolf Lodge – a complementary asset.
In terms of strategics, the growing media and entertainment trend of integrating physical park assets into cross-platform media ecosystems makes the industry a logical candidate. Media titans like Disney and Comcast have already provided the blueprint on how to leverage amusement parks to promote intellectual property.
Paramount, the third peer to Disney and Comcast, is the only one without an amusement park after interestingly selling five Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair in 2006. This becomes even more intriguing now that Paramount has made a $57 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. Six Flags has a licensing agreement with Warner Brothers and at a current $2.6 billion market cap, would be a logical add-on to its acquisition by Paramount, or any strategic investor for that matter. (Netflix has also shown interest).
Jana is a highly experienced activist with a track record for showing up with operators tailor-made for a company’s specific problems, and that’s exactly what they have done here. The perfect brand ambassador and two corporate legends with almost unparalleled consumer and technology-based operational turnaround expertise may be exactly the medicine required here. With that in mind, we would normally argue that this is too crowded of a shareholder base for Jana to gain board representation, as there are already six directors on the board who were appointed pursuant to an activist settlement. However, we believe that the activists with representatives already on the board are like-minded to Jana and would welcome directors of this quality to help pursue a path they all seem to agree on.
Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist investments.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant. More

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will be 2.8% in 2026, the Social Security Administration said on Friday.
Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $56 per month on average starting in January.
Over the last 20 years, the Social Security COLA has averaged 2.6%, according to The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group.

Jasondoiy | E+ | Getty Images

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will be 2.8% in 2026, the Social Security Administration said on Friday.
Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $56 per month on average starting in January, according to the agency.

The COLA provides an annual adjustment to both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income to help ensure those benefits keep up with inflation. About 75 million people receive benefit checks from those programs. But for beneficiaries who rely on those payments to cover essential expenses, the size of this year’s COLA might not ease their struggle with higher prices.

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The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is in line with expert estimates that had projected a 2.7% to 2.8% boost to benefits.
Over the last 20 years, the Social Security COLA has averaged 2.6%, according to The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group.
The cost-of-living adjustment was 2.5% in 2025.

“Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a statement.

How can I estimate the size of my 2026 check?

To estimate the increase to their 2026 benefit checks, beneficiaries can multiply their current monthly benefit amount by 2.8%, or 0.028.
Other factors — the size of the Medicare Part B premiums, which are typically deducted directly from benefit checks, and elected tax withholdings — will also affect monthly benefit payments.
The standard monthly Part B premium could go up by 11.6% — or $21.50 per month — to $206.50 per month from $185, according to projections from Medicare trustees. Higher earners may pay additional monthly costs, known as income-related monthly adjustment amounts, or IRMAAs.

Beneficiaries can also opt to have federal income tax withheld from their benefit checks. They may choose from four fixed percentage rates — 7%, 10%, 12% or 22% of the monthly payment. Beneficiaries pay federal income taxes on their benefits if their combined income is more than $25,000 for individual tax filers or more than $32,000 if married and filing jointly. Combined income is the sum of 50% of benefits plus other earned income.

How is the cost-of-living adjustment calculated?

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is based a subset of the consumer price index, formally known as the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W.
The COLA is the percentage increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year.

The COLA was the highest in four decades in 2023 when it climbed to 8.7% following the increase in inflation following the Covid pandemic. However, the COLA has come closer to average in subsequent years, with a 3.2% increase in 2024 followed by a 2.5% increase this year.
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Due to the federal government shutdown, the Social Security 2026 cost-of-living adjustment announcement has been pushed to Oct. 24.
Social Security is one of the few retirement income streams that comes with inflation adjustments.
Yet there’s a debate as to whether those annual changes could be more accurately calculated.

People shop in Bayonne, New Jersey on April 8, 2025.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will soon find out how much their benefit checks will increase next year.
Due to the federal government shutdown, the Social Security 2026 cost-of-living adjustment announcement, initially scheduled for Oct. 15, has been postponed to Friday. Nearly 75 million beneficiaries will see the COLA reflected in their January checks.

Experts have estimated the Social Security COLA for 2026 may be in the range of 2.7% to 2.8%, based on the latest available consumer price index data. That’s in line with the long-term average. But for retirees and other beneficiaries who rely on their benefit payments to cover essential expenses, the size of the increase might not ease their struggle with higher prices.
“I just wish it would be more,” said Kathryn Bailey, 74, of Washington, D.C.

Bailey, a retired oncology researcher, remembers when the 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment was put in place in 2023 in response to the post-pandemic spike in inflation. That COLA set a four-decade record for the inflation adjustment.
The approximate $135 monthly increase Bailey received then “helped, but I used it all,” she said.
The projected increase for 2026 “won’t do anything,” she said, citing high health care, rent, food and other cost increases.

Retirees’ costs have outpaced inflation

Experts estimate the anticipated 2.7% to 2.8% possible increase for 2026 would add about $54 more to the average monthly retirement benefit check.
The size of the Social Security COLA is calculated each year based on the pace of inflation. So if the rate of inflation is higher, so is the COLA. And when inflation is lower, the annual adjustment is lower. In some years — most recently in 2016 — it has even been zero if there is no inflation increase from one year to the next.

Because the rate of inflation has come down in recent years, retirees and other Social Security beneficiaries have seen more modest cost-of-living adjustments. In 2024, the COLA was 3.2% and this year it was 2.5%.
The average COLA over the past 20 years has been 2.6%, according to The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group.
The cost of retirement has outpaced inflation, according to recent research from Goldman Sachs Asset Management. While retirees’ spending increased at a 3.6% annual rate from 2000 to 2023, the consumer price index went up by 2.6% over that time, according to the firm.

While in recent years the pace of inflation has subsided overall from post-pandemic highs, some prices have stayed elevated.
The measurement used to calculate the COLA – the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W – shows that year-to-date increases for certain categories like household energy, motor vehicle maintenance and motor vehicle insurance have outpaced the average.

COLA provides ‘significant increases’ over time

Yet some experts say the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment provides inflation protection that is difficult to match elsewhere.
“A 20% lift over four years is life changing, even though it might not match the economy itself,” David Freitag, a financial planning consultant and Social Security expert at MassMutual, said of the recent cost-of-living adjustments.
“These are significant increases that make a difference in people’s lives,” Freitag said.
Very few pension-type income streams offer similar types of annual adjustments, Freitag said. Annuities that offer similar features are “incredibly expensive,” he said.

Starting at age 62, the cost-of-living adjustments are built into benefits, Freitag said. Prospective retirees do not have to claim benefits then in order for those increases to be recognized in their benefit checks once they do eventually claim, he said.
The COLA plays a “crucial role” in helping retirement income keep pace with inflation and is a “lifeline of independence and dignity” for older Americans, AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement.
“Yet even with the COLA, 77% of older adults still face challenges covering basic expenses,” Minter-Jordan said, citing forthcoming AARP research.

Proposals suggest other ways to measure future COLAs

Some experts and advocates have questioned whether another formula would be better suited to measure the inflation retirees experience.
Advocacy groups including The Senior Citizens League have lobbied to have the measure for the COLA changed to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, or CPI-E. That index puts greater emphasis on categories like medical care, housing and recreation, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Other proposals have called for changing the calculation to be based on the Chained CPI, which takes into account the substitutions consumers make in response to inflation, such as opting to buy chicken when beef prices rise.

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While Social Security’s chief actuary has estimated that using the CPI-E would increase future annual COLAs by about 0.2 percentage points, the Bipartisan Policy Center gauges that opting for the Chained CPI would reduce future annual COLAs by about 0.3 percentage points.
Increasing or reducing future COLAs would impact the solvency of Social Security’s trust funds, which already are projected to run out in 2034. At that point, 81% of benefits will be payable unless Congress enacts changes sooner, according to the latest annual report from Social Security’s trustees.
Another suggested change is limiting the size of the COLAs for individuals who receive the largest benefits. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that one model of such a proposal could close one-tenth of Social Security’s solvency gap while still providing full inflation protection for most beneficiaries.
D.C.-based retiree Bailey said she would like to see the COLA calculated another way to match the actual increases showing up in areas like health care, mortgage, rent and utility costs.
“I wish they would sit down and consider the percentage of things that have gone up,” Bailey said. More

As the government shutdown stretches on, some states have warned that they may need to suspend SNAP benefits.
Local food banks are often the next line of defense for families facing food insecurity.
But those nonprofit organizations are also struggling to access funding amid the ongoing partisan fight in Washington.

Some states have warned that families who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, may soon miss out on benefits due to the federal government shutdown.
“Starting October 16, SNAP benefits will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds are released to PA,” according to a notice on Pennsylvania’s state website dated Oct. 17. The Texas Health and Human Services site notes, “SNAP benefits for November won’t be issued if the federal government shutdown continues past Oct. 27.”

Nevada, North Dakota, New Jersey and New York, among others, have issued similar announcements about potential delays or missed benefits.
A pop-up notice on New Jersey’s Department of Human Services site also noted that “it is unclear if SNAP benefits loaded on your Families First EBT card prior to October 31, 2025 will be able to be used after November 1, 2025.”
The SNAP program, formerly known as food stamps, is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and provides basic assistance to more than 40 million people. For families in need, local food banks are often the next line of defense. However, these nonprofits are also under pressure as federal funding remains on hold. For those families already stretched too thin, experts say, the gap could cause significant hardship.
The USDA did not immediately return a request for comment.

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Due to provisions in President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” reconciliation package, the federal food stamps program was facing “the largest cut to SNAP in history,” according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Some of those benefit cuts and new eligibility requirements are already going into effect as states implement Trump’s legislation.

Those changes will cause 22.3 million families to lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan provider of policy research, estimated in a July report.

Local food banks left to bridge the gap

Recent and upcoming cuts to SNAP, along with the current funding freeze as the shutdown stretches into the third week, put additional strain on local food banks and nonprofits, which are often needed to fill the gap in communities when federal assistance falls short.
Many of these organizations rely on federal grant aid to run their operations, and some of that funding is now delayed. Due to a lapse in appropriations, nonprofits are also facing a potential shortfall, said Sarah Saadian, senior vice president of public policy and campaigns at the National Council of Nonprofits, an industry association.
“The longer it continues, the harder it is for nonprofits to continue services in their communities,” Saadian said of the partisan battle in Washington. “Most nonprofits are small and have limited budgets that they stretch and try to make work; they are not sitting on a large cushion of resources.”

‘We may not be able to meet that emergency need’

At Michigan Community Action, which is an anti-poverty organization that supports food, transportation, child care and housing assistance agencies throughout the state, operations are in a “wait-and-see mode,” according to Brian McGrain, the executive director.
“If [SNAP] benefits go unfunded, where are people going to turn? We know that a wave could be coming and we may not be able to meet that emergency need,” McGrain said.
In Michigan, the prevalence rate of food insecurity in recent years has been about 13%, just above the national average of 12.2%. As with many local nonprofits, “we typically dip into our own emergency reserves, but if the shutdown continues, it’s going to be even more difficult,” McGrain said.

“The uncertainty around the SNAP benefits will continue to put a strain on our food banks,” said Kelley Kuhn, president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association. But it’s a “double whammy,” she added.
Organizations that address food insecurity will be “immediately impacted as a result of the government shutdown,” Kuhn said — just when there is “an increase in demand for those services.”
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ETF Strategist

ETF Street
ETF Strategist

The top five companies in the S&P 500 — all tech giants — now represent nearly 30% of the S&P 500, raising questions about true diversification.
Some investors view the AI concentration as a growth opportunity, while others see elevated risk in relying on so few companies.
Diversifying across company size, sectors and global markets can help mitigate the volatility tied to AI and big tech dominance.

If you own an S&P 500 index fund, artificial intelligence is already a major part of your investment strategy.
In recent years, the stock market’s gains have been fueled largely by a small group of tech giants that are aggressively investing in AI.

Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Google parent company Alphabet and Amazon — the five biggest names in the S&P 500 — now represent nearly 30% of the entire index. And that concentration is reshaping the way investors experience diversification.

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“Many people aren’t aware how their retirement portfolio performance or taxable account portfolio performance is really dependent upon the success of these five companies,” said certified financial planner Kamila Elliott, CEO of wealth management firm Collective Wealth Partners in Atlanta. She is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

‘Set-it-and-forget-it’ strategy is ‘no longer applicable’

For decades, investing in exchange-traded funds or mutual funds that follow the S&P 500 was seen as a relatively low-risk way to grow wealth over time. Market legends like Warren Buffett and Vanguard founder Jack Bogle famously endorsed “set-it-and-forget-it” strategies using low-cost index funds.
But that approach may not be as diversified as it once was.
“I think ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ is no longer as applicable,” said Elliott. “If your entire portfolio for retirement is in the S&P 500, regardless of what’s happening in the AI market, it really isn’t well diversified.”

“The S&P 500 is still diverse for sure,” said CNBC FA Council member John Mullen, president and CEO of Parsons Capital Management in Providence, Rhode Island. The firm ranked No. 1 on CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 list for 2025.
“You still have 500 names that make up the index,” he said. “It is, however, much more concentrated than it has been throughout most of its history.”
That shift is largely due to the index’s structure. The S&P 500 is market-cap weighted, meaning companies with larger valuations carry more influence over the index’s performance. As stock prices for AI-linked companies soar, their market caps grow.
While some strategists see that trend as a potential risk to investors, others view it as an opportunity.
“I think tech continues to lead the market higher and that ultimately has really changed the game for investors,” said Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities.
“We’re living in a fourth industrial revolution, and I think the market is starting to reflect that,” Ives added. “It’s an exciting time to be an investor in U.S. tech.”
Watch the video above to learn how to navigate the S&P 500’s historic concentration in AI stocks and how you can diversify your portfolio. More

The Fed cut interest rates in September, and another cut is expected to follow later this month.
In a rate-cutting cycle, there are some moves investors can make to maximize returns, according to advisors on CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 list for 2025.

Compassionate Eye Foundation/Steven Errico

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate in September, and is now expected to announce two more cuts before the end of the year.
In prior rate-cutting cycles, there has been plenty of upside potential for investors to boost earnings and balance risk as the Fed adjusts its policy stance.

Still, “all in all this is a much different cutting cycle than what we saw in ’08 and ’09, or during Covid,” said Brian Brady, a certified financial planner and vice president at Obermeyer Wealth Partners, referring to the periods after the 2008 financial crisis and at the start of the 2020 pandemic when rates were rapidly slashed to near rock bottom. Obermeyer Wealth Partners ranked No. 13 on CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 list for 2025.

The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee has set a path for more reductions, but the scope remains unclear. At the same time, President Donald Trump has been highly critical of Fed policy, repeatedly suggesting that rates should be sharply lower.
While analysts expect cuts, it’s not a given that rates will continue to fall. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that a softening labor market kept the door open to additional easing, but said it was “difficult” balance with inflation concerns still lingering.
“The Fed is cutting into a relatively strong underlying economy, but that can change,” Brady said. “We find all of this to be a balance of humility and optimism even in the face of uncertainty.”

The ‘sweet spot where bonds are attractive’

To that end, “investors can capture higher yields now but also not take undo risk,” he said.

On the fixed income side, that might include locking in U.S. Treasury bonds in “the intermediate range,” with maturities of three, five, and seven years, Brady said. “There is a sweet spot where bonds are attractive,” he said.

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Victoria Trumbower, a certified financial planner and managing member at Trumbower Financial Advisors in Bethesda, Maryland, which ranked No. 20 on this year’s CNBC’s FA 100, has a “very defensive” approach already in place with bond ladders, a strategy that entails holding bonds with staggered maturities to the end of their term.
In this case, Trumbower suggests an allocation of bonds with maturities between one and four years with rates in the 4% to 5% range, which she calls “bulletproof in terms of credit risk.”
However, “we are not trying to live on the interest component,” Trumbower said. “If rates go down, the rest of my portfolio can be invested in equities and assume risk.”

A well-diversified portfolio is key

When it comes to stocks, “we stay diversified across asset classes,” she said. “We don’t try to adjust the portfolio in terms of industry concentration.”
Although “small caps are starting to show signs of life” and “tend to do better in lower rate environments,” Trumbower said, “we are not loading up there.”
Maintaining a well-diversified portfolio takes discipline, she added. “You don’t know when the tides are going to turn and what’s going to outperform, you just want to be there when that happens — if you go chasing after the highfliers, it’s a losing battle.”
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As the government shutdown nears the three-week mark, federal student loan borrowers who can’t get help with their accounts at the Education Department have other options.
Borrowers can get assistance with their loan servicer, local organizations and possibly their state student loan ombudsman.

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As the federal government shutdown drags on, student loan borrowers may be worried about getting help with their student loans. But there are still resources available.
The stalemate over funding in Washington comes at a challenging time for the more than 40 million Americans carrying education debt.

President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” phases out several affordable repayment plans and other relief options for borrowers. Staffing challenges and court orders have contributed to long waits for borrowers trying to access a new plan. The Trump administration has also resumed collection activity on student loan holders who fall behind on their bills, after a roughly five-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic.
Even before the shutdown, student loan defaults have been mounting, and experts have said the current situation may exacerbate the problem.
While the Education Department is shuttered, here are some resources borrowers can turn to for assistance.

Visit Studentaid.gov for many services

Even during the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Education may still be helpful. To reach the Federal Student Aid Information Center, you call 1-800-4FED-AID, or 1-800-433-3243.
“Some of the Federal Student Aid call centers are still operational as they are actually staffed by contractors rather than direct employees of the federal government,” said Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York.

At the Education Department’s Studentaid.gov, student loan borrowers can take many steps on their own, including applying for a new repayment plan or a loan consolidation and requesting debt cancellation, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

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Those pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness can still submit the form to verify their employment and get a pretty quick count of their qualifying payments, Nierman said. PSLF allows certain not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans scrubbed after 120 payments.
But most loan forgiveness is on hold for now, she said, as the Education Department’s staff has to approve those requests.

Try your loan servicer for most requests

You can likely get most of your questions answered with your student loan servicer, Nierman said.
“Loan servicers are government contractors and have funding to keep operating during a shutdown,” Nierman said. “Billing, payments and processing of certain applications, such as forbearance and deferment, should continue as normal.”
If you don’t know which company is managing your student loans on behalf of the Education Department, you can find out at Studentaid.gov.

Other options for student loan help

Borrowers can look for organizations and nonprofits in their area that help people with student loan-related issues, consumer advocates said. For example, in New York, there’s EDCAP.
At the national level, there are groups like The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit offering advice and dispute resolution assistance. More