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Navigating the Mature Expansion: Strategies for a Steady Market · The SPY Trader

• 0:00
  Hello everyone and welcome back to Spy Trader !
• 0:03
  I am your host Sunny Sideup and I am so happy to have you join me on this Monday afternoon May 25th 2026 at exactly 2:30 pm here in the Pacific .
• 0:15
  We have a lot to talk about today because the market is in a fascinating spot .
• 0:20
  We are navigating what experts call a mature expansion phase .
• 0:25
  After all the wild swings we saw in the mid2020s things have finally settled down into a more diversified and slightly slower growth environment .
• 0:34
  The big news is that the S&P 500 represented by ETFs like SPY and VOO is trading near alltime highs thanks to a really strong first quarter earnings season .
• 0:46
  However the era of easy gains from 2024 and 2025 has definitely moderated .
• 0:53
  We are seeing the Nasdaq100 or QQQ still leading the pack but the focus has shifted from just building the hardware like those famous AI chips to actual implementation .
• 1:06
  Last week Nvidia reported earnings and even though their data center revenue is still high the market is now really looking at their software as a service margins .
• 1:17
  Meanwhile Microsoft and Alphabet are actually hitting their 2026 targets for integrating AI into enterprise workflows which is great to see .
• 1:26
  In the world of financials things are looking steady .
• 1:29
  The Federal Reserve has signaled a pauseandhold strategy keeping interest rates between 3.75 and 4.0 percent .
• 1:37
  Because the yield curve has finally uninverted JPMorgan Chase is posting record Net Interest Income as lending picks up in this stable environment .
• 1:47
  Over in healthcare the frenzy over weightloss drugs has settled .
• 1:51
  Eli Lilly is facing some new competition from generics and oral versions of their treatments causing the stock to enter a consolidation phase .
• 2:00
  On the macro side we have successfully achieved that soft landing we have been talking about for years with inflation stable at 2.2 percent and unemployment at a low 4.1 percent .
• 2:14
  This is great for consumer spending which helps the Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF ticker VCR .
• 2:21
  So what should we be doing with our money right now ?
• 2:24
  First I recommend rebalancing toward broad growth .
• 2:27
  While tech has been the star valuations are getting high .
• 2:31
  I suggest shifting about 10 percent of your concentrated tech holdings into the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF ticker VTI .
• 2:40
  This gets you exposure to midcap industrial and service companies that are finally benefiting from lower borrowing costs .
• 2:48
  Second let's look abroad .
• 2:49
  US valuations are at 22 times forward earnings but European and Japanese markets are much cheaper at 14 to 16 times .
• 2:59
  I recommend allocating 15 to 20 percent of your equities to the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF ticker VXUS .
• 3:08
  With the US dollar beginning to weaken as the Fed stops hiking these international returns are being amplified for us .
• 3:15
  Japan specifically is a strong play within the VEA ticker .
• 3:19
  Third for those who want a bit of protection I like adding some fixed income .
• 3:23
  The iShares 20 plus Year Treasury Bond ETF ticker TLT is a great hedge against any sudden growth scares or recession fears .
• 3:33
  Finally for a bit of a recovery play consider the Vanguard Real Estate ETF ticker VNQ .
• 3:40
  The commercial real estate crisis from a couple of years ago seems to have bottomed out .
• 3:45
  With stable rates and highquality REITs offering yields over 4.5 percent it is a great time to enter .
• 3:52
  Remember folks in this 2026 market we want to prioritize quality earnings over just chasing momentum .
• 3:59
  Stick to high liquidity ETFs like SPY and keep your eyes on the data .
• 4:04
  That is all for this edition of Spy Trader .
• 4:08
  I am Sunny Sideup and I will see you in a few hours for our next update !