For the past decade or so, it was easy for the average investor to pursue a winning strategy: Load up on low-cost ETFs that tracked the S&P 500 or another big basket of U.S. stocks, then sit back and watch the returns pile up. This strategy became even more appealing as the U.S. tech sector roared and the stock prices of “the Magnificent Seven” climbed to nosebleed heights. This approach, or variations on it, came to be known as Buy America, and it worked splendidly. Until it didn’t.
“If you’d come to me 10 years ago, I would have said, ‘Just buy an index fund and don’t worry about it,’” says Stephanie Guild, chief investment officer of Robinhood Markets. Now she suggests investors consider a more active approach to their portfolios—and give them a lot more geographic variety.
