SEPTEMBER 5, 2026
“So what are you doing with your money right now?” is the question every Fool gets at a family dinner, and the one we can never answer in a single line. Here we’ve tried anyway. Each analyst below lays out how they’re investing at this moment, and what got them there, in a few sentences flat.
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Some have gotten more defensive. Others are doubling down on what’s been working. Use their answers to reflect on where your money is sitting.
By Tom Gardner
Motley Fool Co-Founder and CEO
Our Hidden Gems market indicators are flashing warnings on valuation and speculation. Therefore, I’m reviewing any investments that combine high growth, high beta, and high valuation with any risk to their moat. I’m willing to take some off the table.
- Current stance: My investing focus is on adding companies classified as Cautious and Moderate in Fooldom.
- Primary focus: Companies with high rates of return on capital, AI expertise and/or insulation from AI threats, and forward-leaning leadership.
- What has changed: AI is a disruptive wrecking ball. With uncertain futures and eroding moats, I’m looking for terra firma.
- Investor takeaway: I believe in owning 50+ stocks. I believe in actively managing a portfolio while, in dollar terms, maintaining an average holding period of 5+ years.
By Jason Hall
Team Rule Breakers
I’m sticking to my plan: Hold roughly 10% in cash and 10% in bonds; the rest in stocks. I won’t be adding new cash until 2027, so smart asset allocation helps me avoid trying to time the market.
- Current stance: A motley mix of everything. Have a plan, but be flexible to the risks and opportunities!
- Primary focus: High-growth equities; dividend/income stocks; cash/short-term yields; value/distressed assets.
- What changed: Financial independence could be less than a decade away with a prudent plan, financial discipline, and a little bit of luck.
- Investor takeaway: You can only make the most out of the best stock picks if you have a plan you can stick to!
By Lou Whiteman
Team Hidden Gems
I’m avoiding most of the AI trade due to valuations but looking for value among well-established financials and industrials, as well as small, speculative start-ups, while also assessing stocks that have run up considerably as potential sale or partial-sale targets.
- Current stance: Opportunistically hunting for new value.
- Primary focus: High-growth equities; dividend/income stocks; cash/short-term yields; value/distressed assets.
- What changed: Regardless of where we are in the cycle, my investing strategy is to seek out areas where market inattention creates value.
- Investor takeaway: The challenge in investing is identifying opportunities created from market inefficiencies, while also finding quality businesses that will be rewarded over the long term as more rational pricing takes hold.
By Yasser El-ShimyTeam Rule Breakers
I am building up my exposure toward physical commodities/precious metals and biopharma, two sectors I believe will be immune to or beneficiaries from the inflationary super cycle we started during COVID, but is accelerating with deficit spending, energy and food shortages, and debased currencies.
- Current stance: Opportunistically hunting for new value
- Primary focus: Energy, precious metals, and biopharma.
- What changed: I expect some sovereign debt crises to come starting with Japan and the UK (two countries that import much of their energy and food needs) and spread to similar economies in Europe, Asia, and even the U.S.
- Investor takeaway: Make sure your portfolio has exposure to sectors that can do well in an adverse macroeconomic/geopolitical situation as the one we are currently undertaking.
By Tim GreenTeam Hidden Gems
I’m always looking for misjudged and mispriced opportunities, but I haven’t been finding many lately, so the cash in my portfolio has been rising.
- Current stance: A mix of getting more defensive and hunting for new value
- Primary focus: I’m always looking for stocks with good growth prospects that the market is mispricing.
- What changed: Valuations are high, and where they’re not, AI has introduced a tremendous amount of uncertainty.
- Investor takeaway: We’re in the middle of a technological sea change with AI. Constantly evaluating why you own the stocks you own is more important than ever.
By Toby BordelonTeam Rule Breakers
I am generally staying the course right now, with high exposure to stocks, but I have recently been trimming a few positions and writing more covered calls to increase my cash balance.
- Current stance: Getting more defensive/raising cash
- Primary focus: High-growth equities; cash/short-term yields.
- What changed: I’ve seen several of my stocks run up in price significantly recently. That’s good news, and I am very much a believer in the Rule Breakers “let your winners run” philosophy. But in some cases, the increases mean that a position is becoming a larger portion of my portfolio than I would like. In those cases, I think some targeted trimming is warranted. Even more so as I’m becoming more wary of overall market optimism.
- Investor takeaway: Hold to your personal portfolio allocation strategy and constraints. Let the market inform your approach, but don’t let it control you.
By Matt Frankel, CFP®Team Hidden Gems
I’m taking a more cautious approach than usual, focusing on established businesses with stable cash flow.
- Current stance: Getting more defensive/raising cash
- Primary focus: Dividend/income stocks; value/distressed assets.
- What changed: The stock market is on the more expensive end of the spectrum, historically speaking.
- Investor takeaway: There’s no way to accurately time the market, and just because stocks are expensive doesn’t mean they can’t keep rising. But by focusing on excellent businesses at reasonable valuations, you can set yourself up nicely for whatever comes next.
Foolish Final Thoughts
Every answer above is someone putting real money behind a belief they’ve said out loud. That’s harder than it sounds. It means naming what has to go right, and living with what happens if it doesn’t. Do the same with whatever you’re weighing this month. Write down the belief before you buy, then check it in three years.
Today’s Question!
How are you investing, and why?
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