Is the market falling apart—or is money simply rotating?

In this episode of Payne Points of Wealth, Bob, Ryan, Chris, and Courtney explain why semiconductor stocks and the Magnificent Seven are struggling while energy, commodities, value stocks, REITs, international stocks, and emerging markets continue to perform.

The team discusses why diversification is winning in 2026, whether Wall Street’s AI earnings expectations have become too optimistic, and why the biggest long-term AI winners may be companies outside the technology sector.

They also examine:

• Whether the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates • How oil prices, tariffs, and reshoring could affect inflation • Why companies are rehiring workers after AI-related layoffs • How baby boomer wealth is supporting consumer spending and housing • Where investors may find growth beyond the Magnificent Seven

The key takeaway: money is not necessarily leaving the market. It may be rotating into overlooked sectors and asset classes—and investors who stay diversified could be better positioned for what comes next.

The AI trade just suffered a major semiconductor sell-off—but is this the beginning of the end, or a buying opportunity inside a long-term bull market?

In this episode of Payne Points of Wealth with Brooks Cutright, Portfolio Manager at Hedgeye Asset Management, we uncover the hidden forces driving Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Micron, SanDisk and other major technology stocks. The recent volatility may have less to do with collapsing AI demand and more to do with index rebalancing, ETF flows, and hedge funds positioning around hundreds of billions of dollars in predictable trades.

But the bigger question is impossible to ignore:

Will the trillions being spent on artificial intelligence ever pay for themselves?

Big Tech companies are pouring massive amounts of capital into AI chips, data centers and computing infrastructure—even as questions grow about adoption, monetization and return on investment. If computing power becomes a low-margin commodity, today’s biggest AI spenders may not become tomorrow’s biggest winners.

In this episode:

• What really caused the semiconductor stock sell-off • How index rebalancing forces funds to sell mega-cap tech • How hedge funds profit from predictable market flows • Whether Nvidia and the AI trade are entering bubble territory • Why hyperscalers may struggle to monetize AI spending • The “picks and shovels” companies making money from the AI arms race • Why private credit could be hiding the market’s biggest leverage risk • How to find companies before they enter the S&P 500 • Why power producers and infrastructure stocks may offer a better AI opportunity than semiconductor stocks

The ultimate AI winners may not be the companies spending the most money. They may be the businesses using AI to lower costs, improve productivity and expand profit margins.

If you’ve saved more than $1 million for retirement, Payne Capital Management will run a complimentary Total Financial Master Plan covering your investments, retirement income, diversification, fees and tax strategy.

The headlines say one thing. The market is saying something very different. In this episode of *Payne Points of Wealth*, Bob, Ryan, Chris, and Courtney break down why investors may be missing some of the strongest opportunities in the market right now. While everyone is focused on AI, crypto, and the latest scary headlines, major gains are quietly happening in sectors and companies hiding in plain sight. From Johnson & Johnson’s surprising 12-month rally to strength in small caps, energy, commodities, financials, health care, European markets, and transportation stocks, the team explains why this bull market may be broader than most investors realize. They also discuss why consumer spending remains strong despite negative sentiment, how falling oil prices could act like a tax cut, why money market investors may be waiting too long, and how the AI boom is spreading far beyond Big Tech into energy, materials, infrastructure, and finance. If your portfolio is sitting in cash or overly concentrated in the headline names, this conversation is a reminder: some of the best-performing investments are often the ones nobody is talking about. Topics covered:

• Why the market keeps hitting record highs despite bad news
• The gap between consumer sentiment and consumer spending
• High-performing sectors hiding outside the AI trade
• Johnson & Johnson, small caps, transports, and dividend stocks
• Why money markets may become a trap if rates fall
• How AI is benefiting energy, materials, financials, and infrastructure
• Why the broader U.S. economy may be stronger than the headlines suggest