If you have ten thousand dollars, how should you navigate the stock market? Six Wall Street experts provide step-by-step guidance.

Cailian Press, July 25 – If you had ten thousand dollars to “venture” into the stock market, how would you invest?

From the perspective of Wall Street moguls, although the market has been at a historical high since hitting bottom in April, it does not mean that now is a bad time to enter. On the contrary, there are still many opportunities available.

For example, with the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) investments, some are still bullish on technology stocks. Some also believe that amid the current hype and high valuations, hedging and diversifying investments are wise. They recommend allocating some funds to value stocks or international stocks.

Here are six suggestions from Wall Street moguls:

Gabriela Santos, Chief Strategist for the Americas at JPMorgan.

Santos stated that if she received $0.01 million now, she would invest $7,000 in developed market stocks outside the U.S., with the remaining $3,000 going into emerging market stocks.

“After 15 years of disappointment, the focus this year is actually on international stock markets – performing exceptionally well, and we believe this is just the beginning,” she said.

Santos remains Bullish on the US stock market, but she states that given the high valuation of the US stock market, the performance of international stock markets is relatively better. Historically, the premium of the US stock market over international stock markets was 15%, but the current premium is 35%. Additionally, the recent depreciation of the dollar has led to increased demand for assets outside the US.

She added, “For someone like me who is too focused on the US stock market, I believe we really have seen a huge turning point, and it is finally possible to allocate some funds overseas.”

Barry Bannister, Chief Equity Strategist at the well-known US investment bank Stifel.

Bannister identified three investment opportunities: value stocks, small-cap stocks, and international stocks. He plans to allocate one-third of funds to each.

For value stocks, he said large value funds like Vanguard Value ETF should be chosen. Bannister indicated that for small-cap stocks, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF performs well due to its broad base and exposure to growth and value factors. As for international stocks, Bannister favors the iShares MSCI ACWI ex US ETF.

Bannister mentioned that these trades provide diversification to a market concentrated in Technology stocks, stating, “The market is currently overly focused on Technology stocks. But it is difficult to rely on seven stocks to run an economy.” He was referring to the so-called ‘Magnificent 7 stocks.’

Hank Smith, Chief Investment Officer at Haverford Trust.

Generally, Smith would simply recommend a broad market Index so that your funds can be well diversified. The only issue is that currently, most major indices are not that diversified, with the so-called “Magnificent 7” accounting for nearly one-third of the S&P 500 Index.

Therefore, Smith has a simple solution: invest 50% to 60% of the funds in an equal-weighted S&P 500 Index, rather than the more popular market capitalization weighted index. Equal-weighted products give the same exposure to all 500 companies in the index, rather than adjusting based on company size.

As for the remaining 40-50% of the funds, Smith stated that they can be invested in more concentrated market capitalization weighted indices, such as the NASDAQ 100 Index, which focuses on technology stocks. This way, if technology stocks continue to rise, you won’t miss out too much.

Michael Kantrowitz, the Chief Investment Officer at investment bank Piper Sandler.

Kantrowitz remains bullish on the theme of ‘American exceptionalism’ and will continue to bet on the U.S. stock market in the coming years. However, he does not have a specific industry preference, and he suggests investing in large-cap stocks that are profitable within industries.

When discussing the next few years, Kantrowitz stated, ‘The earnings backdrop will be highly differentiated, and interest rates will remain high.’ In this context, existing large-cap winners will continue to perform well and will have better earnings revisions than their peers.

Kantrowitz recommends avoiding passive industry indices like the E Fund CSI Technology 50 ETF, as these indices often fail to accurately reflect the performance of a basket of stocks due to weight criteria limitations. Instead, he suggests taking a more active stock selection approach.

Tony DeSpirito, head of U.S. equity fundamentals at Blackrock.

DeSpirito stated that he would categorize his investments into large growth companies, dividend stocks, and value stocks. His guiding principle is to build a diversified portfolio that can withstand market volatility while considering Trump’s tariff policies.

DeSpirito stated that due to the dominance of Technology Stocks, the S&P 500 Index has undoubtedly become more expensive and growth-oriented, but maintaining exposure to large Technology stocks is still a good idea.

Additionally, in order to diversify investments, dividend stocks tend to be more resilient during economic downturns and provide a stable source of income. DeSpirito is also looking for unloved, low-priced Stocks.

According to DeSpirito, healthcare companies present a particularly attractive opportunity at the intersection of value and quality. This market has largely been overlooked by investors, and the S&P 500 Index Healthcare Sector has declined by 2% year to date.

DeSpirito is Bullish on Medical Devices companies, as their PE is around 15% with good growth prospects. However, he also warns that some large pharmaceutical companies may be value traps due to their earnings heavily relying on patents.

Lara Castleton, Head of Portfolio Construction and Strategy at Janus Henderson in the United States.

For investors with a longer time horizon and higher risk tolerance, Castleton recommends a three-pronged strategy in the Stock market.

First, allocate about 60% of the funds to large-cap stocks, leaning towards Technology stocks. Castleton noted that although Technology stocks have rebounded after a significant drop earlier this year, given the innovation in the industry, Technology stocks “will still be one of the dominant fields and sectors in the market over the next ten years.”

Second, invest about 20% of the funds in stocks outside the US. This year, against the backdrop of Trump’s Trade War and the initial withdrawal of US support for Ukraine, international stock markets have received a substantial boost, and Castleton believes this rebound can continue.

She said: “You must have some diversification like this, because I truly believe that in the future you will continue to see value in Europe.”

Thirdly, Castleton recommends investing the remaining 20% in mid-cap stocks, which are companies with a Market Cap between 2 billion and 10 billion dollars. She stated that this could further diversify the portfolio, and with the ongoing trend of de-globalization, these stocks should also benefit from the corporate repatriation.

“They are more domestically focused companies, and compared to large companies that have already established their business models, they have greater growth potential,” she said.