Imperia Wealth Management

10/17/2026

Data-center spending is greater than that for canals, railroads and grid combined—creating jobs and stock-market wealth, while boosting inflation and crowding out housing.

10/13/2026

Market Week: October 12, 2026 📊

The S&P 500 snapped a seven-week losing streak last week. The NASDAQ notched its fourth consecutive weekly gain. Gains were broad — nearly every sector participated. The market is finding its footing right on schedule.

"The Magic of the Midterm is upon us.” As election clarity builds, political risk fades, and the historically strongest period for stocks kicks into gear. See my post on this from last week.

The 10-year pulled back from its highs. Crude oil dipped.

September CPI drops this week. I expect energy to remain the dominant driver — not a systemic inflation story.

The final quarter of 2026 is setting up exactly as I anticipated. Stay bullish.

The latest issue of Market Week is available.

10/12/2026

Wishing everyone a great start to the week and a happy Columbus Day!
🧭🌎🍂

10/11/2026

More Market insights from IWM Founder + CEO, Chief Portfolio Strategist, Michael Bellody ⬇️⬇️⬇️

I’ve been writing about this since our 2023 Market Outlook.

📅 The Magic of the Midterm is upon us.

Here’s the pattern. Midterm election years are historically the most volatile of the four-year presidential cycle. The first half is choppy because political uncertainty surrounding the midterms creates an elevated level of political risk that markets struggle to price. But as we get closer to election day, the likely outcome becomes clearer, that political risk wanes, and the near-inevitable result of gridlock takes hold — markets love gridlock even when voters hate it.

The most consistently positive period for stocks in history is the 9-month stretch from October of a midterm year through June of the following year. In the U.S., that period has been positive approximately 95% of the time. Globally, markets as a whole have been positive 100% of the time.

We just entered October.

And it gets even more compelling when you look at what comes next. The third year of a presidential term — 2027 — has not been negative since 1939. Why? Because legislative risk remains low.

You may recall that something fairly significant was happening in the world in 1939. A little conflict called World War II was getting underway. And even then — even facing the onset of the most catastrophic global conflict in human history — the S&P 500 was only down 0.9%. That is how powerful this trend is. Nearly 90 consecutive years of positive third-year returns. Through wars, recessions, pandemics, financial crises, and everything in between.

The S&P 500 is up 12.81% year to date despite a Fed rate hike, an Iran conflict, oil at $100, and a 10-year Treasury at 5.28%. This market has absorbed everything thrown at it and is still standing strong.

Now the historically strongest tailwind of the entire four-year cycle kicks in.

The rest of 2026 could be very, very good — which means the overall year could be spectacular. And 2027 is likely to keep that strength going and might even get stronger.

If you haven’t read my 2026 Market Outlook, DM me and I’ll make sure you get it.

10/09/2026

Find your row first, then look one row up.

That's the difference starting 5 years earlier can make.

At a hypothetical 8% annual return, the difference between starting at 40 vs. 35 on a $500/month contribution is over $200,000 by the time you reach 65. Not because of more money—just more time.

Time in the market is not just valuable, it's the whole game.

Which row did you land on—and did it surprise you?

10/08/2026

This is a hypothetical example and is not representative of any specific investment or combination of investments. Illustration assumes Early Investor contributes $10,000 annually to a tax-deferred retirement account for ten years, while Late Investor contributes $10,000 annually for thirty years. Both accounts earn a hypothetical 6 percent annual rate of return. Consider your ability to make contributions over time before committing to a long-term strategy.

The early investor put in $100,000.
The late investor put in $300,000.

They ended up with nearly the same amount.

Let that sink in.

Starting early didn't just save money—it saved $200,000 in contributions. Same destination, a third of the effort. That's not a financial trick. That's time doing what money alone never can.

If you've been waiting for the "right time" to start investing, this chart is your sign. Save this post and share it with someone who needs to see it.

10/07/2026

That yellow section? That's money you never saved, your money made it for you.

This is compound interest in action. Start with $1,000/year at a hypothetical 5 percent return, and by year 30, you've built nearly $70,000. But the real story is the yellow: Interest earning interest.

Year 1: almost no interest at all.
Year 30: the interest on your interest alone might cover a year of car payments (or more).

You don't need to invest more. You need to stay focused on your strategy. What's one financial habit you wish you'd started earlier? Drop it below. 👇

10/06/2026

There's a crossover moment every long-term investor experiences, and it can change how you think about money forever.

It's the point at which your total investment earnings exceed your total contributions, meaning your portfolio is now doing more work than you ever did.

As this chart shows, it doesn't happen overnight. In year 5, earnings are barely visible. But by year 25, earnings have pulled ahead.

The most powerful financial decision you can make isn't picking the right investment. It's staying committed to your strategy long enough to reach that crossover.

Where are you on this chart? Drop a year or decade in the comments.

10/05/2026

Market Week: October 5, 2026 📊

Mixed week. S&P 500 down 0.27%, still 12.81% YTD. NASDAQ up 0.45%, now 16.99% YTD. Tech carrying the market while rate-sensitive sectors continue to struggle.

The number getting almost zero attention — Manufacturing PMI hit 55.9 in September. Strongest since May 2022. Fourteen consecutive months of accelerating expansion.

September payrolls: 29,000. Soft headline — but jobless claims fell to 197,000 and layoffs declined. The labor market is normalizing, not breaking.

Crude dipped to $91.53 as G7 nations announced reserve releases. The direction on oil is still lower in my opinion.

Fed minutes drop Wednesday. Likely less hawkish language.

The latest issue of Market Week is available.

10/05/2026

A common online security tool is now being used in a new type of scam.

Cybercriminals are increasingly using fake CAPTCHA prompts — the familiar “I’m not a robot” checks — to trick users into taking actions that can compromise their devices.

Instead of a simple verification, these prompts may ask users to click “Allow,” enable notifications, or follow additional steps that can lead to persistent pop-ups, phishing attempts, or unwanted software.

These scams often appear through ads, suspicious links, or redirected web pages, making them harder to spot at first glance.

Security experts note that legitimate CAPTCHA tests do not require enabling notifications, downloading files, or entering system commands — making those requests a potential red flag.

As these tactics evolve, staying cautious when interacting with unexpected prompts can help reduce exposure to online threats.


Source:

Cybercriminals are increasingly using fake CAPTCHA prompts to trick users into enabling malware and scam notifications Security experts warn the ta