AI & Nasdaq Crash After US Midterms. Did We Buy or Hold?

🏆 Vote for The Art of Investing in the Good Money Guide Awards! Last year we won Best Financial Podcast and Best Financial Analysis – and we'd love your support again. Please vote for us as Best Financial Podcast and Best YouTube Content Creator here: https://goodmoneyguide.com/awards/finfluencer-awards/ 🎙️The Long and Short 🎙️ Can't wait until Friday? Rich McDonald and Piers Buckworth host The Long and Short every single Wednesday - 45 minutes on single stocks and the tech sector. 📈 Download the full Portfolio Performance Slides View the portfolio breakdown here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/103N-9_5wwrIIteLgr-qX-wybD3NFadi3/view?usp=drive_link 📧 Get in touch: [email protected] 📱 Behind the scenes: @_theartofinvesting on TikTok 🎧 Listen on: Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-art-of-investing/id1825201965 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4bmvfbDz2kniwxCL66sVjH 📖Subscribe to JP’s substack here: https://johnpaulsmith422.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=publication_embed&utm_medium=web&embedding_publication_id=4651123 This week on The Art of Investing, you're joining us live in the middle of a Nasdaq crash, with 150 years of investing experience around the table to make sense of it. Rich McDonald (live from Rome), Mark 'Spice' Holden and Chris 'CJ' Fellingham are joined by emerging markets specialist JP Smith to unpack the US midterms, a 13% fall in oil and a Bank of England rate rise. Then JP explains why Chinese equities are a policy tool rather than a profit machine, why Korea and Taiwan don't belong in the emerging markets index, and why big tech's spending should worry investors. And finally, with 25% sitting in cash and short gilts, the team ask: is it time to buy the dip? This Week's Highlights: 📉 The Nasdaq Crash, Live Chips and AI lead the sell-off, with Intel down 40% on the week and Micron down 15% in a day. 🗳️ The Midterms: A Blue Wash What Democrat gains could mean for data centres, defence, energy, and Voldemort. 🛢️ Oil Tumbles Brent falls 13% on the week as the US and Iran signal they're ready to talk. 🇬🇧 The Bank of England Raises Rates A 0.25% rise on an 8–1 vote, but CJ would have gone for 0.5%. 🌏 JP on China and Emerging Markets Why China has become a leveraged play on AI, and why the emerging markets index is dominated by Korea and Taiwan. ⚠️ Leverage, Private Credit and the Momentum Trade CJ isn't worried about the fundamentals, he's worried about who still has to sell. Portfolio Snapshot – Week 64: 📊 Weekly portfolio performance: -1.1% 📈 Total return since inception: +22.4% 📅 2026 year-to-date return: +9.9% Top Performers: 📈 Invesco Stoxx Euro 600 UCITS ETF GBP: +1.7% 📈 iShares Russell 2000 ETF: +1.4% 📈 Vanguard FTSE 250: +1.3% Underperformers: 📉 Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq 100 UCITS ETF: -5.2% 📉 WisdomTree Copper ETF: -5.1% 📉 iShares Nikkei 225 ETF: -3.8% Portfolio Changes: 📈 Buy 2.5% Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq 100 UCITS ETF (5% → 7.5%) 💷 Cash falls from 22.5% to 20% Rich and Spice wanted to put up to 8% back to work, but the chairman dips a toe in and keeps some powder dry. Big Questions This Week: - What do the midterms mean for the AI data centre build-out? - Is the Nasdaq sell-off a shakeout or the start of something bigger? - How much hidden leverage is in the system? - Should Korea and Taiwan still count as emerging markets? - Is it time to buy the dip? What You'll Learn: ✔️ The difference between a correction and a crash ✔️ Why capex vs depreciation matters for tech valuations ✔️ How leverage and private credit can deepen a sell-off ✔️ How the S&P 500 has performed after past midterms ✔️ Why investing incrementally makes sense in volatile markets Disclaimer: This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only. The content presented is not intended as personal investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular securities or investments. All discussions regarding the model portfolio are illustrative and for educational purposes. Your capital is at risk. The value of shares, ETFs and ETCs can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in.