Seven Stocks Are 41% of the S&P | John Davi on Building Portfolios Beyond the Mag 7 Bet

<p>John Davi of Astoria Investment Management explains how he builds diversified portfolios in a tech dominated market. With Jack Forehand and Justin Carbonneau, Davi walks through an alternative approach. He also explains why he sees echoes of the 1970s in today&#39;s inflation, what he watches in credit markets for signs of stress in the AI buildout, and where real assets fit alongside stocks and bonds.</p><p><br></p><p>Topics covered:</p><p>- Why John Davi trimmed Astoria&#39;s equity overweight without trying to call a market top</p><p>- What the 10-year Treasury yield looks like relative to nominal economic growth</p><p>- How SPY and QQQ overlap, and what a conventional equal-weight index changes besides stock weights</p><p>- The question facing the Magnificent Seven: can earnings grow fast enough to justify AI spending?</p><p>- Where John Davi agrees with the passive investing feedback-loop argument and where it falls short</p><p>- What goes in the 20% when a 60/40 portfolio becomes 50% stocks, 30% bonds, and 20% diversifiers</p><p>- Why John Davi favors AI adopters and watches credit default swaps on the companies funding the buildout</p><p>- How Astoria screens for quality at a reasonable price using profitability, dividends, and valuation</p><p>- What trading floors taught John Davi about hedging before a drawdown</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 John Davi on earnings, rates, and trimming equity risk</p><p>05:05 Is the 10-year Treasury yield high relative to growth?</p><p>10:16 Seven stocks and the changing risk inside the S&amp;P 500</p><p>14:33 Diversifying around SPY and QQQ</p><p>20:02 Equal stock weights without a big tech underweight</p><p>24:46 Passive flows, prices, and buying the dip</p><p>30:04 Higher rates, the 60/40 portfolio, and real assets</p><p>37:08 From AI builders to companies using AI</p><p>42:40 Credit spreads and cracks in the AI trade</p><p>47:34 Adding a quality screen to growth stocks</p><p>55:12 Why John Davi hedges and resists chasing past winners</p><p><br></p><p>Research discussed:</p><p>Rates Hit Multi-Decade Highs. Will Growth and Earnings Keep the Rally Going?</p><p>https://www.astoriaim.com/single-post/rates-hit-multi-decade-highs-will-growth-and-earnings-keep-the-rally-going</p><p><br></p><p>Astoria Investment Management</p><p>https://www.astoriaim.com/</p><p><br></p><p>Astoria on X</p><p>https://x.com/AstoriaAdvisors</p><p><br></p><p>Learn more about the Excess Returns podcast network:</p><p>https://excessr