Investing in last year’s top 10 stocks is ‘a recipe for disaster,’ expert says
Look back on the best-performing stocks in a given year and you’re likely to see a mixed bag: some mainstays, some breakouts and maybe even a meme stock or two.
Not so in 2022. Each of the 10 top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 index belonged to the same sector: energy.
In a year in which every other sector in the S&P 500 lost money, energy stocks delivered an average return of 59%, with top performer Occidental Petroleum returning 119%.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should go out and add any of these stocks to your portfolio now, investing experts say.
Following an overall down year in the market, “don’t chase the few things that have performed well,” Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar, told CNBC Make It. “Doing a complete repositioning of your portfolio is a recipe for disaster.”
Here’s why investing experts say to tread carefully before adding last year’s winners to your portfolio.
You’re historically slightly better off buying losers
The market operates in cycles, and this has been a particularly good one for companies involved in the discovery, transportation and sale of oil and natural gas. Energy prices shot up early in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine and the U.S. and EU took steps to curtail Russian energy exports.
But a cyclical market means eventual reversion to the mean. Energy will come back to the pack, and laggards will catch up. There’s no telling when that will actually happen, but historically losers have outperformed winners following a down year.
“If it’s an up year, history says to let winners ride. However if the prior year was down, you’re better off rotating from ‘first’ sectors like energy to ‘worst’ sectors like technology and consumer discretionary,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.
By Stovall’s calculations, a “first to worst” rotation has beaten the market 60% of the time since World War II.
That’s isn’t to suggest you shift your entire portfolio into tech, the worst performer in 2022. Rather, it illustrates that the factors that drive certain corners of the market to take off are unpredictable from year to year.
Choose stocks sparingly and carefully
If you’re a long-term investor, financial advisors generally recommend building a broadly diversified portfolio. By spreading your bets across a wide array of asset classes, you decrease the chances that a sharp drop in any one particular investment derails your portfolio’s performance.
For that reason, investors are typically told to steer clear of devoting too much space in their accounts to any one particular stock. Unlike the broad market, which has historically trended upward, any one stock has the potential to go to zero.
If you do want to invest in a few stocks as a complement to your core broad-based investing strategy, ignore which way the market is trending and examine each stock on its own merits, experts say.
“As long-term investors, we don’t try to chase momentum,” said Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist at Morningstar. “We focus on opportunities where the market doesn’t understand the intrinsic value of a company.”
There are plenty of ways to determine a company’s value, and each investor has their favorites. You may want to focus on how a stock trades relative to the company’s earnings or cash flow, for instance.
No matter which measure you choose, the more a company’s stock price has run up, the more likely it is that it’s trading more expensively relative to peers, the broad market and its historical averages. And there tends to be some mean reversion there, too.
Headed into 2022, energy stocks were the most undervalued by Morningstar’s calculations. And after a 59% runup? “It’s the sector we now think is the most overvalued,” Sekera said.
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Don’t miss: Think twice before buying the top 10 ETFs of 2022: ‘It doesn’t work that way in investing’
The new and improved 2026 Kia EV9 and 2025 EV6 are eligible for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, but one trim is excluded.
Do the Kia EV6 and EV9 qualify for the federal tax credit?
Kia’s first dedicated electric vehicle, the EV6, received some pretty major upgrades for its mid-cycle update this year.
The 2025 EV6 features a bigger battery providing more range (now up to 319 miles), a stylish interior and exterior redesign, and an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers.
Kia’s first three-row electric SUV, the EV9, also has a native NACS charging port and will be the first model year to offer a high-performance GT trim.
We got a good look at the EV9 GT at the LA Auto Show last year (check it out here). The sporty electric SUV boasts 501 hp, which is quite a bit more than the current GT-Line’s 379 hp. The added power is enough for the big-body SUV to move from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds.
Although Kia America’s vice president of sales, Eric Watson, confirmed the EV6 and EV9 are now in “full-scale production” at its plant in West Point, Georgia, not all trims will qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
According to CarsDirect, Kia told dealers that the 2025 EV6 and 2026 EV9 GT trims wouldn’t be eligible for the credit. A spokesperson said the exclusion is because Kia builds the EV6 GT and EV9 GT in South Korea, while all other trims are assembled in Georgia.
If Trump’s 25% tariff on South Korea is still in effect when the GT models launch in the US, it could create a significant price gap between trims.
Despite this, you will likely still be able to take advantage of the credit through leasing. Kia, like many, is passing the $7,500 on through lease cash, which can significantly cut monthly payments.
Kia will reveal more info, including prices, closer to launch. Check back soon. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
With the new models arriving soon, Kia is offering clearance pricing on outgoing models. Monthly leases start as low as $179. You can use our links below to find deals on the Kia EV6 and EV9 near you.
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Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders today to resuscitate the US coal industry – here’s why this is a complete waste of time.
Once again, using “emergency authority” by citing the growing power needs from data centers, EVs, and AI, the executive orders will allow some old coal-fired power plants scheduled for retirement to stay online.
The orders will also direct federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining barriers, and prioritize coal leasing on US lands.
An Obama-era moratorium that paused coal leasing on federal lands will officially be acknowledged and federal agencies will be required to scrap policies moving away from US coal production. Trump also wants to boost coal exports and speed up coal technology development.
Electrek’s Take
The coal and mineral industry is happy about this executive order, as well as the EPA recently giving them a free pass to pollute, and the MAGA crowd might think this is great, but no one else thinks this clever.
Trump can try to pretend that coal is “clean,” but it doesn’t change the fact that coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels – its emissions killed 460,000 people between 1999 and 2020. Plus, it’s not even cost-effective – even natural gas is cheaper than coal. And these plants are old – the average age of the plants that are online is 53.
Coal has been in decline for a long time – it peaked in 2007. As I just wrote last month, coal fell to a record low of 15% of total electricity generation in the US in 2024, and wind and solar accounted for 17% of total electricity generation. That’s right – wind and solar successfully provided more power generation in the US than coal last year.
And while electricity demand will indeed skyrocket over the following decades, clean energy is capable of meeting that demand. The Energy Information Administration projects that in 2025, 93% of new power added to the US grid will be from solar, wind, and battery storage.
In an emailed statement, Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at the Natural Resources Defense Council, questioned whether a mandate for Americans to commute by horse and buggy would be next. It’s a fitting sentiment because the fact that I’m even writing a story in 2025 about why trying to revive coal is a bad idea feels ludicrous. Trump seems to forget he’s not William McKinley and this isn’t 1900.
Read more: Renewables to continue driving US power generation growth – EIA
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After a few “technical advances,” BMW is upgrading its EVs with more driving range, features, and options. All BMW i5 models now have more range, while the 2026 iX has an EPA-estimated driving range of up to 364 miles.
BMW iX and i5 EVs gain more range
BMW announced 2025 model year updates coming this spring with a few exciting improvements to look forward to.
The BMW i5 eDrive40 features up to 310 miles of range, up from 295 miles in the outgoing model. Meanwhile, the i5 xDrive40 has a driving range of up to 278 miles, up from 266 miles in the 2025 model year.
BMW said that the improvements are due to “a number of technical advances that reduce energy consumption, and, thus, improve their range.” The new i5 uses a more efficient, more powerful SiC inverter, which also powers the new 2026 iX.
All BMW 5 Series models are available with a new Frozen Portimao Blue metallic paint color. Two new Merino leather interior colors have also been added: Dark Violet/Atlas Grey and Taupe/Atlas Grey.
| BMW i5 model | Driving Range (increase from MY2025) |
| i5 eDrive40 (19-in wheels) | 310 mi (+ 5%) |
| i5 eDrive40 (20-in wheels) | 300 mi (+ 8%) |
| i5 eDrive40 (21-in wheels) | 278 mi (+ 3%) |
| i5 xDrive40 (19-in wheels) | 278 mi (+ 5%) |
| i5 xDrive40 (20-in wheels) | 272 mi (+ 4%) |
| i5 xDrive40 (21-in wheels) | 259 mi (+ 4%) |
Although BMW revealed the 2026 iX earlier this year, the company now says it has an even greater EPA-estimated range than it projected.
The 2026 BMW iX xDrive60 is rated with a range of 364 miles when equipped with 20″ Aero wheels on summer tires, 7% higher than the 340 miles it initially expected. It’s also a drastic improvement from the 309-mile rating for the 2025MY.
Despite the upgrades, BMW’s electric SUV gets a $12,100 price cut thanks to a new entry-level xDrive45 model, which starts at just $75,150.
| Horsepower | Starting Price* | Driving Range | |
| 2026 BMW iX xDrive45 | 402 hp | $75,150 | 312 miles |
| 2026 BMW iX xDrive60 | 536 hp | $88,500 | 364 miles |
| 2026 BMW iX M70 | 650 hp | $115,500 | 303 miles |
BMW fine-tuned the exterior, which now includes new vertical headlights and a revamped Kidney Grille that illuminates.
The 2026 BMW iX is also the first BMW to feature its new Curved Display OS with video streaming, in-car gaming, and more.
Ready to try out BMW’s electric cars for yourself? We can help you get started. Check out our links below to find BMW iX and i5 models near you.
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