The Fed Is Done Cutting — Here's What That Means for Your Portfolio

The market has been pricing in rate cuts for over a year. Now reality is setting in: the Fed is done. Inflation is sticky, the economy is resilient, and Powell has no reason to cut. Here's how to position.

What Higher-For-Longer Means

When rates stay elevated, it creates winners and losers. The winners are companies with pricing power, strong cash flows, and low debt. The losers are zombie companies surviving on cheap refinancing, speculative growth names with no earnings, and highly leveraged REITs.

Sectors I Like

Financials: Banks earn more on their loan books when rates are higher. JPM, GS, and MS are printing money.

Energy: Oil demand is resilient, OPEC is disciplined, and energy companies are returning massive capital through buybacks and dividends. XOM and CVX are cash machines.

Healthcare: Defensive with secular growth drivers. GLP-1 drugs are a $100B+ market. LLY and NVO are the leaders.

What I'm Avoiding

Unprofitable tech, meme stocks, and anything that requires multiple expansion to work. The days of "don't fight the Fed" being bullish are over. Now it cuts both ways.