On May 16, 2022, one of the most crucial dates in the investing community occurred. It was the deadline for hedge-fund and institutional managers with $100 million or more in assets under management to submit Form 13F to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In basic terms, a 13F is a detailed look at what the top and most successful money managers have bought, sold, and kept during the most recent quarter (in this case, the first quarter). Despite being more than six weeks old when it’s submitted, the data still offers insights into which equities and trends are fascinating to fund managers.

During the first quarter, market volatility increased dramatically. Billionaire money managers, on the other hand, were busy. This volatility, on the other hand, did not deter wealthy investors from making significant growth stock investments. Based on a number of 13F filings, billionaire money managers added to these two growth stocks.

Meta Platforms

The first one is Meta Platforms (FB -0.49%), formerly known as Facebook, which owns a variety of internet companies including WhatsApp and Instagram. Susquehanna International’s Jeff Yass, Lone Pine Capital’s Stephen Mandel, and Renaissance Technologies’ Jim Simons all acquired a big stake in Meta during the first quarter. Each purchased approximately 3.99 million shares, 3.66 million shares, and 2.27 million shares respectively.

Billionaires are clearly interested in the platform, even in the face of adversity, including Apple’s iOS privacy changes and an increasing chance of a recession in the United States (ad-driven businesses frequently encounter revenue growth deceleration or reversal during recessions).

For example, Meta ended Q1 with 3.64 billion in monthly active users on its family of platforms combined. This implies that over half of the world’s adult population usually visits a Meta-owned asset at least once a month. Advertisers realize that their best bet for reaching a large audience is to advertise on Meta’s ultra-popular social media sites. And this gives Meta significant ad-pricing power in turn.

Meta is also historically cheap. Wall Street forecasts that the firm will produce over $14 in profits per share in 2023, despite Meta’s significant investment in the metaverse. A forward-year price-to-earnings ratio of 14 for a company that has consistently grown by double digits is stunningly low.

Nio

In the first three months of this year, China-based electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio was a growth stock billionaire money managers could not get enough of (NIO 5.24%). Renaissance Technologies, David Siegel’s and John Overdeck Two Sigma Investments, and also Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates were all major purchasers.

Like other automobile firms, Nio is facing significant supply chain difficulties. Semiconductor chip shortages have affected the sector as a whole, and the firm has had to deal with component shortages related to COVID-19 restrictions in several Chinese provinces.

Despite these obstacles, Nio rightfully has billionaires pressing the accelerator. The firm was producing EVs at an annual rate of more than 120,000 late last year, suggesting it can quickly scale up production when supply chain difficulties subside.

Nio is also innovative, despite being a relatively new company. Its recently launched sedans, the ET7 and ET5, come with premium battery choices that allow for an estimated 620 miles on a single charge. Nio’s sedans should be able to compete directly against — and possibly take market share from — Tesla’s top two models: the Model 3 and Model S.

Nio’s battery-as-a-service subscription, on the other hand, might be a long-term game changer.

Dividend stocks may be the ideal way to place your portfolio to succeed  for the rest of the decade, given market volatility is increasing at a fast rate. By 2030, these two high-yield stocks (yields 4 percent and above) will have all of the tools and qualities needed to transform a $300,000 start into $1 million that includes dividends paid.

Walgreens Boots Alliance: 4.41% yield

The first high-yield dividend stock that can provide a total return of 233% in 8 years is Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 0.90%) the pharmacy chain. Walgreens is now paying out a 4.41 percent yield and has increased its initial annual payment every year for the last 46 years.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is in the middle of a multipoint improvement strategy that aims to improve its operating margins, boost organic growth, and increase engagement and repeat visits. To decrease costs, the firm is shedding unnecessary items. Walgreens reported that it had lowered annual operational expenses by more than $2 billion a whole year ahead of schedule at the end of its fiscal 2021 year on August 31, 2021.

Even as the firm is reducing expenses, it is putting a premium on digitalization efforts intended to increase convenience. Even though Walgreens’ physical shops will continue to contribute the majority of its income, encouraging customers to buy online may provide a nice sales increase.

Antero Midstream: 9.16% yield

Energy middleman Antero Midstream (AM 4.94%) is a high-yield dividend stock that can transform $300,000 into $1 million by 2030. The company’s passive income, when it is reinvested, can double your money by the year 2030, according to the current yield of 9.16%.

There are three characteristics that make Antero such a solid investment for the next 8 years. The first is the structure of Antero Midstream’s contracts with its parent firm. Midstream providers frequently use fixed-fee or volume-based contracts to provide a high degree of predictability in their yearly operating cash flow. This implies that even if the cost of natural gas fluctuates, Antero Midstream will know how much money it will earn each year.

Antero Resources is also increasing drilling on Antero Midstream’s property. Despite this, the company decreased its quarterly payout by 27% in 2021 (still producing 9.16 percent). This change was made to allow more money to be allocated to future infrastructure projects. By the midpoint of the decade, management predicts $400 million in additional incremental free cash flow.

Finally, a significant rebound in the cost of natural gas, along with Antero Resources’ desire to increase production, has helped Antero Midstream to strengthen its balance sheet. Following through on its 2020 target of a 3.1 leverage ratio, the firm expects this leverage ratio to be less than 1 by year-end.

The Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC 1.06%) cryptocurrency is a derivative of Ethereum (ETH 2.06%), which replicates the value of a regular Bitcoin token (BTC 0.82%). This peculiar mix provides Ethereum-based apps access to a Bitcoin-like mechanism for storing and transferring money. It’s also worth noting that it’s a kind of Bitcoin with Ethereum-like features such as smart contracts, albeit in an odd form.

Creating a hybrid product from the upside of two extremely different cryptocurrencies makes sense, but isn’t it too good to be true? After all, holders of Wrapped Bitcoin must bear the long-term ownership risks of both Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Let’s look at how the market has treated this one-of-a-kind currency.

Here is how closely the two cryptos have stayed together this year. 

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell discussed his agency’s approach to future federal interest hikes in 2022, which weighed heavily on speculative assets like growth stocks and cryptocurrencies. Powell’s comments shook up the crypto market as a whole, and it was not surprising to see various currencies moving in different directions on January 28th. On January 28th, Ethereum still hadn’t recovered from its more severe correction, when it fell roughly 10% under Bitcoin’s year-to-date drop of 33%.

On January 25, the bitcoin price plummeted by almost 30 percent in a single day. However, on January 29, after the large drop, Wrapped Bitcoin returned to matching the regular Bitcoin token’s prices. That makes perfect sense; even if you believe that Ethereum is a greater risk investment than Bitcoin.

So what’s the difference?

Another benefit of utilizing Wrapped Bitcoin is that you may exchange it for any number of Bitcoin tokens at will. You can mint tokens by following a simple procedure, and you may convert them back into a Bitcoin by burning a Wrapped Bitcoin token. Furthermore, the development team behind Wrapped Bitcoins has custody of the original bitcoins that were placed in order to produce each Wrapped Bitcoin coin.

Today, the Wrapped Bitcoin project holds approximately 283,904 Bitcoins in its vaults. The market capitalization is $283,774 based on CoinMarketCap’s numbers. That’s a difference of 0.05 percent.

Because of the guaranteed conversion process, Wrapped Bitcoin should always be very close to the value of a typical Bitcoin. Sure, investors are betting on the success of three projects rather than one (including the Wrapped Bitcoin system itself), but there is no actual reason to include additional market risk into wrapped BTC.

The addition of Ethereum features to Wrapped Bitcoin, on the other hand, does not appear to offer much value. In the broader picture, the existence of Wrapped Bitcoin basically serves as a component in the overall value proposition for bitcoin’s underlying system, adding a tiny amount of extra market value to the greater ecosystem. Keep in mind that despite its small percentage share in total market value (1.5 percent), the Wrapped token has a sector-leading footprint.

Yes, you can buy this token — but it doesn’t really matter

You should feel free to use Wrapped Bitcoin tokens instead of, or in addition to, regular Bitcoin tokens as long as your selected cryptocurrency trading platform accepts them. If something goes wrong, you will be able to exchange these tokens for Bitcoin as needed.

There are no advantages to purchasing this token rather than Bitcoin unless you are an app developer that need its unique mix of Ethereum and Bitcoin capabilities, but there is no real downside either. For most of us, it’s just another oddity in a sector already rife with anomalies. Perhaps you’d be better off looking at the tried-and-true Bitcoin crypto system instead to keep things simple.

The metaverse is a contemporary technology movement that is still in its early phases of development, but it is predicted to become enormous in the future due on its capacity to link people all over the world in 3D virtual worlds.

People may learn, work, play and socialize in the metaverse from their homes using mixed reality devices that support both virtual reality and augmented reality. Not surprisingly, investments in this area are anticipated to rise dramatically in the coming years. The metaverse market is expected to develop at an annual rate of around 48% through 2029 and reach a size of just over $1.5 trillion near end of the forecast period, according to a third-party forecast.

The rise of the metaverse might see these tech giants gain a significant boost. Here’s why Nvidia (NVDA 5.29%) and Microsoft (MSFT 2.03%) could benefit investors handsomely from this trend. Let’s look at why the metaverse may cause these IT companies’ stock prices to go up significantly.

1. Nvidia

In numerous ways, Nvidia may benefit from the metaverse. Even before it has fully taken hold, Nvidia is already enjoying the benefits of this developing technology trend, as it powers Meta Platforms’ (FB 1.29%) supercomputer intended to aid in the expansion of the metaverse. The Meta AI Research SuperCluster (RSC) computer is powered by over 6,000 Nvidia GPUs. When Meta finishes adding more GPU capacity to its existing supercomputer, it will be powered by about 16,000 Nvidia GPUs.

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) applications is limitless, according to Meta. “The work done with RSC will lay the groundwork for future technologies for the next big computing platform, which is the metaverse, where AI-driven apps and items will play a significant role,” says Meta. This implies that demand for Nvidia GPUs should grow in the long run as servers, data centers, and supercomputers will have to be modernized to serve real-time 3D content delivery for millions of users across the world.

More than 400 firms, according to Nvidia, have tested the Omniverse platform. BMW has used the Omniverse to make a digital twin factory, while Ericsson is using it to test and visualize 5G wireless networks before releasing them.

This implies that Nvidia’s business could get a significant boost as a result of the metaverse, which is likely to have an impact on the firm’s already rapid growth. Nvidia ended fiscal year 2022 (which ended January 30) with a 61% year-over-year boost in revenue of $26.9 billion, and the potential for the metaverse suggests that it is just beginning to explore a huge market opportunity.

Analysts forecast Nvidia to grow earnings at a compound annual rate of 30% over the next five years, and the metaverse may help it accelerate its growth rate and supercharge the stock in the long term.

2. Microsoft

Another technology giant, Microsoft, is also on track to profit from the metaverse in a variety of ways, including the lucrative video gaming market.

Microsoft is reportedly close to closing a deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, which it values at $60 billion. Microsoft’s press release when the acquisition was announced stated that the “acquisition will help Microsoft accelerate growth in its gaming business across PC, mobile, console, and cloud,” as well as providing building blocks for the metaverse. It is also worth noting that Microsoft already has a strong foothold in the gaming industry thanks to its Game Pass subscription service, Xbox consoles, and a large collection of games thanks to its ownership of numerous gaming studios.

Microsoft’s ability to benefit from the metaverse gaming industry opportunity, which is expected to develop at a rapid rate, puts it in a strong position. Grayscale, a cryptocurrency asset management firm, forecasts that virtual world economies may be worth $400 billion by 2025 as opposed to $180 billion by 2020. Almost all of the virtual game revenue will come from in-game spending, so Activision’s 400 million users will provide Microsoft access to a big population of gamers from whom it can drive incremental spending to fuel its gaming business in the metaverse.

Microsoft has already established its presence in the metaverse with Mesh for Microsoft Teams, which is a collaboration tool that links people together via their virtual avatars. This product, which is based on the popular Microsoft Teams communications software, will allow individuals across the world to participate in meetings in realistic 3D environments through their virtual representations. With over 250 million users, Microsoft may cross-sell its metaverse communication platform to a massive audience.

Analysts forecast Microsoft’s earnings to grow at a pace of 16% per year for the next five years, but don’t be surprised if it outperforms that number, thanks to lucrative growth drivers like the metaverse. That is why buying Microsoft stock appears to be a no-brainer, as it trades at a P/E ratio of 26, below its five-year average of 37.

Many people think that creating passive income is all about selling services, but it’s more than that. It’s also possible to generate money while watching a fantastic film and relaxing at the same time. That’s precisely what passive income enables you to do.

There are several methods to generate money without requiring your time or involvement on a regular basis. Staking cryptocurrencies is one strategy that’s gaining popularity. Here’s why staking Ethereum (ETH -2.74%) might be a fantastic way to make passive earnings.

Yielding way

Staking is only possible on blockchains that employ the proof-of-stake consensus method. These blockchains enable you to pledge your tokens to verify transactions. In return, you will be rewarded.

The original Bitcoin network was on the proof-of-work principle, which does not allow staking. In December 2020, however, the Beacon chain enabled staking for Ethereum coins. This chain is set to connect with the mainnet this year, allowing Ether tokens to be staked across the whole Ethereum ecosystem.

How much money can you make while staking Ether tokens? It is determined by the crypto exchange that you use and how long you stake your assets for. However, the payouts may be quite significant.

The annualized return on investment for staking Ether is 10.1% as of the time of this writing, and it’s highest ever. For a 120-day staking period, Binance offers this particularly lucrative return. It’s simple to discover other exchanges with returns ranging from 4% to 8%. Over shorter timeframes, these yields are more appealing than those provided by most dividend stocks.

The other side of the coin

Why wouldn’t everyone want to stake Ether tokens, with potential returns of double-digit proportions? The major disadvantage is that you can only sell once.

When you stake your Ether tokens, most cryptocurrency exchanges demand that you keep them locked for a certain length of time. Even after the staking period has ended, you may not be able to sell immediately. Some exchanges have “unstaking” periods lasting several days.

The inability to sell tokens can be especially harmful when the coins’ value rapidly drops. We have seen this happen in recent days, with Ethereum plummeting more than 30% in a week.

It’s quite conceivable that a downturn might stretch on for some time. While staking may help to some extent, the yields will not be nearly enough to compensate for significant losses like we’ve seen this month.

Taking the long-term view

This is basically the same issue that dividend stock investors face. You cannot sell your shares of the company and still get paid dividends. It’s conceivable that the share price could fall much more than you realize from your payouts.

That is why dividend-paying firms with good long-term prospects are most appealing to investors. The stock price may drop in the near term, but investors anticipate it will at least remain level (and perhaps increase) over time.

If you’re thinking about staking Ether tokens, take this into consideration. Staking Ether tokens is a poor decision if you don’t believe in the cryptocurrency’s long-term potential.

However, if you believe that the Ethereum blockchain has some staying power and that Ether is a wonderful long-term investment, things are different. If this forecast comes true, staking Ether may genuinely be a fantastic way to generate passive money.

After the Federal Reserve stated in late 2021 that it would begin raising interest rates, growth stocks have suffered a beating. Because future cash flows will be discounted at a higher rate as a result of rising rates, growing stocks are harmed by them. It’s not unusual to come across shares that have lost 50%, 60%, 70%, or even 95% of their highs recently. There are several excellent firms among the large sell-off.

Roblox (RBLX 3.82%) and Chegg (CHGG -2.77%), for example, have both fallen 75 percent and 84 percent from their highs, respectively. Long-term investors who can handle the short-term volatility may add these two stocks to their portfolios before a major rise drives them up. Here’s why each is worth considering for inclusion in your portfolio.

1. Roblox 

ROBLOX is a metaverse company that allows users to interact with each other and the world virtually. To put it another way, it’s a metaverse enterprise. The software is free to download and use, which has clearly aided in Roblox’s popularity growth since then. impressively, despite the fact that consumers were spending more time inside, mobile ARPUs rose by 23% year over year at this time last year. Still, after the economic reopening began in March 2019, development slowed considerably , especially in its most lucrative US and Canada area.

The Robux entrepreneur earns money by selling Robux, an in-game currency that is required for certain tasks and items that are not accessible to free players. In 2021, Roblox earned $1.9 billion in revenue, up from just $325 million in 2018. Interestingly, some third-party developers develop premium services for Roblox. Roblox incentivizes developers by paying a share of the income their games generate. With 53.1 million daily active users, there’s plenty of money to be made. This aspect of the business model ensures that Roblox doesn’t spend money on creations unless its users do, lowering the risk of investment loss.

Of course, Roblox is up against headwinds as potential users have moved on to other interests, but that is already reflected in the stock’s price. It’s nearly at its lowest valuation, with a price-to-free-cash-flow ratio of 29.8. Growth stock investors will want to buy shares before it becomes more expensive because of a potential major rally.

2. Chegg 

Chegg is a for-profit education technology firm that has struggled to keep college enrollment growing since the epidemic began. The outbreak was initially a boon to Chegg, as millions of students were away from vital on-campus services. Students sought help from Chegg with their course materials, which were in short supply because of the pandemic. Chegg’s earnings decreased dramatically as colleges started to reopen and students began returning to campus.

Chegg, nevertheless, has 7.8 million subscribers and has enhanced its competitive edge. The main reason for students to sign up with Chegg is because it offers 79 million pieces of unique content that were built at the request of students over time. Revenue in 2021 was $776 million, which was a rise from $255 million in 2017. Meanwhile, Chegg’s scale turned it from a loss-making firm to one with an operating income of $78 million in 2021.

Chegg is currently trading at a price-to-free-cash-flow ratio of 16, which is its lowest point. College enrollment will most likely rebound as COVID-19’s threat fades away. Before the stock rises higher and the chance is lost, investors may buy shares now at low prices.

When will the next market decline happen? It’s not an enjoyable topic to think about, but it is always a good idea to be ready. Even in good times, being prepared can help you maintain your cool and make the greatest selections for your portfolio.

No one knows when the next financial catastrophe will strike. But if it happens, now is a good time to buy shares in firms with potential for future growth that might fall at the time, but have everything it takes to rebound later. These are enterprises with solid present and future prospects in the field of consumer products. The following top retail stocks are on my list in the world of consumer goods.

1. Target

During the worst days of the Covid pandemic, one of the winning businesses was Target (TGT 1.13%). There are a few reasons for this. And each one of these factors should help Target succeed in future difficult situations. Target has created a variety of drop and collection options. The company’s digital and in-store operations are closely linked; over 95% of Target’s sales are completed by its stores.

Target has adapted its store sizes and product lines to the area, according to a recent Business Insider article. To invigorate long-term development, the firm has committed to invest up to $5 billion this year in areas that will benefit from future growth. It will be investing in physical and  digital store experiences, fulfillment, and also the supply chain.

Target has already seen the benefits. Its ROIC is increasing steadily. And, despite investments in the company, Target was able to reach a new high for fourth-quarter EPS under generally accepted accounting standards (GAAP) of $3.21. Target generated more than $100 billion in sales during the full year. That represents a growth rate of more than 35% over two years. Importantly, online and physical retail sales are exploding. Digital revenue increased by almost $13 billion from 2019 through last year. In that time, physical store transactions increased by $14 billion.

Target’s stock is up 10 percent year-to-date. All of these components together give me faith in Target’s ability to ride out a market downturn and increase earnings over the long term.

2. Amazon

Amazon (AMZN 5.73%) experienced a 9% increase in revenue and a 7% boost in earnings during the pandemic. In fact, Amazon nearly doubled its fulfillment network in only two years to keep up with demand. And since then, Amazon has increased both annual income and net profit.

However, recent market conditions have had a significant impact on Amazon’s earnings. Recently, external elements have had an adverse influence on Amazon’s earnings, such as supply chain difficulties and  inflation. The company also disappointed shareholders by reporting a net loss in the first quarter.

So, why would I buy Amazon stock in a bear market? There are two reasons for that. First, the e-commerce sector offers one of the company’s primary revenue drivers, which will lead to rising revenue over time. And it’s due to its Prime membership service. That program has over 200 million members worldwide as of 2020. And it is expanding. Recently, Amazon made a good decision: It raised its Prime membership fee in the United States. Once Amazon has dealt with today’s headwinds, I expect Prime to help reinstate income growth rates.

Here’s my second incentive to buy the stock: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is still thriving. By this, I mean sales and income growth of more than 10%. Sales and operating income increased 18.4% and 6.5%, respectively, in the first quarter. Importantly, AWS accounts for a large percentage of Amazon’s total operating earnings. As a result, AWS is an important part of the Amazon narrative.

Even if Amazon’s stock plummets during a future market downturn, earnings and share price momentum are likely to recover, as long as it is able to meet consumer expectations.