Where Would You Put New Money Right Now?

More than halfway through 2026, one question is rising in many investors’ minds: What should I do with my next dollar?

This year has given investors a lot to process at once. The Strait of Hormuz has swung between closed, briefly reopened and then closed again, keeping the oil markets and investors on edge. U.S. tariffs have been imposed, struck down and then reimposed under different statutes, scrambling supply-chain bets. China continues pushing to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) and chip manufacturing industries. And the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on alongside tensions in the Middle East with no clear end in sight.

Any one of these events would be enough to put pressure on investors to reallocate their portfolios and assess their buy/sell positions. With so much happening at once, investors have to decide where they see opportunity, where they see risk and where they’re better off waiting.

That’s a question worth asking directly:

Do you lean into energy and shipping stocks, given the Strait of Hormuz volatility? Play defense with gold or short-duration bonds? Take a contrarian position in China or emerging markets on the assumption that the worst is priced in? Or sit mostly in cash until some of this geopolitical chaos clears?

Seasoned investors know that there’s no single right answer. That’s exactly what makes it worth talking through with people who are watching the same headlines and weighing the same trade-offs.

I’ve posed a question to AAII members in the online Global Market Investing Community to open a discussion on the key issue at the top of all of our minds: Given everything happening in global markets right now, where would you put new money today, and what risks (or opportunities) would you be considering?

Share your take in the Global Market Investing Community.

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