LPL Research’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) sits at the center of our portfolio construction process because it defines how we expect diversified portfolios to generate more stable long-term outcomes across shifting market environments. The SAA is the long-term plan for how major asset classes work together in a portfolio. It sets target weights for stocks, bonds, and diversifiers over a three-to-five-year horizon with the goal of improving risk-adjusted returns through balance, valuation discipline, and purposeful diversification. We review it annually to reflect meaningful shifts in long-run drivers like growth, inflation, interes

Many software stocks have been under pressure in recent months, as investors have started to perceive them as vulnerable to emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology. As highlighted in the “6-Month Price History of the S&P Software and Service Index” chart, software stocks have declined roughly 27% from their September 2025 high.

6-Month Price History of the S&P Software and Service Index

• Source: LPL Research, FactSet 02/17/26
• Disclosures: All indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Is This a Buying Opportunit

U.S. equity indexes have wobbled over the last couple of weeks. Concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscale spending have hit the high-profile mega cap growth names. At the same time, concerns about the impact of AI on established businesses have rippled through the software and finance industries.

In the short term, markets are always susceptible to headlines and future concerns that haven’t yet come to fruition. However, over the long-term, fundamentals drive markets. And for the most part, they remain supportive.

Let’s explore some of the more important ones.

Jobs Growth Slow bu

Wall Street narratives rarely stay still, and recent weeks have underscored how quickly sentiment can change as perceived new information challenges the status quo. Widely discussed anxiety over a potential artificial intelligence (AI) bubble fueled by relentless capital spending on data center infrastructure has now transitioned into a broader set of worries about industry ‑ level disruption driven by rapidly advancing AI platforms. The software sector has been in the eye of this storm, with legacy enterprise vendors suddenly confronting fears of displacement. That concern has ignited a negative feedback loop that is fueling a ‘sell