Older investors take a pass on bonds

And more of the week's best financial insight

Man using laptop for analyzing stock market data
(Image credit: Xavier Lorenzo / Gettyimages)

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

Older investors take a pass on bonds

The Queen of Soul's will

A thorny legal dispute involving Aretha Franklin's estate illustrates the importance of having a proper, formal will, said Greg Iacurci at CNBC. The Queen of Soul "jotted down her wishes on two handwritten wills — one dated in 2010 and the other in 2014" that were discovered in Franklin's home after her passing in 2018. Her sons "disagreed over which handwritten will should govern their mother's estate," because of differences in the division of property, including Franklin's $1.1 million home. "Certain states, such as Michigan, recognize handwritten wills," and a Michigan jury last week decided that the 2014 version — which was "found in a notebook under a couch cushion" — should be deemed valid. But this decision "will be talked about in law schools in every state in the country," said one financial planner.

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Nasdaq index to cut weight of Big Tech

The Nasdaq-100 will execute a very rare "special rebalance" to redistribute the weight of its members, said Lu Wang in Bloomberg. Just six companies — Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, Amazon, and Tesla — now make up 50.9% of the total market capitalization of the index. That could put some big funds that track the Nasdaq-100 in trouble with the SEC, which has a "diversification rule that limits the aggregate weight of large stock holdings to 50 percent." The Nasdaq rebalancing is expected to cut the group's weight to 40 percent. "Companies set to benefit from the rebalance include Starbucks, Mondelez, and Booking Holdings," according to an analysis from Wells Fargo, which notes that the event doesn't "pose a lasting threat" to tech megacaps.

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