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Where to Invest $100,000 Right Now, According to Experts
Investors face a dilemma. When the S&P 500 finished its worst quarter since 2022 last month, diversifiers like bonds and bitcoin fell too.
Even with the turnaround in mid-April, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Vanguard have projected low-single-digit annualized returns from 2024-2034.
Bloomberg asked where experts would personally invest $100,000 for their March monthly edition.
One answer that surfaced for a second time? Art.
It's what billionaires like Bezos and the Rockefellers have privately used to diversify for decades.
Why?
Appreciation. The ArtPrice100 Index outpaced the S&P 500 overall from 2000 to 2025
Low-correlation. The postwar contemporary segment has moved independently of traditional investments like stocks since ‘95.*
Resilience. A scarce, physical, and global asset class with decades of demonstrated demand.
Thanks to the world's premier art investing platform, now anyone can invest in works featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso, without needing millions.
Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but...
*According to Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.
Date: 22nd May, 2026
Bug-gest Political Awakening Of The Decade?: How A Joke Became A Generational Uprising
The Fact: The Gen-Z-driven Cockroach Janata Party has taken over social media with a storm. In less than a week, the Instagram handle of the party has surpassed the followers of both the BJP (8.8 million) and the Congress (13.3 million). The CJP has 16.3 million, and counting, followers. After the social media takeover came the takedown. The platform's X account was withheld on Thursday afternoon "in response to a legal demand." But in a span of two hours, Abhijeet Dipke, the party's founder, announced a new handle, named 'Cockroach is Back.'
The Context: The CJP was conceived days after the Chief Justice of India used the term ‘cockroaches’ to describe certain youth who are unemployed or turn into activists. Dipke, who currently lives in the US after graduating from Boston University, states that he started this page as a satire to channel his frustration over what was happening in the country. From the recent NEET paper leak to India's economic challenges, Dipke sought to demand accountability from the government. The party's website lists four main points as its manifesto, which includes 50% reservation for women in Parliament and strict anti-defection rules. Dipke has also demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak. Although Dipke claims that CJP will remain equidistant from all other political parties, his past links to the Aam Aadmi Party have cast a shadow on his promises.
The Peek Insight: At this stage, the CJP appears to be little more than a social media spectacle. From AI-generated videos to a website that reeks of parody, the 'party' carries the aesthetics of satire rather than serious politics. Dipke himself admits that the movement started as a joke. But the overwhelming traction it has garnered in the last few days has prompted him to turn this into a full-fledged campaign. And that's how it becomes interesting. Over the past few years, global politics has repeatedly shown how social media can push outsiders with no conventional experience into the political fray. From Gen-Z-led protests in Nepal to Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in New York, and even Vijay’s TVK forming the government in Tamil Nadu, defeating the DMK, memes, reels, and the social media feed have definitely become powerful political tools. Even during the 2024 US Presidential elections, the Republican Party’s collaboration with TikTok personalities like Bryce Hall or Charlie Kirk helped convey its messaging to the youth. Now, whether the CJP can do something similar remains uncertain. But its rapid rise shows how India’s youth is deeply eager for a novel political representation. Ultimately, if Dipke intends to turn this into something real, he will eventually have to move beyond social media feeds to the ground.
The American Dream On A 60-Day Timer?: Indian Employees Caught Between Layoff And Liftoff
Image Courtesy: The Financial Express
The Fact: Nearly a lakh employees across 144 tech companies have lost their jobs in 2026 alone. Among them, Indian professionals in the United States are emerging as one of the worst-hit groups. Out of 4,06,348 approved H-1B visas in FY2025, nearly 2,83,772 belonged to Indian nationals, making them vulnerable in every wave of tech restructuring. Companies including Meta, Amazon, and Oracle have all announced significant workforce reductions in recent months. What’s troubling is that under the US immigration law, H-1B holders are granted only a 60-day grace period after termination of their jobs. Within that time frame, they either have to secure a new sponsoring employer or leave the country.
The Context: The layoffs come amid a larger transformation underway inside the global tech industry. Companies are aggressively restructuring around artificial intelligence. Nearly half of Q1 2026’s tech layoffs have reportedly been linked to AI or automation. Even as firms continue reporting strong revenues, hiring has slowed sharply while automation-driven efficiency has become the new corporate priority. For Indian professionals in the US, the crisis extends beyond unemployment. A layoff does not merely mean losing a paycheck. It threatens their immigration status, healthcare access, housing security, and the ability to remain in the country altogether. While Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an internal company memo that there may be no further major layoffs this year, the uncertainty across Silicon Valley remains intense.
The Peek Insight: AI is not “coming for jobs” anymore, but rather, AI is already taking them. And nowhere is that anxiety sharper than among Indian tech workers in America. For an entire generation of Indians, the American Dream was built around the IT industry. Young Indians were advised to study engineering, move abroad, secure an H-1B, and have a stable and successful career. But that covenant is now being rewritten by a political climate that is increasingly hostile to immigration, and an economy that is hostile to human labour. Ironically, it was the many Indian engineers who helped build the very AI systems now displacing sections of the workforce. What this moment exposes is how fragile the dream always was.
Full Tank, Empty Pockets: Delhi’s Truckers, Taxi Drivers Unite Against Rising Costs
Image Courtesy: Business Standard
The Fact: The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has called for a three-day strike starting Thursday till the 23rd of May, against the high fuel prices and an increase in Environment Compensation Cess (ECC), among other issues. More than 68 transport unions are expected to participate in this protest. Along with a few other unions, they also staged protests at the Delhi-NCR borders. Several commercial vehicle drivers have also joined the strike, demanding an immediate hike in auto and taxi fares.
The Context: The protests come after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi hiked the Environment Compensation Cess (ECC) in order to control pollution in the capital. As per the AIMTC national president, Harish Sabharwal, the increase of ECC from 15% to 55% is a first such change in the last 8-9 years. Calling these policies "unjust and unfair," the Union claimed that they "lack scientific and legal rationale." On the other hand, commercial taxi drivers too wrote to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, the Chalak Shakti Union complained that the taxi fares have more or less remained the same in Delhi NCR for the last 15 years. With an increase in fuel prices amid the West Asia conflict, as well as other essential costs that include maintenance, insurance, and permits, this has severely affected the livelihood of many drivers, the letter states. Taxi apps like Ola, Uber, and Rapido have also been economically "exploiting" them, the union alleged. Quoting several drivers, ANI reports how earlier apps like Rapido were paying them Rs 30 per km. But now the price has reduced to Rs 15-16.
The Peek Insight: So far, no major disruption in travel has been reported on the ground. However, these unions have warned to escalate their protest further if no outcome is achieved in the coming days. The Delhi government’s decision to impose the environment cess as part of its anti-pollution measures is surely necessary for a city that witnessed AQI levels crossing 1,000 last winter, according to private monitoring apps. But the government must also look after the concerns of these transport unions, who will now have to pay more than double the cess amount, and higher fuel prices. At the same time, the alleged fare reductions by app-based taxi platforms once again expose how these are highly profit-driven enterprises, at the expense of drivers. This comes at a time when drivers are working in extreme heat. Even if the government frames these measures as a gradual transition to cushion the impact of high fuel costs, the real economic burden will ultimately be borne by ordinary middle-class people.
India Steps Up The Ebola Vigil: Diplomatic Pause, Caution At The Gates
The Fact: Days after the World Health Organisation declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency, the Union Health Ministry has now issued an advisory for travellers to Indian ports and airports. The Indira Gandhi International Airport also shared a health information advisory. The advisory is for those who are coming from or transiting through DR Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. Meanwhile, the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit that was scheduled for the end of this month has also been postponed indefinitely. The summit was taking place after a gap of ten years.
The Context: Although the World Health Organisation has declared the virus an emergency of international concern, it has not labelled it a pandemic emergency. Despite that, the number of suspected cases has risen to 600 in the three countries, with around 139 deaths, as per the WHO. With that in mind, the Union Health Ministry at a high-level meeting has also asked Indian states to check their preparedness levels. At Indian airports and ports, travellers coming from these African countries are advised to immediately report to the Airport Health Officer if they experience any symptoms associated with the virus. The common symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, and headaches. In some cases, patients may also have internal and external bleeding, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and blood in the stool. As of now, there are no approved treatments or vaccines for this variant of the Ebola virus: the Bundibugyo.
The Peek Insight: Unlike COVID-19, Ebola is not an airborne disease. It mainly spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. But that does not make it any less dangerous. According to the WHO, Ebola’s fatality rate can range anywhere between 25% and 90%, and that is precisely why India needs to remain vigilant. The COVID-19 pandemic had already exposed the cracks in India’s emergency healthcare infrastructure. And that is why Ebola must not be viewed as a medical challenge for the world’s most populous country, but as an administrative one.
One State, One Shade?: UP Universities Tailor A New Campus Culture
The Fact: State colleges and Universities across Uttar Pradesh will soon mandate uniforms for their students, the UP Government announced on Thursday. This comes a day after state governor Anandiben Patel, the Chancellor of all State universities, issued this directive in a meeting at the Jan Bhawan. This is being done to ‘inculcate equality, discipline, and a sustained focus’ among students across campuses.
The Context: The Indian Express reports that concerns were raised in the meeting about how students have lost focus on their studies, and instead skip classes to ‘roam in malls and markets’. Speaking on the directive, UP's education Minister Yogerndra Upadhyay said that this move will also help in minimising social and economic inequality among students by providing them with a homogeneous dress code. "Dress code is not merely a symbol of discipline but also means to strengthen social harmony and equal opportunity," the ministry further said.
The Peek Insight: For any Indian student, their school years are largely defined by uniforms. College then becomes an avenue that offers a rare period of autonomy. After college, they once again enter professional spaces with an expected dress code. For that reason, enforcing uniforms in higher educational institutions might take away one of the limited phases in life where self-expression was, as of now, institutionally “allowed”. At the same time, the UP government’s stated reason cannot be dismissed entirely. However, one needs to see whether such policies might gradually become a means of imposing a singular cultural identity within campuses. And that is particularly concerning, especially in a state as socially and culturally diverse as UP.
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